Northwestern University Athletics
Men's Basketball Gets Right Back After It
1/14/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 14, 2000
NORTHWESTERN MEN?S BASKETBALL (4-10, 0-2) vs. Ohio State (10-3, 2-1)
DATE/TIME: Jan. 15, 2000/7 p.m. CT
SITE (Cap.): Welsh-Ryan Arena (8,117)
TV: ESPN Regional (WYIN Ch. 6)
RADIO: WGN 720-AM
THE MATCHUP
The Wildcats host their second Big Ten game in 48 hours as the Buckeyes from Ohio State visit Welsh-Ryan Arena. Ohio State defeated Wisconsin on Thursday, 53-51, improving its Big Ten mark to 2-1. NU and OSU have met only twice the past two years splitting the meetings. In 1998, NU defeated the Buckeyes, 70-62, at Welsh-Ryan. Last season, OSU stymied the ?Cats at Value-City Arena, 59-49.M
THE SERIES: Ohio State leads 95-44
OFFICIALS: Ed Hightower, Sid Rodeheffer, Tim Hutchinson
SCOUTING THE BUCKEYES
Ohio State is led by one of the premier backcouts in the country in Scoonie Penn and Michael Redd. Redd leads the Buckeyes in scoring at 15.6 points per game and Penn is second at 15.2 ppg. OSU starts a three-guard lineup with sophomore Brian Brown, who averages 8.9 ppg. Inside, center Ken Johnson leads the conference in blocked shots with 66 for the year, an average of 5.1 per game. Senior George Reese is the Buckeyes top reserve, he is third on the team in scoring (11.8 ppg) and second in rebounding (6.5 rpg).
PENN STATE RECAP
Northwestern scored the first basket of Thursday night?s men?s basketball game with Penn State, but after that it was all Nittany Lions as they jumped out to a large lead quickly and defeated the Wildcats, 82-49, at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Tavaras Hardy got the ?Cats on the board in the first minute on a layup, but PSU answered when Titus Ivory hit a three-pointer. That spurred the Lions, who quickly extended the lead to 15-4. The crushing blow came in the final 10 minutes of the half, when Penn State held the Wildcats without a field goal while turning a 19-10 lead into a 45-15 halftime advantage. The Wildcats showed a much better side in the second half, but still got outscored, 37-34, in the stanza by PSU. One bright spot throughout the night for NU was the play of freshman Brody Deren. In his first game back after missing several weeks with a radial head fracture of the elbow, Deren scored 12 points and pulled down seven rebounds. Stephens led all scorers with 22 points, while NU?s Ben Johnson chipped in 13 points to complement Deren.
HEAD COACH KEVIN O?NEILL
Now in his third season at the helm of the Northwestern basketball program, Kevin O?Neill has brought his own brand of intensity, excitement and basketball talent to Evanston. In just two seasons, O?Neill has turned the Wildcats into postseason contenders. Northwestern made postseason play for the third time in the school?s history last season when they were selected to play in the National Invitation Tournament. O?Neill?s work was nothing short of miraculous considering the ?Cats started three freshmen and played in a conference that had seven teams ranked in the top 25 for most of last season. O?Neill owns a career record of 189-182 (.509) and is 29-41 in his tenure at NU. O?Neill?s intensity translates to the court as pressure defense, and the Wildcats proved last season to be one of the best in the country on that side of the floor. NU finished ranked third in the NCAA in field goal defense (.373) and sixth in the NCAA in scoring defense (57.1 ppg). O?Neill, 42, knows what it takes to turn around a program. In 1994, he inherited a Tennessee program which won only five games the previous campaign, and took them to the NIT two seasons later. At Marquette, the two-time Great Midwest Conference Coach of the Year took over a program which, like Tennessee, hadn?t enjoyed a winning season in many years. In 1990-91, his first season, he guided the Golden Eagles to a 15-14 record and an appearance in the NIT. Three seasons later (1993-94), he directed Marquette to a 20-8 mark and a spot in the NCAA tournament. The next season, he coached the Golden Eagles back to their glory days by advancing to the Sweet 16 and finishing with a 24-9 record. He left Milwaukee with an impressive mark of four winning campaigns in five years and a Great Midwest Conference championship in 1994. Tabbed as one of the nation?s top recruiters, O?Neill has already overhauled the Northwestern program in just two recruiting classes.
