Northwestern University Athletics
The Skip Report: MVSU In Review
11/12/2016 9:24:00 AM | Men's Basketball
By Skip Myslenski
NUsports.com Special Contributor
FIRST LOOK. . .
THE 'CATS opened their new season, their fourth under Chris Collins, by doing what a heavily-favored team should do. They overwhelmed an overmatched foe, beating Mississippi Valley State by 31 Friday night at Welsh-Ryan. "The first game of the season is very difficult from an emotional standpoint," Collins said later. "These guys have been working all summer, all fall, waiting for this night, waiting for the first game. And there's nerves. These are college kids. There's nerves from the coaches. So for us to come out and play the way we did early, I was very impressed. I thought our energy was good. I didn't think we played tight. I didn't think we played nervous. I thought we played to attack."
Vic Law, who sat out last season after shoulder surgery, did have nerves a week earlier in the 'Cats exhibition against Illinois Springfield. But here, in the game's fourth minute, he made a steal and a dunk, and with that he was off, ending the night with a team-high 18 points while going seven-of-10 overall and three-of-four on his threes. "I felt relieved. It energized me for the rest of the game," he would say of that early play.
"He was really nervous in our exhibition game," said Collins. "That's because he cares. It's not that he's nervous about what kind of player he is. He hadn't played in a year-and-a-half, or whatever it was. I was so glad we had that game to get that out of his system. We talked to him about just relaxing and playing. Don't put unnecessary pressure on yourself. Go out there and do what you can do. Play your game. Be aggressive. The thing I liked, I thought he played with a smile on his face. In the Springfield game, I didn't think he did that. I thought he was tense, he was tight, he was nervous. You're not going to play well if you have those types of emotions inside. Just to see him relax and having fun playing basketball— I knew he was going to play well after the first couple minutes when I saw a different type of guy out there than we saw last week."
LAST SEASON the 'Cats averaged a Big-Ten-worst 16.5 free throw attempts per game, and so it was no surprise that Collins had said one of their goals this season is to visit the line more often. They did that against MVSU, here getting 29 attempts. But Law went just one-of-seven on his and the team overall went just 19-of-29 (65.5 percent).
STILL. Four other 'Cats also finished in double figures and, more importantly, they had 21 assists on their 32 field goals. "We have to share the ball to be good. We're not really a one-on-one team," said Collins. "We have to be a function of cutting and movement and sharing the ball, making the extra pass. When we did those things, our offense looked great. When we got out of character, tried to do to much, that's when our turnovers came. (They finished with 13.) We're at our best when we're moving the ball, when we're cutting, screening, getting it side to side, getting guys shots. We have a real unselfish team, and it's going to be a big thing for us going forward as the level of competition ramps up. We're going to have to continue to do that."
Isiah Brown, the freshman guard, was one of those who joined Law in double figures, finishing with 11 points in just 18 minutes. He also exuded a bit of flash and flare. "If you score twenty-seven hundred points, or whatever he did in high school (2,372), you gotta have some confidence and some cockiness and some swagger," Collins said when that last fact was noted. "I love that. It's not in a bad way. He just believes he's really good. But you can get on him, he's coachable and it doesn't effect his play. He's always on to the next play. Certainly with a guy like him you're going to have to live with a few bad shots, a few mistakes. But he's the kind of guy who can change a game. He can come in and score 10 quick points."
THE OTHER double-figure scorers were wing Scottie Lindsey (17), forward Sanjay Lumpkin (11) and point Bryant McIntosh (11). McIntosh managed this despite a poor night shooting (one-of-six on threes). Lumpkin did it while also collecting eight rebounds and a pair of blocks. Lindsey, most revealingly, did it while manifesting a previously-unseen assurance and aggressiveness. "This year I'm going to be looking to score in the post and be a playmaker out of the post," he would explain.
Then later he mentioned a meeting he had with the coaches early last off-season. "They told me I had to be better," he said here. A better player, a better defensive player, a better teammate, leader. Spring and summer, that's what I worked on."
WHAT ELSE? Junior forward Gavin Skelly, who put in 21 minutes off the bench, was his old self and all over the place, ending with seven points and five rebounds and four blocks and three assists. "I view Gavin as a starter. Gavin's a big part of what we're doing," Collins said of him. Barret Benson, the 6-foot-10 freshman center, played just six minutes since Valley used an undersized lineup. And the sophomore forward Aaron Falzon, who is dealing with knee issues, played just 10 and missed his only shot of the night.
IN CONCLUSION, this from Collins: "We have a number of different ways we can go, and from night to night, it's going to be different guys. . . . I need 'em all to be ready. Our attitude as a team, we have to be selfless. Our guys have to accept that and know that it's all about what we're doing as a team."
