Northwestern University Athletics
Photo by: Colin B Photography
The Skip Report: Maryland Preview
2/15/2017 12:27:00 PM | Men's Basketball
By Skip Myslenski
Special Contributor
Nate Taphorn, the senior forward, flashes a grin that is at once wry, wise and whimsical. It arrives after he is asked if he ever thought, over the years, "Dang, is it ever going to happen here?"
"There's been multiple times I'm sure that not only me, but many people thought about that," he then says. "It wasn't just me."
But now that it has happened, now that the 'Cats are playing meaningful games in mid- February and hunting their program's first NCAA tourney bid— does that make all that he has been through worth it?
"Yeah," he says simply, that grin still in place.
Last Sunday, at No. 7 Wisconsin, Scottie Lindsey sat for the third straight game, and this time his place in the starting lineup was taken by the 6-foot-7 Taphorn, not the 6-foot-2 freshman guard Isiah Brown. "You guys know me. We had lost two games," Chris Collins said Tuesday, explaining that move. "Part of it was match-ups, too. Wisconsin has a really big team."
"I didn't really expect anything," Taphorn said when asked if he had expected that start. "But we've got one guy down, you have to have guys step up. I just happened to be the guy to step up."
He took just five shots and scored just six points in the affair, which is not a line that dazzles. But those points carried weight. They came on back-to-back threes that catalyzed a 16-0 Northwestern run that propelled them to the win they sorely needed after consecutive losses to Purdue and Illinois. "Everybody on the team said we have to play desperate," Taphorn said Tuesday, thinking back to that affair. "That's what we did."
"Sunday was a big step," Collins said of the win. "We had lost two games without Lindsey, and I think there's a tendency to lose some confidence — especially when you have two tough losses, especially the Illinois loss. It's a rivalry game. You're at home. You have the lead with three minutes to go. It took us a couple days to regroup from that one, to getting back on track to saying, 'You know what, guys. We have to stay the course. It's part of the season. We have to now go on the road and we have to find a way to win.' Obviously Wisconsin being the best team in our league, being a really tough place to play, it would always be a great win. But under the circumstances, with Scottie out, coming off of two losses, it was a really important game for us to get back on track and regain some of the confidence we've had most of the season."
Wednesday night at Welsh-Ryan the 'Cats play another important game, this time against No. 23 Maryland. Lindsey has been ruled out of this one as well, but on Tuesday Collins was not sure if Taphorn or Brown would start in his place. "We'll see how we go," is all he said, not worrying if that uncertainty would worry his senior.
Here is why he was not worried. "Nate has been great," Collins later said. "I love having him in our program. He's as good a guy as we have. He's a team guy. You see him. Whether he's playing or not, he's equally excited. He loves the successes of his teammates, and he's always been a guy who's been ready — whether he had the start like he did the other night at Wisconsin, or whether it's off the bench. He's had injuries of his own that he's had to deal with throughout his career. I'm happy for him. He's in a great place mentally. He just wants to win. He knows he's a senior. It's the last year for him. He has that senior-year urgency, he and Sanjay (Lumpkin), that we talk about a lot. You need the group to have that senior-year urgency. There are no other chances for those guys. I've been really proud of Nate this year. He's helped us win a lot of games, and I think he'll continue to help us down the stretch."
"I think so," Taphorn said when asked if that senior-year urgency is part of him now. "I've come to slowly realize, 'Hey, it's over.' Going to (Wisconsin's) Kohl Center, going to Michigan State, to Purdue, you realize you're not going back to any of those places again. It kind of sucks. It's kind of a bittersweet feeling. So you've got to make the most of it."
Way back when, way back before Collins was hired to guide the 'Cats, Nate Taphorn committed to them and to Bill Carmody. But after the change of regime his new coach visited, and they talked over dinner, and the recruit liked what he heard and chose to stick with the 'Cats and their untested rookie coach. "One of the better decisions I've made. I'm having fun with everything. I love it here. It's been fun," his senior version said Tuesday, thinking back.
"Anytime you come into a new situation there's got to be a group of guys that believe and buy in and kind of help you get off to the right start," said Collins, himself thinking back. "Drew Crawford was a big guy. Maybe the biggest thing that happened to me my first year is Drew Crawford deciding to stay (for a fifth year) and not being a grad transfer. I don't know if we would have won any games if we didn't have Drew year one. There's so many guys from day one who believed in what my staff and I were trying to do. There wasn't any hesitation in their belief. They stuck with us. It wasn't always easy. We had long losing streaks. We went through tough times. But Sanjay, Taphorn and this junior class (of Lindsey and Bryant McIntosh and Vic Law and Gavin Skelly), these guys have been here from the beginning. They've fought through things, and they've worked, and they've invested. Now I'm excited they have a chance to see this thing through and not be satisfied. That's what I like. We're not where we want to be. It's exciting to be in a position to get to where we want to be. But we're not there. We still have to finish the season off strong, and tomorrow is another big game for us."
Once again a grin is decorating the face of Nate Taphorn, but this one is broad and expansive and as bright as a car's high beams. It arrives after he is asked, "How much fun are you having?"
