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Five thoughts on NU's Class of 2021

J

JournCat

Junior
Aug 4, 2009
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We beat good programs for all three prospects and I'm excited to see what they'll do in Evanston. After watching some unwatchable offense the last two years, I would have liked to see us get a point guard who we know can run an offense, even if he would have been limited on defense. We should treat point guard like quarterback -- one in every class if we can, except unlike in football, we can play two at the same time.
 
L

lou v

All-Conference
Staff member
Aug 27, 2004
17,540
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Fitzphile said:
"All 13 scholarship players on this year's roster are scheduled to come back for the following season."

One correction: NU has just 10 scholarship players in 2020-21, not 13.......
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Good catch. Thanks. I just changed it to "All of the scholarship players..."
 
N

NJCat

All-Conference
Mar 7, 2016
21,327
1,502
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JournCat said:
We should treat point guard like quarterback -- one in every class if we can, except unlike in football, we can play two at the same time.
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Not to beat a dead horse, but Lathan...........
 
M

Medill90

Junior
Jan 30, 2011
6,910
321
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A nice article, Lou.

I saw Simmons this weekend in Evanston and he struck me physically as a duplicate of Vic Law...maybe an inch shorter. Posture was like he just got out of the Navy.
 
F

freewillie07

Sophomore
Aug 22, 2017
5,240
100
48
Agree with everything you wrote.

No one should be disappointed in this class, even without PBJ or Christie. Really solid building blocks for the next several years. The 2021-22 team as projected looks to have a full roster of true Big Ten talent.

Remember, NU made the NCAA Tournament with a 9-man rotation that included freshmen Barret Benson and Isiah Brown, an offense-only guy in Taphorn, a defense-only guy in Lumpkin, and a mostly hustle/energy guy in Skelly.

They all will forever have a place in my heart, and their contributions were vital (THE PASS), but it was really BMac/Lindsey/Law/Pardon playing 30+ mins per game that propelled NU to The Dance.

NU has never had this kind of projected depth before.
 
L

lou v

All-Conference
Staff member
Aug 27, 2004
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Medill90 said:
A nice article, Lou.

I saw Simmons this weekend in Evanston and he struck me physically as a duplicate of Vic Law...maybe an inch shorter. Posture was like he just got out of the Navy.
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You must’ve seen someone that looked like Simmons. He had never visited NU and committed sight-unseen.
 
C

ColumbusCatFan1_rivals

Sophomore
Jun 18, 2005
4,040
135
0
JournCat said:
After watching some unwatchable offense the last two years, I would have liked to see us get a point guard who we know can run an offense, even if he would have been limited on defense. We should treat point guard like quarterback -- one in every class if we can, except unlike in football, we can play two at the same time.
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Barnhizer is that player. Collins views him as a lead guard.

From the Daily Northwestern:

"...Second, most recruiting analysts called him a small forward. “I’m more of a big point guard,” Barnhizer said.

One of the things Barnhizer loved most about Northwestern was that Collins agreed with him. Right when he gets to campus, Barnhizer expects the coaches to give him the ball and work with him on running the offense.

Northwestern’s coaches have always seen Barnhizer’s potential to play that role. When Barnhizer took an unofficial campus visit last summer, the coaches compared his game to Bryant McIntosh, who finished his Wildcats’ career with a school-record 700 assists and led Northwestern to the 2017 NCAA Tournament.

The big difference between them, though, is that McIntosh was listed at six-foot-three, and Barnhizer is at least three inches taller.

On Barnhizer’s unofficial visit to Northwestern, the coaches still pulled up clips from McIntosh’s career and told Barnhizer he could play a similar role in the offense..."

Reference: https://dailynorthwestern.com/2020/...o-be-northwesterns-point-guard-of-the-future/
 
M

Medill90

Junior
Jan 30, 2011
6,910
321
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lou v said:
You must’ve seen someone that looked like Simmons. He had never visited NU and committed sight-unseen.
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Certain I saw him Saturday. I was crossing Church just west of Whole Foods and two "dad-aged" men were walking with a tall young man. What caught my attention was the hair. Clearly looked to be an athlete and I thought to myself that it was someone visiting NU.

Sure, could be wrong. But the height, build, features and....HAIR.....
 
L

lou v

All-Conference
Staff member
Aug 27, 2004
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Medill90 said:
Certain I saw him Saturday. I was crossing Church just west of Whole Foods and two "dad-aged" men were walking with a tall young man. What caught my attention was the hair. Clearly looked to be an athlete and I thought to myself that it was someone visiting NU.

Sure, could be wrong. But the height, build, features and....HAIR.....
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I am 100% certain it wasn't him. I asked Casey specifically when I interviewed him this morning, and he told me that he has never set foot on NU's campus.
 
M

Medill90

Junior
Jan 30, 2011
6,910
321
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lou v said:
I am 100% certain it wasn't him. I asked Casey specifically when I interviewed him this morning, and he told me that he has never set foot on NU's campus.
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I accept your reporting. If I were Bill Barr, my reply would have been, "I didn't see him on NU's campus."

Thanks for the correction Lou.
 
7

7th Cir. Cat

Redshirt
Jul 25, 2006
2,171
9
23
Medill90 said:
I accept your reporting. If I were Bill Barr, my reply would have been, "I didn't see him on NU's campus."

Thanks for the correction Lou.
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I had to re-read this thread a few times until I finally got that you said you saw him at Whole Foods (i.e., not on campus). I gotta say, you would make an outstanding defense witness on the stand. I'm going to go ahead and assume you went through deposition training at some point.
 
K

Katatonic

Sophomore
Oct 23, 2004
86,854
134
0
CC, the staff, players and commits performed a minor miracle assembling this class.

CS and Roper rated 4* by 247 composite and BB possibly being the most underrated of the 3.

That being said, the rest of the conference has talented players and talented recruits coming in , so it's not like the program will have a talent advantage, but should be solidly somewhere in the middle.

The big difference is in the composition of the team.

For too long, the team only had 1 real ball handler (or even none) w/ too many forwards/wings who weren't able to drive to the basket against BIG competition and/or couldn't shoot from range (or anywhere) with any consistency.

This class and Berry adds a bunch of guys who can handle the ball (including a tall PG of the future) and take it to opponents.

As much as things should improve on O (just the versatility, alone, should improve things), just as important, should be able to field tough defenses once again (those awful collapses the past few seasons can be attributed to poor D just as much as the scoring droughts) by having 3-4 guys on the floor who can harass the other side).

If anything, may now have the opposite problem of not having enough size (tall forwards), but there's one recruit out there who could solve that (and more).

CC and staff were correct in getting the recruits to fill this class and not waiting for the hope of a PBJ and Christie package deal (which, if it didn't come to pass, would have put the team in a precarious position).

There's still some flexibility where CC and staff can add 1 more recruit and at this juncture, should be all in on PBJ who fills the greatest need (figure that the program has pulled offers on prospects like Brizzi and while getting players the caliber of Christie or Bates is tough to turn down, the program is filled with similar type/size players; albeit if Christie wants to commit, you probably have to take him, if don't have an indication from PBJ).
 
N

No Chores

Senior
Jul 2, 2006
6,708
495
83
7th Cir. Cat said:
I had to re-read this thread a few times until I finally got that you said you saw him at Whole Foods (i.e., not on campus). I gotta say, you would make an outstanding defense witness on the stand. I'm going to go ahead and assume you went through deposition training at some point.
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I would agree, having taken thousands of depositions over the years. The man is a natural defense witness, stating only facts and not volunteering anything else
 
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