O?NEILL WIN TOTAL
Head coach Kevin O?Neill begins his third season in Evanston. His 25 wins through his first two seasons at NU is second only to William Rohr, who won 28 from 1957-59.
O?NEILL AT WELSH-RYAN
In Kevin O?Neill?s two plus seasons at NU, the Wildcats have made Welsh-Ryan Arena a tough place to play. NU has a 25-17 (.595) home court record under O?Neill. That is a marked improvement to the 14 home wins in the three seasons before O?Neill took over the program.
AGE BEFORE BEAUTY - ?Cats Are Youngest In The Nation
According to statistics compiled by Stats Inc., Northwestern is the youngest basketball team in Division I basketball. NU has 99.9 percent of its minutes played by freshmen and sophomores. Walk-on Jeff Eschmeyer?s two minutes are the only minutes played by an upperclassman. No other Big Ten team is in the top 10. Michigan is 15th at 79.25 percent. Illinois is 43rd at 62.85 percent. NU is also the least experienced team in America. Stats Inc. rated all 319 Division I basketball teams experience based on eligibility of the athletes and the percentage of minutes played by each class. NU grades out at 1.435 (1.00 = freshmen have played 100% of minutes, 4.00 = seniors have played 100% of minutes). Michigan is fifth at 1.682, while Minnesota is 31st at 2.113.
DEREN RETURN TRIUMPHANT
In his first game back after a broken elbow, freshman forward Brody Deren scored a career-high 12 points and equalled a career-high seven rebounds against Penn State on Thursday. Deren started the first seven games of the season before suffering a broken left elbow against Nicholls State on Dec. 11. He played 27 minutes against the Nittany Lions, the second-most on the team.
JOHNSON SHINES IN FIRST YEAR
Freshman guard Ben Johnson has lived up to his advance billing coming out of De La Salle High School in Minneapolis, Minn. Johnson, NU?s leading scorer, has started every game as a true freshman. Last week in his Big Ten debut, Johnson led the ?Cats in scoring with 17 points at Iowa on Jan. 5. On Saturday against Pepperdine, Johnson led all scorers with 19 points, 11-of-11 from the free-throw line. Johnson has led the ?Cats in scoring eight times this season. At the Hoop and Quill Classic over Thanksgiving weekend, Johnson registered nine points against Evansville, 18 (career-high) vs. Nebraska, and 17 against Mississippi State. On Dec. 14 vs. Jacksonville, he equaled his career-high point total with 18 against the Dolphins. Johnson is leading the team in scoring at 12.3 ppg and ranks fourth in the Big Ten in free throw percentage (41-of-50 from the line). In addition, he leads the team in minutes played averaging 33.3 per game.
LEPORE NAMED PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Sophomore Steve Lepore was named the Big Ten?s Player of the Week for his play during the week of Dec. 13-19. Lepore helped NU run its win streak to three games with a pair of stellar outings. Against Jacksonville, he scored 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting (4-of-6 from three point land) as NU won, 67-59. In the ?Cats 78-54 win over Western Carolina, he scored a career-high 25 points on 9-of-12 shooting (5-of-6 from three-point) and added four boards and two assists. Lepore scored 19 of his 25 points against WCU in the first half when Northwestern set the tone for the victory. Overall, Lepore is averaging a team-high 14.4 points per game, has 35 rebounds and 11 assists.
A BOY NAMED ?T?
As of Jan. 14, sophomore forward Tavaras Hardy ranks in the top 15 in the Big Ten in two categories ? blocked shots (7th-1.43 bpg) and offensive rebounds (12th-2.29). Hardy recorded the third double-double of his career on Dec. 14 vs. Jacksonville. He scored 13 points and grabbed 10 boards against the Dolphins. Earlier this season, Hardy scored 12 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in the loss to Nebraska on Nov. 27. The next day against Mississippi State, he came within one rebound of his second straight double-double when he registered 16 points and nine rebounds. Hardy leads the team in rebounding averaging 5.8 rebounds per game.
TOUGH ON ?D?
