Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcats Take to the Road
6/21/1999 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
December 17, 1998
Northwestern Wildcats (5-1)
at Seton Hall Pirates (6-3)
Sat., Dec. 19, 1998 -- Noon EST
Continental Airlines Arena
Radio: WGN AM 720
Northwestern hits the road for the first time this season as the Wildcats travel to Seton Hall on Saturday. NU is riding a five-game winning streak, including an 80-44 win against UW-Milwaukee on Monday night in Welsh-Ryan Arena.
NU controlled the game from the outset, taking an early 6-0 lead on back-to-back three pointers by Sean Wink and David Newman. The cushion was 20 points at halftime (40-20), and continued to build throughout the contest. NU's largest lead of the game turned out to be the final score.
The 'Cats shot a season-best .521 from the field and hit a season-best nine three pointers. Evan Eschmeyer had his third double-double of the season with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Wink and Newman added 13 points apiece. Off the bench, Danny Allouche scored seven points while Nate Pomeday posted six points. The Wildcat defense continued to sparkle, holding UWM to just 29.1 percent shooting and forcing 16 Panther turnovers. No Wildcat played more than 27 minutes in the victory.
Wildcat Probable Starters
Off the bench
G #4 Julian Bonner (6-1, 198, Sr., Detroit, Mich.) 2.8 1.2
F #5 Joe Harmsen (6-9, 248, Sr., Fond du Lac, Wis.) 1.2 2.0
G #10 Matt Kammrath (6-0, 185, Jr., Boca Raton, Fla.) 0.0 0.0
F #11 Danny Allouche (6-5, 200, Sr., Omer, Israel) 2.7 1.7
G #23 Napoleon Harris (6-3, 230, So., Dixmoor, Ill.) 2.0 2.0
G #31 Nate Pomeday (6-2, 201, Sr., Cedar Grove, Wis.) 1.8 1.0
G #32 Collier Drayton (6-1, 175, Fr., Lyons, N.Y.) 0.0 3.0
C #35 Aron Molnar (6-11, 242, Jr., Mississauga, Ontario) 0.7 1.7
G #44 Jeff Eschmeyer (6-2, 192, So., New Knoxville, Ohio) 0.0 0.5
Head Coach Kevin O'Neill
Top-Notch Defense In the Dec. 15 NCAA rankings, NU was eighth nationally in field goal percentage defense and 10th in scoring defense. However, those rankings do not factor in the victory over UWM on Dec. 14. If you were to add in that contest, the Wildcats would improve to third nationally in field goal percentage defense and sixth in scoring defense. The next NCAA rankings will not be released until January 4.
In the November 21 win against Oakland, the Wildcats set a couple of defensive standards:
- The 13 points scored by Oakland in the first half tied the Welsh-Ryan Arena record for fewest points in a half, done four times previously.
- Of the five times that NU has held an opponent to 13 points in a half in Welsh-Ryan Arena history, four have come since Kevin O'Neill took over as head coach. Last year, NU held Chicago State, Wisconsin and Illinois to 13 points in a half.
Quick Hits - NU has led at halftime every game this season.
- No team has scored more than 27 points in the first half against NU this season. The Wildcats have outscored opponents 202-135 in the first half, an average of 33.7-22.5 per game.
- Of NU's first six opponents, four currently sport .500 or better records: Maine (5-2), Furman (5-3) and St. Francis and Dayton (3-3).
In Memoriam
Eschmeyer Among Big Ten Leaders In late November, he was named one of 31 candidates for the Oscar Robertson Award, presented by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association to the national player of the year. Eschmeyer was one of four Big Ten players on the award's preseason list (Mateen Cleaves, A.J. Guyton, Michael Redd).
While Eschmeyer's offensive numbers are stellar, don't discount his work on the defensive end. In the six games this season, opposing teams' centers have shot just a combined 15-for-45 (.333) while averaging a mere 7.8 points and 4.3 rebounds per game.
Watching Esch in the Record Books
Eschmeyer Preseason Honors
A Wink and a Nod Wink has hit 101 three pointers in his 33 career games, an average of 3.1 per contest. For his career, Wink is shooting .432 (101-234) from three-point range.
