Coach Collins and Cats will be fine..

[hdhntr1]

So you mean it’s a ridiculous comparison that should never have been made in the first place? Glad we agree.

Absolutely a ridiculous comparison. I am saying that the program K took over was far more established than what CCC came into. Coach K walked into a program that had been a power long before Coach K got there. It had just had a run of three straight NCAA appearances including NCG and Elite 8 the year before he toke the reigns. CCC took over a program that had never been to the Dance. Programs were no where near in the same condition when CCC took over vs coach K.

 

[hdhntr1]

Do you remember who the second man to walk on the moon was?

Me either.

Getting to the second NCAA tournament isn't memorable.

Buzz Aldrin.

 

[hdhntr1]

Great post. Totally agree. Fitz called those types of playmakers "dudes." They remain elusive to NU in both sports, for a variety of reasons. But in basketball, they're vital to be a top-tier program.

Honestly the more I think about it, the more I'm losing faith in Collins being a top-notch recruiter. 2018 was supposed to be the banner class. Kopp looks OK but generally lost, Greer is similar, Nance got sick but was clearly very raw, and who knows about Young? Meanwhile, other offers like Bey, Horton-Tucker, Duke and others are already more productive at Villanova, Iowa State and Providence. Need some magic in the 2020 class.

Like a playmaker in FB they are better suited to making a faster impact and since we have always had problems getting them in both programs through multiple coaching staffs, have to think it being NU has a lot to do with that. Host of reasons. Likely academics not as important to this group, facilities up tillnow, Not a state school so their friends less likely to be able to get near. What is generally available is the Wing type player in BB and pretty good all around guys in FB

 

[willycat]

I think Al Gore claims he was the one...

Actually he didn't!

 

[haywood jahblowme]

I would take my chances having them look at wings of Nance, Kopp, Berhan, Gaines, Turner and maybe a healthy Falzon on that. There is plenty of talent to point to on the Wings. And while Turner and Falzon will not be here after next year, the rest will be and likely augmented with another pretty solid guy or two.

CCC is building a program and not just a team for a year. Have to look at the longer time period and he is learning about being a HC at NU and the unique challenges here on the job. While a better foundation has been established many of the issues that took down guys like Foster, Winter, Birdsong and others are still here

i don't think falzon should be included moving forward

 

[freewillie07]

i don't think falzon should be included moving forward

 

[Curdog7]

It's just a matter of seeing what we have with CCC over the next 2-3 years.

I still hope he can be here for decades and take us to many NCAA Tournaments. My expectations are the same for CCC that they were 2 years ago.


Given that we already knew this year and next would be lean, I don't see why there's been so much short-term overreaction to every immediate loss. Some of our fans had unrealistic expectations for a team that has talent and plays hard defense but struggles mightily on the offensive end.


CCC deserves at least 2 more years to turn it around; if we don't have results by 2021, then we'll have to re-evaluate his position here. Obviously, he has to keep the team playing hard and keep recruiting from falling off.

I don’t think expectations were unrealistic. I think most people were expecting a bubble team with NIT most likely outcome. This was reasonable given that NU’s 2 best players were talented seniors.

I think finishing last place in BIG was never even considered a possibility.

 

[NJCat]

I think finishing last place in BIG was never even considered a possibility.

No, but the "pundits" predicted a 13th place finish, which is much closer to reality than hard core NU fan's expectations.

 

[ColumbusCatFan1_rivals]

No, but the "pundits" predicted a 13th place finish, which is much closer to reality...

True, but it should be noted that a 13th place is in the ballpark of where the media slots Northwestern annually.

In 2016-17, the 'Cats were projected to finish in the bottom 4-5 of the conference with many citing the loss of Demps and Olah would prove problematic. The only real outlier to this trend was last preseason where NU was picked 4th(!!).

Based on the perceived talent level and past on court achievements of the seniors, a mid tier NIT seed was a reasonable preseason expectation for this squad, regardless of one's connection to the program.

As it currently stands, the 'Cats have underachieved, even after taking the Lathon/LG thing into consideration.