Northwestern University Athletics
The Time is Now for Wildcat Basketball Teams
1/28/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 28, 2011
NUsports.com Special Contributor Skip Myslenski looks back on back-to-back trips to Minnesota for the men's and women's basketball teams while looking ahead to the men's game against top-ranked Ohio State on Saturday.
•"We're going through a tough stretch, but it's halfway through the Big Ten (schedule). Usually it separates and that's what's happened," 'Cat men's basketball coach Bill Carmody will say. "You've got some teams at the bottom and you've got some teams on top and you've got maybe two or three in the middle there. We've got to get to the point where we're in the middle and try to get to the top of the middle."
"The difference between a contender and a pretender is a real thin line," 'Cat women's basketball coach Joe McKeown will say. "It's easy to go into a comfort zone and revert to bad habits and we haven't been in this situation where we can say, 'OK. It's time to step up. We have a chance for the NCAA Tournament.' February can be a long month for a lot of teams. They give up. But that's the time others step up. We aspire to be one of those teams."
• Last Wednesday night, up in Minnesota, Carmody's team led the Golden Gophers by a point at halftime even though Michael Thompson, its point, had yet to make an outside shot. Its future looked bright. But then, in the second half, it struggled, wore down and eventually lost by 11. Now, on Saturday at Welsh-Ryan Arena and with February looming, it must take on undefeated and top-ranked Ohio State.
Twenty-four hours later, up in Minnesota, McKeown's team led the Golden Gophers by four at halftime as Amy Jaeschke, its indefatigable center, scored 15. Its future looked bright. But then, in the second half, it surrendered that lead, missed a late three that could have sent the game into overtime and eventually lost by five. Now, on Sunday at Welsh-Ryan Arena and with February looming, it must take on conference-leading (along with three others) Wisconsin.
• As we write, it is not yet certain if John Shurna will trot out on his damaged left ankle to face the Buckeyes. "I hope to play," he will say late Thursday afternoon, but he suffered a concussion against the Gophers and must get some doctor's permission before he can be certain.
What's the mood of the team right now, we wonder.
"I think we're trying to stay upbeat. Last game, we fought a little bit more. But our starts have kind of hurt us in a lot of these Big Ten games."
How does he account for those slow starts?
"I don't know. You can't really take one thing out of it. We're playing some great teams and defense is going to be the difference. I think we knew that from the start, that defense was going to be the difference in winning these Big Ten games. So that's something we're just going to have to continue to focus on."
This team had such high expectations entering the season and now, as February looms, it is at a crossroads. Is it hard for it to stay positive or does it still aspire to reach its goals?
"We're still taking it one game at a time and we're all staying positive and we're going to try and make it happen."
He said, last week, that he was often frustrated by his injured ankle. Has he gotten beyond that?
He chuckles. "Last night (when he got a cut chin that required six stitches as well as a concussion) didn't help much. But you just have to stay positive and battle through it. Injuries happen to everybody. The mindset you have going about it (when injured) can be the difference in things."
With all that's happened to him, does he ever go to bed and wonder, Why me?
He chuckles again. "No. No. I could ask that question and have a million positive reasons. The injuries are just a small part of that."
• Shurna, of course, has played on since suffering a high ankle sprain two days before Christmas. But his ability to drive, his ability to cut, his ability to jump, his ability to simply feel comfortable on stage-all of that has been compromised. This has been clear and out there in the open for all to see. But there has been this peripheral effect as well. "I think that (Shurna's injury) sort of effected us all because he was a major part of it," says Carmody. "Since he sprained his ankle, everything has to go right. The margin of error, which in the past has always been really slim, I didn't think it was as slim this year. But now it is again. You really have to play well to beat some of these teams."
• As we write, it is not certain how Beth Marshall is faring in her face-off with the flu. She is not only her team's choreographer from the point, she is also its outside complement to Jaeschke, but against the Gophs she was 0-of-six overall, 0-of-five on her threes and, says McKeown, "Sicker than a dog. We've got to get her back to the level she was at. Hopefully, by Sunday, she'll be better. She's a tough kid. She'll bounce back."
• For Carmody's team to bounce back and have any chance against the Buckeyes, it obviously needs Shurna available and performing at that incandescent level available to him as a special talent. But it also needs, he says, "Some kind of production out of our inside guys. Otherwise, its too much on the perimeter." That production, of course, would not only provide some easy points. It would also force Ohio State to pay attention to the post and loosen up the perimeter for easier shots.
• For McKeown's team to bounce back and snap its three-game losing streak against the Badgers, it obviously needs Marshall available and performing at that incandescent level available to her as a special talent. But also, he says, "It's important we start playing well. We have to start playing well again. . . We can beat anyone in this league, but we're not good enough to make mistakes and cover for them. We have to do everything right. We have to take care of the fundamentals."
• "They're not happy and that's good," Carmody finally says of his players.
• "I think right now we have younger players who are hungrier," McKeown finally says of his players. "We're 14-7. There's no reason to jump off the ship. And this league, it's crazy. You can lose three, four in a row, then win three or four and still be in the mix. I've got to get the guys to understand that...'OK. We laid an egg (in Minnesota). But let's take it out on our next team.' That's my biggest challenge. But, ah, neither Rome or Chicago was built in a day."
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