"I can't even explain it," he then says, that grin still in place. "Everyone's seen how the culture has changed around here. It's incredible. I can't even explain how much fun it is."
Special Contributor
Nate Taphorn, the senior forward, flashes a grin that is at once wry, wise and whimsical. It arrives after he is asked if he ever thought, over the years, "Dang, is it ever going to happen here?"
"There's been multiple times I'm sure that not only me, but many people thought about that," he then says. "It wasn't just me."
But now that it has happened, now that the 'Cats are playing meaningful games in mid- February and hunting their program's first NCAA tourney bid— does that make all that he has been through worth it?
"Yeah," he says simply, that grin still in place.
Last Sunday, at No. 7 Wisconsin, Scottie Lindsey sat for the third straight game, and this time his place in the starting lineup was taken by the 6-foot-7 Taphorn, not the 6-foot-2 freshman guard Isiah Brown. "You guys know me. We had lost two games," Chris Collins said Tuesday, explaining that move. "Part of it was match-ups, too. Wisconsin has a really big team."
"I didn't really expect anything," Taphorn said when asked if he had expected that start. "But we've got one guy down, you have to have guys step up. I just happened to be the guy to step up."
He took just five shots and scored just six points in the affair, which is not a line that dazzles. But those points carried weight. They came on back-to-back threes that catalyzed a 16-0 Northwestern run that propelled them to the win they sorely needed after consecutive losses to Purdue and Illinois. "Everybody on the team said we have to play desperate," Taphorn said Tuesday, thinking back to that affair. "That's what we did."
"Sunday was a big step," Collins said of the win. "We had lost two games without Lindsey, and I think there's a tendency to lose some confidence — especially when you have two tough losses, especially the Illinois loss. It's a rivalry game. You're at home. You have the lead with three minutes to go. It took us a couple days to regroup from that one, to getting back on track to saying, 'You know what, guys. We have to stay the course. It's part of the season. We have to now go on the road and we have to find a way to win.' Obviously Wisconsin being the best team in our league, being a really tough place to play, it would always be a great win. But under the circumstances, with Scottie out, coming off of two losses, it was a really important game for us to get back on track and regain some of the confidence we've had most of the season."
Wednesday night at Welsh-Ryan the 'Cats play another important game, this time against No. 23 Maryland. Lindsey has been ruled out of this one as well, but on Tuesday Collins was not sure if Taphorn or Brown would start in his place. "We'll see how we go," is all he said, not worrying if that uncertainty would worry his senior.
Here is why he was not worried. "Nate has been great," Collins later said. "I love having him in our program. He's as good a guy as we have. He's a team guy. You see him. Whether he's playing or not, he's equally excited. He loves the successes of his teammates, and he's always been a guy who's been ready — whether he had the start like he did the other night at Wisconsin, or whether it's off the bench. He's had injuries of his own that he's had to deal with throughout his career. I'm happy for him. He's in a great place mentally. He just wants to win. He knows he's a senior. It's the last year for him. He has that senior-year urgency, he and Sanjay (Lumpkin), that we talk about a lot. You need the group to have that senior-year urgency. There are no other chances for those guys. I've been really proud of Nate this year. He's helped us win a lot of games, and I think he'll continue to help us down the stretch."
"I think so," Taphorn said when asked if that senior-year urgency is part of him now. "I've come to slowly realize, 'Hey, it's over.' Going to (Wisconsin's) Kohl Center, going to Michigan State, to Purdue, you realize you're not going back to any of those places again. It kind of sucks. It's kind of a bittersweet feeling. So you've got to make the most of it."
Way back when, way back before Collins was hired to guide the 'Cats, Nate Taphorn committed to them and to Bill Carmody. But after the change of regime his new coach visited, and they talked over dinner, and the recruit liked what he heard and chose to stick with the 'Cats and their untested rookie coach. "One of the better decisions I've made. I'm having fun with everything. I love it here. It's been fun," his senior version said Tuesday, thinking back.
"Anytime you come into a new situation there's got to be a group of guys that believe and buy in and kind of help you get off to the right start," said Collins, himself thinking back. "Drew Crawford was a big guy. Maybe the biggest thing that happened to me my first year is Drew Crawford deciding to stay (for a fifth year) and not being a grad transfer. I don't know if we would have won any games if we didn't have Drew year one. There's so many guys from day one who believed in what my staff and I were trying to do. There wasn't any hesitation in their belief. They stuck with us. It wasn't always easy. We had long losing streaks. We went through tough times. But Sanjay, Taphorn and this junior class (of Lindsey and Bryant McIntosh and Vic Law and Gavin Skelly), these guys have been here from the beginning. They've fought through things, and they've worked, and they've invested. Now I'm excited they have a chance to see this thing through and not be satisfied. That's what I like. We're not where we want to be. It's exciting to be in a position to get to where we want to be. But we're not there. We still have to finish the season off strong, and tomorrow is another big game for us."
Once again a grin is decorating the face of Nate Taphorn, but this one is broad and expansive and as bright as a car's high beams. It arrives after he is asked, "How much fun are you having?"
"I can't even explain it," he then says, that grin still in place. "Everyone's seen how the culture has changed around here. It's incredible. I can't even explain how much fun it is."
••••••
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