In the "suddenly learned how to coach" camp </s>

[go cats go_rivals310290]

NUsports.com's preview for tonight's women's home game vs. Rutgers has a stat that jumped out at me:

Northwestern has controlled the ball excellently all season. Their assist-turnover ratio ranks first in the Big Ten and fourth in the nation at 1.50.

Wow! One of the things that has always turned me off to McKeown's teams has been all the turnovers. Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, this season's squad is masterful with the ball! And the 3 starting guards consist of 2 sophomores and 1 junior.

This team is special and so fun to watch. You have the conference's leader in steals and one of the league's best point guards in Burton... The nation's top three point shooter in Scheid... A high volume score and one of the conference's stars in Pulliam... Wolf is solid in the post and averages double figures as probably our 4th best player... And the rest of the cast, especially Wood, Hamilton, Shaw and Galernik, have all played key roles in big wins throughout the 22-3 (12-2) season!

These Wildcats play great defense, move the ball well, are versatile on offense, take care of the ball, make free throws, play with heart and execute in crunch time. I'm used a lacking in multiple of the above areas driving me crazy as a fan. But not this group. They are maximizing their talent, competing and finding ways to win. They're fun to root for. I hope that they get a great crowd tonight!

Game is at 7pm CT.

https://nusports.com/news/2020/2/18...n-hosts-rutgers-as-big-ten-race-heats-up.aspx

 

[Alan Smithee_rivals156293]

The high turnover volume also used to drive me nuts. If they didn't value the ball, I valued my time. This year is a totally different story, and they are definitely fun to watch.

 

[pawildcat_rivals209725]

I think it used to bother all of us that McKeown would bring in some highly touted recruits who seemingly couldn't handle the ball. I doubt he's changed his coaching style that much after all these years, so this group is either considerably more talented than past editions or simply more coachable.

 

[NJCat]

Kudos to Joe for getting national recognition:

https://publish.twitter.com/?query=...bball/status/1230189873627312145&widget=Tweet

 

[Username Not Available]

It’s been a few years since I watched WBB, but when I did it seemed pretty much every team had huge amounts of turnovers. The Cats were bad baller handlers, but not too bad compared to many peer teams. Or do it seemed to me.

 

[Smolmania]

When I was in school, back in the days of NAIA hoops for a while, Mary Di had great teams. A fraternity brother of mine worked in the SID's office, and had to sit at the table for women's games. They had huge fights over who was going to keep track of turnovers. . . Lots of fun traveling with those teams as part of the Wildcat Kazoo Marching Band, with Bill Jauss buying us beer in the hotel bar after the games.

Love Coach Joe. This year's success couldn't happen to a better guy.

 

[pschatz25]

For what it's worth, I think the entire coaching staff under McKeown has turned over the last few years. Looking at just the assistant coaches, two are in their second year and Popovec is in her third year. That may help explain the improvement.