Newman Coming Through in the Clutch In the win against Furman, Newman hit a three pointer with 2:27 left to give NU a 56-50 lead. He also made 3-of-4 free throws in the final 48 seconds to help the Wildcats secure the victory. Against Dayton, Newman scored eight of his 11 points in the second half, all of which came in the final 10 minutes after the Flyers had cut the NU lead to three points.
As of Dec. 15, Newman ranks tied for fifth in the Big Ten in assists (3.5 apg), tied for eighth in three pointers made (2.2 tpg) and tied for 11th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.4-to-1).
Big Ten Stat Leaders
Team
Asst/TO ratio: 1st (1.24-to-1)
FG Pct. Defense:2nd Big Ten, 8th NCAA (.342)
Scoring Defense:2nd Big Ten, 10th NCAA (53.5 ppg)
Assists: 3rd (17.5 apg)
Scoring Margin: 4th (+12.7 ppg)
Rebound Margin: 5th (+4.0 rpg)
Blocked Shots: 6th (4.0 bpg)
TO Margin: 6th (+1.83 pg)
Home Court Advantage Northwestern has a 15-7 home court record under O'Neill, which is a marked improvement considering that, in the three seasons prior to O'Neill's arrival in Evanston, NU won just 14 home games.
NCAA Recognizes Wildcat Greats
Nationalism Lepore paced the team in three-point shooting, hitting
13-of-29 (.448) from beyond the arc, and was tied for the team lead with 11 steals. Lepore finished third on the team in scoring, averaging 12.8 points (in only 21 minutes) per game.
The Brothers Esch
Letter-of-Intent Signees
Winston Blake (F, 6-5, 180, Plano, Texas/Plano Senior)
Johnson (No. 60) and Blake (No. 95) are each ranked among the top 100 players in the country by Bob Gibbons. Deren was "Southwest Iowa Player of the Year" as a junior, while Jennings and Robinson were both named All-Americans this season by various publications.
Coaches vs. Cancer
Wildcats on the Air
The Kevin O'Neill Show
#4 Julian Bonner - Backup shooting guard - Started all of last season at point guard - Hit the game-winning three pointer against St. Francis with 0.4 seconds remaining on the clock - Ranks ninth in NU history with 220 career assists - Ranks fifth in NU history with 87 career three pointers.
#5 Joe Harmsen - Reserve power forward/center - Grabbed season-high four rebounds against Oakland and Dayton - Very physical player.
#10 Matt Kammrath - Walk-on - Saw game action vs. Oakland and UW-Milwaukee this season.
#11 Danny Allouche - Tallied season-bests of seven points vs. UWM and four rebounds against Oakland - Reserve forward - Sat out last season after transferring from Missouri.
#14 Steve Lepore - Started every game - Tied for the team lead in steals and is second on the team in rebounding and assists.
#22 Sean Wink - NU's top three-point threat - Has hit 101 three pointers in 33 career games (3.1 per game) - Hit season-best four three pointers against Oakland - Set the NU single-season three-point mark (86) as a freshman.
#23 Napoleon Harris - Sophomore scholarship football player - In his second season on the basketball team - Missed the first two basketball games as football season was not yet completed - Very strong, athletic player.
#24 David Newman - Starting point guard as a true freshman - Tallied a season-best 22 points and five rebounds against Furman - Dished eight assists in his collegiate debut against Maine - Has come through in several clutch situations this season - Very gutsy player who plays with no fear.
#31 Nate Pomeday - Reserve shooting guard - Plays with a lot of heart and emotion - One of the team's most vocal leaders - Can be very dangerous from three-point range when his shot is "on."
#32 Collier Drayton - Extremely quick athlete - Is a stronger defensive player than offensive - Grabbed three rebounds in seven minutes against Oakland.
#33 Tavaras Hardy - Scored in double figures three of his first five collegiate games - Tallied first career double-double (18p, 10r) vs. Oakland - Has been able to take advantage of the opponents' constant double teaming of Evan Eschmeyer.
#35 Aron Molnar - Backup center - Pulled down five rebounds in 15 minutes against Oakland - Had three boards in nine minutes against Dayton.
#42 Evan Eschmeyer - National Player of the Year candidate - Tallied three double-doubles this season - Averaging 20.8 points and 9.2 rebounds per game despite playing against defenses designed specifically to stop him - Has scored in double figures 47-straight games, a school record - Gained approximately 20 pounds of muscle during the offseason.
