Northwestern University Athletics
The Skip Report: Purdue Primer
3/4/2017 9:26:00 PM | Men's Basketball
By Skip Myslenski
NUsports.com Special Contributor
SPEAKING OF DREAMS AND OTHER MATTERS MORE CONCRETE AS THE 'CATS PREPARE TO CLOSE THEIR REGULAR SEASON SUNDAY AT WELSH-RYAN AGAINST BIG TEN CHAMP PURDUE. . .
CHRIS COLLINS has occasionally mentioned this season how, when he was first hired, he would close his eyes and imagine his team's playpen a roar. The first recruit to buy into that vision and sign on with the 'Cats was wing Vic Law, who Friday was asked if he had any similar dreams back then. His head was nodding even before that question was completed and then he reminded, "I think I said when I first committed that we were going to blow the roof off this place. I think we've definitely done that. A game like (Wednesday's last second-win over Michigan), that had been sold out for months, to win on a play like we did, I definitely think we blew the roof off this place."
THAT GAME will best be remembered for Nathan Taphorn's pass, and Dererk Pardon's layup, and the madness both produced, and the assumption that this was the victory that guaranteed the program its first invite to the NCAA tourney. But the star of the evening was Law, who controlled Wolverine star Derrick Walton Jr. while also filling the stat sheet with 18 points and five rebounds and three assists and a steal. "It was only fitting," Collins later said of that performance. "When we started this whole thing, he was the local guy that jumped on first and said, 'I want to be at the forefront of what we're going to build here.' So for him to play under this kind of pressure, on the biggest stage, in the biggest game any of our guys have played in, for him to lead the charge, I'm really proud of him."
"I think it was more fitting that I was in a slump, that I was struggling with my shot a little bit, and to play a team like Michigan who last year on March 10th beat us on a buzzer beater— that I was able to come out and play so well, it meant the world to me," Law said Friday when asked about his coach's observation. "Before the game I just told myself, 'This is going to be the game. This is the game we need to break through. This is the game where all the fun starts.' Before the game, I was just constantly talking to myself, motivating myself to really play. To play good in the biggest game in Northwestern history was important. To beat them the way we did means everything."
SINCE COLLINS had imagined Welsh-Ryan rocking, he was asked Friday if he had imagined how he would feel when he knew a 'Cat team would be going to the NCAA tourney. "It's a good question," he said. "Obviously, it's something you dream about. That's a big reason we all came. But I don't think it has fully sunk in. My main emotions will be when you officially see it. I've had a moment when, 'Man, I think we did it.' But until that thing (the invite) comes across (on Selection Sunday), that'll be moment. To me, it always takes you back to the beginning. Whenever you've done something good as a player, coach, I always go back to all that had gone on along the way to get to that point. That's why at times I got emotional in the press conference (after the Michigan game). I thought about the really tough times, and how we had to fight and figure things out. It's good. I try not to let myself go there yet because we still have some games left to play. But there's no question the other night there was an emotional feeling, especially seeing my family there."
DEFEAT AND DISAPPOINTMENT AND STRUGGLE AND HEARTACHE were part of their menu as the 'Cats transformed the shared vision of Law and Collins into reality. "Those first two years were brutal for me, especially last year just watching (after surgery to repair a torn labrum)," Law recalled Friday when asked just how hard the losing was. "When you have so much hope and faith in a team, and when within the team you have that hope and faith, and there's no evidence backing you, it's hard not seeing (success). But this year it's been so refreshing to see all our hard work paying off. That everything we've been hoping for and talking about has finally come to fruition."
"It's hard," Collins later said when asked if he could explain just how brutal it was at time. "I don't think you can explain it. Unless you're in it, unless you're going through it, I think it's hard. It's like anything. You can't really explain what you go through except to people who do your job. So the thing that's been really good for me is I have a lot of people that I really trust that are head coaches that I can lean on. They've really helped me. Really. We're the only ones that can fully understand the ups-and-down, and the struggle, and managing the good times and the bad times and all those things."
FOR THEIR ENCORE, said Collins, "The thing that's really important for us now, it (the Michigan game) wasn't the national championship game. It was a big game, a game we needed to win. We understood the importance of that game. Now we have another game on Sunday and I want them to be just as excited, just as determined for that game as they were on Wednesday night. To me, it's a high-level game. Purdue's a team that's going to be a high seed in the NCAA Tournament. They've won our conference. I think it's a great game for us to play. They're really good. They're really well-coached. I want our guys to approach it like it's a big- time game. Sunday afternoon. National TV. Senior Night. Last game in the building (before it's renovated). I think it's a great game for us to play. And not only play. Let's see where we're at. Can we match what they do?"
"You can't go into the next game thinking, 'It doesn't matter anymore,'" Law later echoed. "We're playing the Big Ten champions. And we owe them, obviously. They blew us out (by 21) earlier this year, and we should finish our season beating Purdue."
AND FINALLY, COLLINS, now that it appears as if his 'Cats are in the tourney: "There's been a lot of pressure on our guys now for about a month. I'm hoping now— I've seen signs the last two games of us playing a lot better basketball. I think we had our couple week lull, which every team in our league has had, where you're not playing as well, you're a little bit funky. I think we're getting back to playing pretty well, which to me is exciting. You want to peak and play well at the right time."
