Kevin O'Neill

Trigatos

Redshirt
Aug 19, 2012
102
10
0
Think of what could (and would) be happening with Coach O'Neill captaining the pirate ship on the heels of a tournament season and with the new facilities on the horizon. We'd be the Duke of the North.

Really makes you think
 

YesterdaysCat

Junior
Dec 7, 2015
1,470
270
0
Think of what could (and would) be happening with Coach O'Neill captaining the pirate ship on the heels of a tournament season and with the new facilities on the horizon. We'd be the Duke of the North.

Really makes you think

Coach O'Neill has his defenders. Well, his lone defender, E Cat. He had a big recruiting blunder that gave us negative press. Then he recruited some guys with real potential and basically drove them away from the game or forced them to transfer. I think that he inherited Wink and drove him off, too. It was really a mess, so you're joking, right?

Oh, yeah. Duh.

But imagine if we had made the NCAA Tournament in Esch's senior year. That would have been a crapstorm after he graduated.
 
Aug 31, 2001
23,343
332
0
Wink was his first recruit but Sean was sort of a one trick pony.

He was our 2nd best player his frosh season (although walk-on footballer Napolian Harris could make that claim as well), and was very effective as a spot-up 3 shooter when teams double and tripled Esch. But without Esch, he couldn't get himself open enough to consistently be a threat. He had a rough soph season and then KO drove him off. I was pretty angry because Sean was a great guy off the court too.
 

EvanstonCat

Senior
May 29, 2001
50,759
762
73
Coach O'Neill has his defenders. Well, his lone defender, E Cat. He had a big recruiting blunder that gave us negative press. Then he recruited some guys with real potential and basically drove them away from the game or forced them to transfer. I think that he inherited Wink and drove him off, too. It was really a mess, so you're joking, right?

Oh, yeah. Duh.

But imagine if we had made the NCAA Tournament in Esch's senior year. That would have been a crapstorm after he graduated.

You're nuts. I almost got in a bar brawl with that drunkard. If I'm a defender of his, I don't know who his enemies are.
 

EvanstonCat

Senior
May 29, 2001
50,759
762
73
He was our 2nd best player his frosh season (although walk-on footballer Napolian Harris could make that claim as well), and was very effective as a spot-up 3 shooter when teams double and tripled Esch. But without Esch, he couldn't get himself open enough to consistently be a threat. He had a rough soph season and then KO drove him off. I was pretty angry because Sean was a great guy off the court too.

uh... when you say that the walk-on footballer could make he claim as well, well, I don't anything that says shortest midget more than that.

I sometimes imagine what we'd be like if Esch had surrounded himself with talent that we now have on this squad. We'd be B1G champs and we'd be a genuine pick for the Final Four and to win it all.
 

YesterdaysCat

Junior
Dec 7, 2015
1,470
270
0
But without Esch, he couldn't get himself open enough to consistently be a threat.

I don't see that as exclusively the player's fault. Wink had a great stroke and KON could have dialed up more set plays. It would be interesting to have Wink and some of KON's players on here and get their perspective about their time at NU. I think that KON bungled many games that we lost in Esch's senior year, just as Bill botched a few games in Shurna's last two years. I think all three of those could have been NCAA teams.
 

NUCat320

Senior
Dec 4, 2005
19,469
495
0
I don't see that as exclusively the player's fault. Wink had a great stroke and KON could have dialed up more set plays. It would be interesting to have Wink and some of KON's players on here and get their perspective about their time at NU. I think that KON bungled many games that we lost in Esch's senior year, just as Bill botched a few games in Shurna's last two years. I think all three of those could have been NCAA teams.
The opposition realized mid season that NU was truly a one-man team. It was Esch and a no-shoot senior two guard and three freshmen. Yeesh.

Esch routinely was doubled off the ball. It started with the Hoosier Daddy game, when IU played a 3-2 zone in the second half.

I don't think KON bungled games as much as his paper thin roster was exposed.