NUsports.com Special Contributor
FIRST LOOK. . .
THE 'CATS opened their new season, their fourth under Chris Collins, by doing what a heavily-favored team should do. They overwhelmed an overmatched foe, beating Mississippi Valley State by 31 Friday night at Welsh-Ryan. "The first game of the season is very difficult from an emotional standpoint," Collins said later. "These guys have been working all summer, all fall, waiting for this night, waiting for the first game. And there's nerves. These are college kids. There's nerves from the coaches. So for us to come out and play the way we did early, I was very impressed. I thought our energy was good. I didn't think we played tight. I didn't think we played nervous. I thought we played to attack."
Vic Law, who sat out last season after shoulder surgery, did have nerves a week earlier in the 'Cats exhibition against Illinois Springfield. But here, in the game's fourth minute, he made a steal and a dunk, and with that he was off, ending the night with a team-high 18 points while going seven-of-10 overall and three-of-four on his threes. "I felt relieved. It energized me for the rest of the game," he would say of that early play.
"He was really nervous in our exhibition game," said Collins. "That's because he cares. It's not that he's nervous about what kind of player he is. He hadn't played in a year-and-a-half, or whatever it was. I was so glad we had that game to get that out of his system. We talked to him about just relaxing and playing. Don't put unnecessary pressure on yourself. Go out there and do what you can do. Play your game. Be aggressive. The thing I liked, I thought he played with a smile on his face. In the Springfield game, I didn't think he did that. I thought he was tense, he was tight, he was nervous. You're not going to play well if you have those types of emotions inside. Just to see him relax and having fun playing basketball— I knew he was going to play well after the first couple minutes when I saw a different type of guy out there than we saw last week."
LAST SEASON the 'Cats averaged a Big-Ten-worst 16.5 free throw attempts per game, and so it was no surprise that Collins had said one of their goals this season is to visit the line more often. They did that against MVSU, here getting 29 attempts. But Law went just one-of-seven on his and the team overall went just 19-of-29 (65.5 percent).
STILL. Four other 'Cats also finished in double figures and, more importantly, they had 21 assists on their 32 field goals. "We have to share the ball to be good. We're not really a one-on-one team," said Collins. "We have to be a function of cutting and movement and sharing the ball, making the extra pass. When we did those things, our offense looked great. When we got out of character, tried to do to much, that's when our turnovers came. (They finished with 13.) We're at our best when we're moving the ball, when we're cutting, screening, getting it side to side, getting guys shots. We have a real unselfish team, and it's going to be a big thing for us going forward as the level of competition ramps up. We're going to have to continue to do that."
Isiah Brown, the freshman guard, was one of those who joined Law in double figures, finishing with 11 points in just 18 minutes. He also exuded a bit of flash and flare. "If you score twenty-seven hundred points, or whatever he did in high school (2,372), you gotta have some confidence and some cockiness and some swagger," Collins said when that last fact was noted. "I love that. It's not in a bad way. He just believes he's really good. But you can get on him, he's coachable and it doesn't effect his play. He's always on to the next play. Certainly with a guy like him you're going to have to live with a few bad shots, a few mistakes. But he's the kind of guy who can change a game. He can come in and score 10 quick points."
THE OTHER double-figure scorers were wing Scottie Lindsey (17), forward Sanjay Lumpkin (11) and point Bryant McIntosh (11). McIntosh managed this despite a poor night shooting (one-of-six on threes). Lumpkin did it while also collecting eight rebounds and a pair of blocks. Lindsey, most revealingly, did it while manifesting a previously-unseen assurance and aggressiveness. "This year I'm going to be looking to score in the post and be a playmaker out of the post," he would explain.
Then later he mentioned a meeting he had with the coaches early last off-season. "They told me I had to be better," he said here. A better player, a better defensive player, a better teammate, leader. Spring and summer, that's what I worked on."
WHAT ELSE? Junior forward Gavin Skelly, who put in 21 minutes off the bench, was his old self and all over the place, ending with seven points and five rebounds and four blocks and three assists. "I view Gavin as a starter. Gavin's a big part of what we're doing," Collins said of him. Barret Benson, the 6-foot-10 freshman center, played just six minutes since Valley used an undersized lineup. And the sophomore forward Aaron Falzon, who is dealing with knee issues, played just 10 and missed his only shot of the night.
IN CONCLUSION, this from Collins: "We have a number of different ways we can go, and from night to night, it's going to be different guys. . . . I need 'em all to be ready. Our attitude as a team, we have to be selfless. Our guys have to accept that and know that it's all about what we're doing as a team."
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