I'd say he'd be in the discussion for #1 (admittedly not having seen much NU bball before the 90s). The 16-17 team is the most important team because they got the first tourney bid. But that team had 4 stars any of whom could take over a given night and a 5th guy in Lumpkin who was the emotional and spiritual leader of the team. Boo just led us to #2 in the big ten conference with a much less talented supporting cast and is both the emotional and spiritual leader and the best player. I think he's very much in the discussion of most important NU basketball player of all-time for the program. Without him who knows when our next tourney bid comes since we had lost all momentum from the last bid.
Is Boo the most important NU bball player of all-time?
- Thread starter torque-cat
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That team generally went as McIntosh went. He was good from the day he arrived on campus. Most of our big wins came when he played great, including our only tourney win. He’s the most important player (though certainly not the best). Up until earlier this year, most people on this board thought Boo was a bad player. I agree, though, that Boo has more on his shoulders. Pardon and Law were much more dynamic scorers than Berry and Nicholson.
Buie was NEVER a bad player from the second he stepped on campus. Anybody who thought he was plain bad had other issues with him.
He didn't suddenly develop into a smart player. He always had a decent court sense, and quite often was able to see the game far in advance of most players on the court.
Was he more selfish in the past? Maybe, but he didn't have some stunning cast around him. As we saw this year, the kid knows how to find the streaky player of the day.
Was his defense lacking? Definitely! Was his shot selection bad? I'd argue not worse than several of his teammates.
But he was always able to manage the tempo of a game. Any backcourt pressure was generally broken by him. And there is rarely any NU player I've seen in the final minutes of a tight game that I'd rather have shooting free throws.
It's a great question if he's the most important of all time. I have a hard time saying yes to that, but I can see the argument and I have a hard time coming up with a better answer.
Was he the most maligned player in NU history? No doubt in my mind. It took him to be part of the 1st team All-B10 discussion before people got off his back.
Now that I'm done speechifyin', let me offer one more option for most-important player ... Jitim Young. If he doesn't stay at NU, the transition from KO to Carmody is a bigger mess than it was. He brought a swagger, talent and toughness to both sides of the court that helped those early Carmody teams more consistently over a full four years. It's too bad those teams couldn't take better advantage of him and VV.
I'm not sure I buy my answer either, but I hope it's food for thought.
I'm not sure I buy my answer either, but I hope it's food for thought.
This is a great answer. Not to thread jack, but there's a whole list of guys who deserve credit for helping us get to where we're at right now, and a bunch of them are the ones who stayed when KO burned the program to the ground (his last team went 5-25 and lost three top players to transfer, right before he started handing out scholarship offers like Pez) - guys like Tavaras Hardy, Winston Blake, Aaron Jennings. Then the guys who came in later - guys like Vedran, Mo Hachad, Craig Moore, Johnny Shurna, Drew Crawford... even Kevin Coble. All of those guys chipped away at the historic failure that was Northwestern basketball. (And of course Billy C deserves a ton of credit for guiding us to being "solidly mediocre.")
To me, the most impressive thing is how he's progressed in-season. In Nov/Dec, he was still losing control. How many guys take the next step in the middle of their 4th season?
Buie had to change his approach. There was no offense through the post - Verhoeven was the center most of the time, then Nicholson. Buie struggled with that - bigs were coming off Nicholson to stop Buie in the paint. Then we got the lob going and figured out how to clear space and Buie hasn't looked back. (Thats my non-expert take).
I would suggest Law. THE guy that committed to NU to change the direction of the program. Buie has been great but erratic till this year.
Bill McKinney
I think he’s a crucial link to the past and the excellence he embodied as a player and a leader. His presence in today’s program endows us with a tradition. No one outside of NU knows McKinney but that’s not the point. He represents the ideal of a Wildcat student athlete: he came, endured, succeeded, and has remained committed to NU throughout. Fortunes rise and fall, but families endure.
I think he’s a crucial link to the past and the excellence he embodied as a player and a leader. His presence in today’s program endows us with a tradition. No one outside of NU knows McKinney but that’s not the point. He represents the ideal of a Wildcat student athlete: he came, endured, succeeded, and has remained committed to NU throughout. Fortunes rise and fall, but families endure.
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I'd consider this as well, but Boo is probably the right choice.
People didn't think Boo was *bad* - they were just frustrated by him. Costly turnovers, hero ball, etc., and the team was losing, so he wasn't seen as a great leader. But I don't think people were calling him "bad".
Oh hell!! How can I forget Law?!?! Yeah, that's my vote. His play on the floor on adds to his contribution. He was pretty vocal about helping get parts of that team.
And with McIntosh back on our sideline, I wonder if some of his influence has rubbed off on Boo.
There was not the portal then that there is now so the threat of him transferring was not the same. I could maybe say yes but there was that down time in the middle of the BC tenure that negates him being most valuable. THis is not due to him but to what happened after him. McIntosh would rank ahead of him as he also came back to help coach this group.
Based solely on his emotional on-court hugs after the Rutgers game, Buie formed a really strong bond with Chris Lowery.
But also big hugs for McIntosh and of course Talor Battle.
Brian James got the abbreviated version.
Did not see Buie with Collins, who was probably being interviewed.
Guys, guys... let's let the next 3+ weeks play out to help us in this decision. If NU wins even two games at the right time we're talking about piling on achievements that reach heights absolutely dizzying by NU standards. Boo's story is even done being written for the year yet!