NUsports.com Special Contributor
SPEAKING OF DREAMS AND OTHER MATTERS MORE CONCRETE AS THE 'CATS PREPARE TO CLOSE THEIR REGULAR SEASON SUNDAY AT WELSH-RYAN AGAINST BIG TEN CHAMP PURDUE. . .
CHRIS COLLINS has occasionally mentioned this season how, when he was first hired, he would close his eyes and imagine his team's playpen a roar. The first recruit to buy into that vision and sign on with the 'Cats was wing Vic Law, who Friday was asked if he had any similar dreams back then. His head was nodding even before that question was completed and then he reminded, "I think I said when I first committed that we were going to blow the roof off this place. I think we've definitely done that. A game like (Wednesday's last second-win over Michigan), that had been sold out for months, to win on a play like we did, I definitely think we blew the roof off this place."
THAT GAME will best be remembered for Nathan Taphorn's pass, and Dererk Pardon's layup, and the madness both produced, and the assumption that this was the victory that guaranteed the program its first invite to the NCAA tourney. But the star of the evening was Law, who controlled Wolverine star Derrick Walton Jr. while also filling the stat sheet with 18 points and five rebounds and three assists and a steal. "It was only fitting," Collins later said of that performance. "When we started this whole thing, he was the local guy that jumped on first and said, 'I want to be at the forefront of what we're going to build here.' So for him to play under this kind of pressure, on the biggest stage, in the biggest game any of our guys have played in, for him to lead the charge, I'm really proud of him."
"I think it was more fitting that I was in a slump, that I was struggling with my shot a little bit, and to play a team like Michigan who last year on March 10th beat us on a buzzer beater— that I was able to come out and play so well, it meant the world to me," Law said Friday when asked about his coach's observation. "Before the game I just told myself, 'This is going to be the game. This is the game we need to break through. This is the game where all the fun starts.' Before the game, I was just constantly talking to myself, motivating myself to really play. To play good in the biggest game in Northwestern history was important. To beat them the way we did means everything."
SINCE COLLINS had imagined Welsh-Ryan rocking, he was asked Friday if he had imagined how he would feel when he knew a 'Cat team would be going to the NCAA tourney. "It's a good question," he said. "Obviously, it's something you dream about. That's a big reason we all came. But I don't think it has fully sunk in. My main emotions will be when you officially see it. I've had a moment when, 'Man, I think we did it.' But until that thing (the invite) comes across (on Selection Sunday), that'll be moment. To me, it always takes you back to the beginning. Whenever you've done something good as a player, coach, I always go back to all that had gone on along the way to get to that point. That's why at times I got emotional in the press conference (after the Michigan game). I thought about the really tough times, and how we had to fight and figure things out. It's good. I try not to let myself go there yet because we still have some games left to play. But there's no question the other night there was an emotional feeling, especially seeing my family there."
DEFEAT AND DISAPPOINTMENT AND STRUGGLE AND HEARTACHE were part of their menu as the 'Cats transformed the shared vision of Law and Collins into reality. "Those first two years were brutal for me, especially last year just watching (after surgery to repair a torn labrum)," Law recalled Friday when asked just how hard the losing was. "When you have so much hope and faith in a team, and when within the team you have that hope and faith, and there's no evidence backing you, it's hard not seeing (success). But this year it's been so refreshing to see all our hard work paying off. That everything we've been hoping for and talking about has finally come to fruition."
"It's hard," Collins later said when asked if he could explain just how brutal it was at time. "I don't think you can explain it. Unless you're in it, unless you're going through it, I think it's hard. It's like anything. You can't really explain what you go through except to people who do your job. So the thing that's been really good for me is I have a lot of people that I really trust that are head coaches that I can lean on. They've really helped me. Really. We're the only ones that can fully understand the ups-and-down, and the struggle, and managing the good times and the bad times and all those things."
FOR THEIR ENCORE, said Collins, "The thing that's really important for us now, it (the Michigan game) wasn't the national championship game. It was a big game, a game we needed to win. We understood the importance of that game. Now we have another game on Sunday and I want them to be just as excited, just as determined for that game as they were on Wednesday night. To me, it's a high-level game. Purdue's a team that's going to be a high seed in the NCAA Tournament. They've won our conference. I think it's a great game for us to play. They're really good. They're really well-coached. I want our guys to approach it like it's a big- time game. Sunday afternoon. National TV. Senior Night. Last game in the building (before it's renovated). I think it's a great game for us to play. And not only play. Let's see where we're at. Can we match what they do?"
"You can't go into the next game thinking, 'It doesn't matter anymore,'" Law later echoed. "We're playing the Big Ten champions. And we owe them, obviously. They blew us out (by 21) earlier this year, and we should finish our season beating Purdue."
AND FINALLY, COLLINS, now that it appears as if his 'Cats are in the tourney: "There's been a lot of pressure on our guys now for about a month. I'm hoping now— I've seen signs the last two games of us playing a lot better basketball. I think we had our couple week lull, which every team in our league has had, where you're not playing as well, you're a little bit funky. I think we're getting back to playing pretty well, which to me is exciting. You want to peak and play well at the right time."
••••••
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