#44 Jeff Eschmeyer - Younger brother of Evan Eschmeyer - Walked onto the squad last season - Saw action against Oakland and UWM - Lone rebound came vs. UWM.
Pos.No. Name (height, weight, class, hometown) ppg rpg
F #33 Tavaras Hardy (6-8, 210, Fr., Joliet, Ill.) 11.2 5.0
F #14 Steve Lepore (6-5, 200, Fr., North Olmstead, Ohio) 4.5 5.3
C #42 Evan Eschmeyer (6-11, 255, Sr.-6, New Knoxville, Ohio) 20.8 9.2
G #22 Sean Wink (6-2, 176, So., Brea, Calif.) 9.0 2.8
G #24 David Newman (5-11, 165, Fr., Des Moines, Iowa) 10.8 2.5
Northwestern-Seton Hall, The Series
The Wildcats and Pirates have met three times previously, with NU holding a 2-1 series edge. Seton Hall won the first meeting, an 85-70 decision on Dec. 9, 1995. NU has won the last two matchups, including a 51-44 victory last year on Dec. 13, 1997, in Welsh-Ryan Arena.
Kevin O'Neill (McGill, 1979) is in his second season at the helm of the Wildcat basketball program. This is his 11th season as head coach at the Division I level and 13th overall as a collegiate head coach. He also has served as head coach at North Country CC (1980-82), Marycrest (1982-83), Marquette (1989-94) and Tennessee (1994-97).
O'Neill owns a 15-18 record at NU and a 155-138 record as a Division I head coach. Known as one of the best recruiters in the nation, O'Neill resurrected the Marquette and Tennessee programs, taking two teams which had not enjoyed recent success to postseason play.
As of December 15, the Wildcats rank second in the Big Ten in opponent's field goal percentage (.342) and scoring defense (53.5). Since Kevin O'Neill took over the helm of the Northwestern program, the Wildcats have held opponents to fewer than 70 points in 23 of 33 contests.
- Of the 12 halves of basketball played this season by NU, the 'Cats have held an opponent to 30 points or less on 10 occasions. Only St. Francis and Maine posted more than 30 points in a period.
The Wildcats will wear a patch on the left corner of their shorts for the remainder of the season bearing the initials D.P. The patch is in memory of Don Pomeday, father of senior guard Nate Pomeday, who passed away on December 9.
As of Dec. 15, sixth-year center Evan Eschmeyer ranked third in the Big Ten in rebounds (9.2 rpg) and fourth in scoring (20.8 ppg). He enters the Seton Hall game with 33 career double-doubles and has scored in double figures 47-straight games.
Evan Eschmeyer enters the Seton Hall contest with 1,362 career points, good for seventh in NU history. He surpassed Rod Roberson (1,347 from 1978-81) in Monday's win over UWM and needs just seven points to move past Jim Burns for sixth in school history. Current Wildcat Assistant A.D. Shon Morris is fifth with 1,407 career points. Here's where Eschmeyer currently ranks among NU's all-time career leaders:
Category Eschmeyer Next Up
FG Pct. 1st - .605 ---
FT Attempts 2nd - 635 Cedric Neloms (676)
FT Made 3rd - 395 Kevin Rankin (458)
Blocked Shots 3rd - 96 Jim Pitts (123)
Rebounds 5th - 758 Don Adams (773)
Reb. Avg. 7th - 8.5 Ron Kozlicki (8.6)
Scoring 7th - 1,362 Jim Burns (1,368)
Scoring Avg. 9th - 15.3 Sibley/Ragelis (15.7)
The following are some of the preseason honors gained by Wildcat center Evan Eschmeyer:
- Top candidate for the Wooden Award (L.A. Athletic Club)
- Top candidate for the Naismith Award (Atlanta Tipoff Club)
- Candidate for the Oscar Robertson Award (U.S.B.W.A)
- Preseason All-American, CNN/SI
- Preseason All-American, Street and Smith's
- Preseason All-American, Athlon
- Preseason All-American, Basketball News
- Preseason All-American, Playboy
- Preseason All-American, Blue Ribbon College Yearbook
- Named the second-best center in the country by
Street & Smith's, The Sporting News and CNN/SI
- "The most underrated big man in the college ranks" by
Preview Sports Publications (PSP)
- Best rebounder in the Big Ten, The Sporting News
- "All-Windex Team" (best rebounders in the country),
Dick Vitale's College Basketball
Sophomore guard Sean Wink has begun to find his shooting stroke. In his first three games, Wink was just 8-for-33 (.242) from beyond the arc. However, in his last three contests, Wink has hit 7-of-13 (.538) from three-point range.
