Northwestern University Athletics
2006-07 Men's Basketball Season Outlook
10/18/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Oct. 18, 2006
For the last two years, the Northwestern men's basketball team has entered the season with higher than normal preseason expectations. Veteran leadership, experience, size, shooting and athleticism were what made up the Wildcat rosters.
The 2006-07 version of the Wildcats will rely on a corresponding mixture of veteran leadership and newcomers. More than 60 percent of last year's scoring has graduated, most notably Vedran Vukusic (19.0 ppg) and Mohamed Hachad (11.8 ppg), leaving a lot of points to be had by their replacements.
But who exactly will fill the void?
It's a question seventh year head coach Bill Carmody looks to answer during the preseason. Leading the candidates are senior forward Tim Doyle, all-Big Ten freshman team performer Craig Moore, senior center Vince Scott, redshirt sophomore Sterling Williams and an excellent mixture of newcomers, highlighted by Kevin Coble, Jeremy Nash and Jeff Ryan -- all of whom can play a number of different positions.
"Each year you go into the season and you know it won't be the same," Carmody said. "Even when your team's exactly the same, it's different. We have a freshman class that we're happy and excited about and we're going to see who the veterans are who step it up this year."
The Returnees
Without a doubt, the Wildcats will be relying heavily on the leadership and basketball savvy of Doyle, who averaged just under 10 points a game and was among the Big Ten leaders in assists. Last year he became just the sixth player in Northwestern basketball history to record at least 200 points, 100 assists and 100 rebounds in the same season. Doyle is quite possibly the hardest worker on the team and is looking to close out his career with his best season yet.
"Tim has to be a leader this year," Carmody said. "He has been here for a few years now and has played a lot of minutes. We lose a lot of leadership so I think he has to stand out. He has to score more, rebound more and have more of an impact and I think he is capable of doing that. He has to be the hardest worker on the team. Sometimes you don't realize it, but when he gets out on that court, he goes at it pretty hard. He competes and doesn't like to lose."
Scott returns at the center position, looking to regain the form he showed in his sophomore campaign. Scott is a veteran of Northwestern's offensive system, can shoot from the outside, find the open man and will need to have a solid and consistent season if the Wildcats are to be successful.
"Vince had a nice sophomore year and we thought he was going to grow, but then he slipped a little last year so he's going to have to get back to what we expect of him," Carmody said. "The center position is so important in our offense. We not only need him to score, but help other guys score. He worked hard this summer and lost about 20 pounds. His body is in much better shape so he'll be more ready to do what is necessary for him to help us win. He is capable of doing good things for us and we're expecting him to do that."
After a stellar freshman year, most critics are wondering if Moore will suffer from a sophomore slump. But his work ethic and leadership during the off-season has the coaching staff and teammates thinking otherwise. They're not only looking for more consistency out of the youngster, but continued leadership and fire in the backcourt that earned the Doylestown, Pa., star all-Big Ten freshman honors a year ago. Moore was among the Big Ten leaders in three-point shooting last year and connected on multiple three's 18 times -- including five in the road win at Minnesota.
"I was really happy with Craig last year," Carmody said. "I thought he had some very good games. You think about the games he helped us win like the Purdue game and at Minnesota (15 points). He was very consistent for a freshman. Now that the consistency is there, the question is `can he continue to grow?' He put the time in this summer so I think that he will. I didn't expect him to play as much as he did last year, but he's such a competitor that he was able to handle it.
"Craig really cares about being good. He wants to improve. I think he wants to take over responsibility in the backcourt and take charge of the team in that area. We need someone like that."
Rounding out the key returnees is swingman Williams who is looking for a breakout season after showing flashes of what he is capable of doing. The Chicago area native scored 100 points in his first collegiate season, scored in double figures three times and netted a season-high 15 points in the road win at Minnesota.
"Sterling was not as consistent last season, but was still an important player for us," Carmody said. "Now we need him to reach a level of consistency. He had some good games, but we're trying to get him to be more aggressive and take more chances. He is a good-sized guard and we're expecting good things from him this time around.
"After losing some very good players, it's time for our other guys to come into their own. We'll see how Tim and Vince have progressed. We were very happy with Sterling and Craig last year but they will have to be more consistent this time around."
Flying under the radar and also possibly looking to break into the everyday lineup off the bench will be sophomore Jean-Marc Melchior who may be the fastest and best leaper on the team. His year running the scout team helped him learn the Northwestern offense and he further brushed up his skills this summer when he competed with the Luxembourg National Team.
"Jean-Marc had a hard time adjusting last year," Carmody said. "He is one of our best athletes and now just has to learn to deal with the competitiveness and physicality of the college game. We hope he can be a meaningful contributor this year."
The Newcomers
With six newcomers, including two that did not see action last season, this is by far one of the youngest teams Carmody has coached in his career. Despite the youth, he remains optimistic that his new players have the ability to contribute immediately.
"This is a young team, but I don't know how much that matters anymore," Carmody said. "We don't know right now how many of those guys are going to get minutes--we'll have to wait and see. But with AAU now and our international guys, I don't know if it's such a big jump the way it was 5-10 years ago. Teams are used to playing guys right out of high school. We've started freshman each of the last six years. The transition is not as much of a leap as it used to be.
"When you look at what we lost, it's a little scary. But I think we're a little excited at the same time. We have three or four 6-8 freshmen, we bring Ivan Tolic back and we have a good transfer in Jason Okrzesik. We'll have to wait and see. It's really hard to tell right now until I get to see these guys a little more in practice."
