Northwestern University Athletics
Illinois Primer
2/28/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
By Skip Myslenski
NUsports.com Special Contributor
A potpourri as the `Cats head to Champaign for their Saturday rematch with Illinois.
POINT Bryant McIntosh is the `Cats new freshman single-season record holder for assists (131 and counting) and this should be no surprise. "I think it's a lot of anticipation," he explains. "I always loved the Larry Bird quote about just seeing the next step ahead, the next play, and just being one step ahead of the opponent. I just love that quote. So growing up in Indiana (as he did), you learn how to anticipate reactions in the game of basketball. That comes from playing. It comes from just basketball IQ and studying the game. It's a beautiful game when you understand how to play it."
"He just has a feel," agrees his coach, Chris Collins. "I think you see it with the really good guards. They see a play ahead of the game. He's been well-drilled, well-coached as a kid. But he also has that innate vision and feel for where guys are. Certain guys just have that sense with passing. And he likes to pass. That's another thing. Not a lot of guys love to get assists. A lot of guys like to score, including me. But he likes the pass. He's a floor general. He's a true point guard. He likes to get other guys involved."
THIS IS THE ERA of the highlight reel, which rarely features the pass, and so what the `Cats have here in McIntosh is an old-fashioned kind of guy. "Nowadays," notes Collins, "the great point guards are more scoring point guards. Seth Curry (of the Warriors). Kyrie Irving (of the Cavs). Russell Westbrook (of the Thunder). The point guard position has evolved from the John Stocktons and the Magic Johnsons and those kind of guys. So to have a point guard that likes being a floor general and to run your team and to get guys open and deliver the ball, he's a throwback in that regard."
McINTOSH also reflects this observation of Bird, who once said, "It doesn't matter who scores the points. It's who can get the ball to the scorer." He proved that when asked if he would rather bury a three or deliver the pass that led to a slam dunk.
"I would absolutely rather make a good pass for a slam dunk," McIntosh replied with a smile. "That's the best thing, being able to help a teammate score."
NOT THAT McINTOSH ignores his three-point shot, which he was working on before the `Cats boarded a bus for their trip down south. Here he had one streak that reached 24 straight makes and others that topped 20, which was impressive. But they were all far below his personal record of 42, which he set one afternoon back in high school.
CURRENTLY STREAKING for the `Cats is Tre Demps, who over the last five games has averaged 17.2 points while shooting 55.4 percent overall and 46.1 percent on his threes. "I think early in the year, he wanted to play well so much, sometimes you can force it a little bit," Collins would say when asked about the guard's tear. "Now he's letting the game come to him. He's a lot more efficient. He's taking good shots. I think he's learning to trust his teammates more. When people do double him or take him off his spots, he's had games-- the MInnesota game he had seven assists.
"He's as proud about that as when he's scoring. What happens is, now when people are loading up on you and you're making the plays, they can't just say, `He's going to shoot it no matter what.' He's very confident, and the other thing he's been able to do is find a way to get some layups. The other night I think he had three or four layups (against Indiana.) When you see the ball go in, it puts a lot less pressure on your jump shot and shots off the dribble."
THE `CATS, of course, are on their own four-game winning streak, which followed a 10-game losing streak, which impelled Collins to initiate some changes. One result, McIntosh said Friday, is "We're a little bit looser in how we practice."
"I felt we needed to get some enthusiasm and some spirit," Collins would say when asked about that. "We were losing and everybody was a little bit down. I mean everyone, staff included. So we've been playing some music when we're doing our break-down drills and our shooting, trying to liven it up, get the spirit going. We're trying to be really positive with them, which we are most of the time. But especially positive cuz we'd been broken down.
"Guys had been broken down, they'd lost confidence. When you feel that as a coach, you know they've got to be built back up. At this time of year you can't practice as long, so you've got to come in, it's got to be upbeat, it's got to be fast moving. We're adding some music, trying to have fun, but still stay serious and compete. I think it's helped our guys."
BUT CASEY KASEM, Collins is not. "I like when they play some of the old school R&B," he said when asked who chooses the music. "But some of this new rap stuff, I don't understand some of it. So it's definitely the players, so you'll have to ask them what they've been playing."
CENTER Alex Olah's minutes have gone up since the `Cats switched to a zone, which is another move Collins made after their losing streak reached 10 with their loss to Michigan State. He played just 25 minutes that night against the Spartans, but since then has logged 37 against Iowa, 32 against Minnesota, 31 against Penn State and 35 against Indiana. "He's a quarterback and he doesn't have to come outside the paint. I think that's big for him," noted McIntosh. "He doesn't have to worry about guarding quick guards on ball screens. I think that's what paid off the most."
Collins himself has recently echoed that sentiment, and Wednesday added another benefit he felt his team reaped from the switch. "So many coaches run so many good things, you're preparing for 100 different sets (when you play man)," he explained. "Your preparation (in the zone) is more about philosophy and where the ball is, which I think has simplified it for our guys. For a young team, I think it's really helped."
ON THE ONE HAND, speaking of Illinois, Collins said, "They're really good with their energy at home. You watch them on film, they really feed off their crowd and have a little bit more pop, especially on the defensive end. And I know they're going to be really ready to play. This time of year, when you're playing teams, everybody feels a greater sense of urgency of things to play for. They're fighting for an NCAA berth. We're playing well. So I think it'll be two good teams competing at a high level."
BUT ON THE OTHER HAND, speaking of his `Cats, he said, "It's hard to play on the road, no question about it. But I don't think it intimidates our guys. Our guys have shown that they've been ready to play when we're on the road. If another team beats us, it's more about their play versus being at somebody else's venue. I feel good about our guys confidence on the road. They like playing in these different atmospheres."
AND FINALLY, Collins, on his team's recent successes: "To be able to enjoy a winning moment knowing that, for a couple hours time, our team got together and found a way to win, it's rejuvenated everyone and excited all of us. That's what we needed. We were tinkering on being done. I felt that after Michigan State. I knew we were on the edge of losing `em. Fortunately we got together, we switched some things up and we won that next game. Then you just noticed a whole different bounce to the step of the guys as they came to the gym. A lot of teams, they're wanting it (the season) to be over. The thing I'm excited about is our guys aren't. They're excited. They want to keep playing. It shows how far we've come."
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