Freshman point guard David Newman has made several clutch plays this season down the stretch. Against St. Francis, Newman hit three pointers with 56 and 48 seconds left to tie the game at 66-66. He then followed his own missed shot on the game's final possession, tipping the ball to Julian Bonner who hit the game-winning three pointer with 0.4 seconds left.
Here's where the 'Cats rank among the Big Ten and NCAA stat leaders (Big Ten as of Dec. 15, NCAA as of Dec. 14):
Individual
Scoring: Evan Eschmeyer - 4th Big Ten, 40th NCAA (20.8 ppg)
Rebounds: Evan Eschmeyer - 3rd (9.2 rpg)
FG Pct.: Evan Eschmeyer - 4th Big Ten, 10th NCAA (.667)
Assists: David Newman - t5th (3.5 apg)
Steve Lepore - t7th (3.3 apg)
FT Pct.: David Newman - 10th (.769)
3pt Made: Sean Wink - t5th (2.5 tpg)
David Newman - t8th (2.2 tpg)
3pt Pct.: David Newman - 9th (.433)
Blocks: Evan Eschmeyer - t5h (2.0 bpg)
Asst/TO ratio: Steve Lepore - 9th (1.43-to-1)
David Newman - t11th (1.40-to-1)
Offensive Rebs: Evan Eschmeyer - 2nd (3.5 orpg)
Defensive Rebs: Evan Eschmeyer - 4th (5.7 drpg)
In Kevin O'Neill's first season as head coach, the Wildcats made Welsh-Ryan Arena a tough place to play. The 'Cats went 10-6 at home, the first time in a decade that NU had won 10 games in their own arena. That mark included a seven-game home winning streak.
In its recently-released book "Men's Basketball Finest," the NCAA recognized three former Wildcat players and two former NU coaches. Wildcat All-Americans Otto Graham, Max Morris and Joe Reiff were among the 396 players chosen while Dutch Lonborg and Harold Olsen were among the 119 coaches to earn a place among the best in NCAA history.
Freshman guard Steve Lepore spent part of this past summer representing the United States at the Junior World Championship qualifying tournament in the Dominican Republic. He started all six games during the tournament, leading the USA to a perfect 6-0 record and the gold medal.
For the second-straight season, the Wildcats will have two Eschmeyers on the team (Evan and Jeff). Last year was the first time that the duo was able to play together on the same team due to the fact they are four years apart in age. In fact, Jeff's first collegiate field goal (last year vs. Minnesota) came on an assist from Evan.
During the November early signing period, the Wildcats signed five players to National Letters of Intent to begin playing basketball at NU next season:
Brody Deren (F, 6-7, 223, Harlan, Iowa/Harlan Comm.)
Aaron Jennings (C, 6-11, 200, Atkins, Iowa/Benton Comm.)
Ben Johnson (G, 6-3, 180, Minneapolis, Minn./De La Salle)
Adam Robinson (F, 6-10, 210, Cedar Falls, Iowa/Cedar Falls)
Head coach Kevin O'Neill is one of several coaches across the country who have joined together to help the fight against cancer. Fans are asked to pledge a certain amount of money for each assist the Wildcats make throughout the 1998-99 season. O'Neill will personally donate $5 for every assist this season to Coaches vs. Cancer. Fans can pick up pledge forms and brochures in the Welsh-Ryan Arena lobby during all home games.
Once again this season, WGN-AM 720 will be the radio home of Wildcat basketball. Dave Eanet handles the play-by-play chores while Joey Meyer will handle the color analysis. Every Wildcat game this season will be aired by WGN.
Once again this season, Fox Sports Chicago will air "The Kevin O'Neill Show." Dave Eanet, play-by-play announcer for NU football and basketball on WGN radio, hosts the half-hour show. The next show airs Tue., Dec. 22, at 3:30 p.m. CST. It will be replayed at 3:30 a.m. and 9 p.m. the following day.