Last season, the ?Cats led the Big Ten and finished third in the country in field goal percentage defense (37.3%). NU was sixth in the nation in scoring defense (57.1 ppg). This season that trend continues as the ?Cats are fourth in the Big Ten in all games played at 60.9 ppg. O?Neill?s teams have held opponents to 13 points or fewer in a half five times in the past two seasons: Michigan, 2-4-99, 12 points, Oakland, 11-21-98, 13 points, Wisconsin, Chicago State and Wofford, all in the 1997-98 season, 13 points.
LEPORE FROM WAY DOWNTOWN
According to the Big Ten stats as of Jan. 14, Steve Lepore is third in all games in the conference with 34 three-point field goals made. He is averaging 2.43 per game, which is also third in the Big Ten. Lepore set a career high with six three-pointers against Florida State. His six threes are the third most in a single game in NU history. He is tied with six other players. Todd Leslie holds the record with seven. Lepore?s 13 three-point attempts against FSU is also third most in a single game in NU history. On his career, Lepore has hit 84 threes which places him sixth on the all-time list. Geno Carlisle is fifth with 103 three pointers. Lepore has led the team in scoring in five games this year.
TRAVELIN? MAN
Sophomore Steve Lepore spent the summer traveling the globe playing basketball. Lepore was a member of the United States team at the World Junior Championships in Portugal. The Americans won a silver medal and Lepore finished second on the team in scoring with a 10.5 ppg average. He started all eight games and was tops in the team in three pointers, shooting 18-36 for the tournament. Lepore also traveled to Austria with a Big Ten All-Star team in August. The Big Ten team finished 3-3, as Lepore averaged 6.5 ppg and shot 47% from the field.
OLD SOPHOMORES
David Newman and Tavaras Hardy started all 29 games as freshmen a year ago and have played in every game in their college careers. In just his second season, Newman ranks 6th on the career three-pointers made list with 69. Hardy is third on the team in scoring at 8.4 ppg., and leads the team in rebounding (5.8 rpg.) and blocked shots (20).
NU SIGNS YOUNG
Northwestern signed Jitim Young (guard, 6-2, 185, Chicago, Ill./Gordon Tech) to a National Letter of Intent to play basketball beginning in the fall of 2000. Young was the only player NU signed in the early signing period, the Wildcats have one scholarship remaining for this season. ?Jitim is a great get for our program,? said O?Neill. ?He will have a great senior year and come and make an immediate impact at Northwestern. We hope we can fill our other scholarship with as good a player as Jitim.? Young led Gordon Tech to a 22-8 record along with Catholic North and regional championships last season. He averaged 18.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, three assists and two steals per game. Young was named all-state by the IBCA and all-area by both the Chicago Tribune and Sun-Times. This past summer, Young was named the Most Valuable Player of the 5-Star Camp All-Star Game and was given the 5-Star Sportsmanship and Defensive Awards. He is invited to play in the Reebok Capital Classic in April. Young is a four-year honor roll student and a member of the National Honor Society. Young chose Northwestern over Notre Dame, Michigan State, Penn State and Marquette.
WILDCATS ON THE AIR
All Northwestern regular-season games can be heard on WGN-AM Radio 720. Once again this season, Dave Eanet will handle the play-by-play duties while former DePaul head coach Joey Meyer handles the color analysis. Coach O?Neill can be heard after every game on his postgame show. At home, fans can stay and listen to the show live over the Welsh-Ryan Arena sound system.
THE KEVIN O?NEILL SHOW
Fox Sports Net Chicago is the home of the Kevin O?Neill Show. The half-hour show will appear 11 times during Northwestern's 1999-2000 season. Each week, the Kevin O?Neill Show will air on each Tuesday at 5 or 5:30 p.m. and rerun at 2 a.m. and 3 p.m. each Wednesday until the Big Ten Tournament. Hosting the Kevin O?Neill show will be Dave Eanet. Eanet, sports director at WGN, has handled the play-by-play duties for WGN radio the past two seasons. Again for the 1999-2000 season, fans can submit questions to Coach O?Neill via NUSPORTS.COM, the official internet site of Northwestern athletics. Three questions will be chosen weekly and answered on ?The Kevin O?Neill Show.? Every fan who has their question read on-air will receive a special gift pack courtesy of Ameritech.