Okrzesik will get his first chance to show off his skills this season after sitting out the 2005-06 season after transferring from Rice. A local product from Wood Dale, Ill., he will have two years of eligibility with the Wildcats beginning this season. Okrzesik is a quick, flashy guard with solid range and excellent ball-handling skills.
"Jason is a pretty good all-around guard," said Carmody. "He dribbles decently, passes pretty well, is a good shooter and shoots off dribble well--so I think he's going to contribute right away. I'm looking for good things out of him."
Tolic returns to the Wildcat lineup after sitting out last season. The injuries to his knees have sub sided and he is back with the team, bringing extra size and experience to a fairly young front line.
"Everyone would like to see Ivan do well with everything he has gone through," added Carmody. "He has always been a very important part of this program, has a very good understanding of our offense and is a good passer. He will be a good mentor for our other guys and we're hoping he can get some significant minutes this year."
Last fall Carmody went out and inked one of his best recruiting classes to date. Led by Coble, Ryan and Nash, Carmody then went out and signed two more Croatian big men this summer in Ivan Peljusic and Nikola Baran, giving the Wildcats added depth and size to their front line.
Coble comes to Northwestern after setting the Scottsdale (Arizona) Christian Academy record with over 2,300 career points while averaging 27 points per game his senior season. He led his team to back-to-back state titles as a sophomore and junior, as well as a third trip to the state finals again as a senior. Coble, a 6-foot-9 forward with excellent range, gives the 'Cats a scoring threat anywhere on the court.
"Kevin has done very well in his individual workouts," Carmody said. "He has a knack for putting the ball in the basket. He needs to get stronger, but I expect him to help us this year. With Vedran and Mohamed gone, there are a lot of points out there to be had and we're hoping he can help us fill that void."
Ryan is a 6-foot-6 guard from Glenbrook South in nearby Glenview, Ill. He was a four-year letterwinner and finished his career ranked fourth on the school's all-time scoring list.
Nash arrives in Evanston from Marist High School in Chicago where he finished his career among the all-time leaders with over 1,200 points. He led his team to over 70 wins in his three full seasons on the team and was a two-time Class AA all-state selection in 2005 and 2006.
"Jeff is just a solid all-around player," Carmody said. "He has looked good in all of his individual workouts. He does everything well and I think he is going to help us. He is a very hard worker and he's become much stronger in the past year. This should ease the transition from high school to college.
"Jeremy is a Chicago product that we're very excited about. He is a good-sized guard who makes open shots. He is a very fast learner and I think that is going to help him with his transition as well. Jeremy also has the potential to be a terrific defender.
"All three of these guys played for very good AAU teams. They competed at a very high level and did quite well. So I think their transition will be a little easier than some of the others."
As mentioned, two more Croatians were added to the mix. One is Baran, a 6-foot-7, 225-pound forward/center who was a member of the Croatian National Team and Peljusic, who was a member of club team KK Borik-Puntamika that finished seventh at the Croatian Championships.
"Nikola is a good passer for a big man," Carmody said. "He has a good understanding and good feel for the game. He is capable of stepping out and making the shots from out top. Right now we have him listed as a center but we will have to see how he comes along.
"Ivan is a good athlete. He runs and jumps very well and is very excited to be here. Ivan is always looking to come in and shoot and practice as much as he can. He has a good work ethic and should be a good player for us.
"In our recruiting, we're trying to get guys that can do a little bit of everything. So at first glance, I think that these guys have the potential to be pretty good. A lot of them are interchangeable parts kind of guys. I think a lot of our bigger guys can dribble and make shots so I'm really looking forward to working with them."
Rounding out the roster is senior guard Joe Kennedy, sophomore forward Patrick Houlihan and freshman guard Matt Steger from Loyola Academy.
The Schedule
As many as 14 postseason teams from last season highlight the 2006-07 schedule. The Wildcats could have four nationally televised regular-season games, beginning with the Big Ten/ACC Challenge Nov. 28 against Miami (Fla.) on ESPN2.
The season tips off when the Wildcats welcome Cornell at 8:30 p.m. Friday night Nov. 10 as part of a doubleheader with the women who face Valparaiso at 6 p.m. at Welsh-Ryan Arena. After a Nov. 14 showdown with cross-town rival DePaul at home, Northwestern heads west to face Stanford out of the Pac-10 on Friday, Nov. 17 in Palo Alto, Calif.
The Wildcats then return home for five straight home games, including a match-up with former Wildcat assistant coach Craig Robinson and the Brown Bears Nov. 21. The Wildcats then pack their bags one last time before Big Ten play to take part in the 2006 San Juan Shootout in San Juan, Puerto Rico Dec. 19-21. Northwestern will face Tennessee Tech at 11 a.m. CT on the 19th and either Vanderbilt or UPR-Mayaguez on the 20th. The other four schools participating are Utah, Central Florida, Virginia and Appalachian State.
Two more home contests in December with Loyola (Md.) Dec. 27 and Northwestern State on New Year's Eve round out the early nonconference schedule. The 'Cats will face one more nonconference foe in Texas Pan-American on Feb. 21. Big Ten play begins at Penn State Jan. 3 which will be televised nationally on ESPNU. The first home Big Ten contest is against Michigan on Jan. 6.
Northwestern will play every Big Ten opponent twice this season with the exception of home games only with Michigan and Indiana and road contests at Michigan State and Iowa. This year's home game with Illinois on Feb. 7 also will be televised nationally on ESPN2.
The season culminates with the 2007 Big Ten Tournament, which will be held at the United Center in Chicago, March 8-11. The tournament then shifts back to Indianapolis from 2008 through 2012.
