Once Barnhizer comes back this team will be fine. The preseason will be a growing experience for the freshmen who can clearly play at this level. Ty and Matt just need minutes to get going and Martinelli and Barnhizer will be a two headed monster. I can see us going 9 deep with Windham, Ciaravino, Hunger and Mullins being the 4 off the bench. I think we will be a tourney team as long as we remain healthy
Not discouraged
- Thread starter catcrazy
- Start date
I'm not really discouraged either. Disappointed, maybe, but not discouraged. I saw enough that I liked last night to feel good about this team, and Martinelli has shown he can put the team on his shoulders if need be so we don't have to rely 100% on Barnhizer, especially in the early going. Boo was such a luxury the last few years, and NU may lose a few games this season they wouldn't have lost last year, but this team can still be really good.
I just want to see more composure and hopefully with Barney back, he'll restore that confidence. Last night's turnovers were too many by any count, but it felt like many more because we struggled so much with their pressure, even when we didnt turn it over. I am concerned we will be pressed relenlessly until we show we can handle it.
While on paper, we have a lot of returning players, the reality at this point of the season is far from that. Our best returning player is out, so that alone changes the narrative dramatically. On top of that, Ty Berry is clearly not the Ty Berry pre-injury. The hope is that he gets healthier, stronger and more confident again as the season progresses. Matt Nicholson is who he is. He is not ever going to take that next step, so we must accept what he can do which is be a big body in the middle to get a few dunks and clog up the lane on defense. But he is not going to be a go-to guy. Martinelli is a pleasant surprise so far. I wasn't counting on him for 20+ points a night. The rest of the guys, including the two frosh, are still feeling their way out. I fully expect a few of those guys to be a lot better come February than they are right now.
While this loss to Dayton was a blown chance at a resume builder, I fully expected this team to struggle in the beginning of the year while everyone figures out their new roles. If anything, I'm more encouraged by the potential I see.
While this loss to Dayton was a blown chance at a resume builder, I fully expected this team to struggle in the beginning of the year while everyone figures out their new roles. If anything, I'm more encouraged by the potential I see.
Most Big Ten teams don't have that level of guard play. Dayton played 3 guards. Quick, small guards.
I can't claim to know all the rosters, but I know Purdue, Indiana, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Iowa have nothing like Dayton's quickness on the perimeter. Lets just guess that maybe 2 of our remaining opponents will have guards like that.
Nicholson's best value for the team is on the defensive end as a rim protector. It doesn't show up on the stat sheet as pure blocks, but look at when he redirects paint attacks or forces awkward kickouts. He's improved his hedge game, which bothers the defense from getting into its actions. He's only at 4.3 Fouls Committed/40 (I know, very small sample size), but that's closer to the 3.8 FC/40 in his breakout season of '23, rather than the 5.0 FC/40 in his up and down '24. And that's a good sign because that we don't want him forced off the court. If you want offense on the 5 - that's Luke's job, and optimally he's doing it against the opponent's bench 5. (This is shown in that he's taking 32.8 %Shots when his on-court - which I don't expect to stay at that super high level, but he will likely land at around 22-24.) On offense, Matt won't get plays run for him, but hopefully he can execute the handoff/rub screen to assist on layups, or find a similar connection like did with Boo on alley-oops. When it gets going, the Nicholson/Hunger platoon at the 5 will be a plus for the 'Cats.
Back to the original thread, overall I'm not mad at a Quad 1 loss. It's great that we can schedule these types of games in the non-con, and it's a useful benchmark - especially for the younger players to get a sense of what Tier A+B game intensity will be like. Speaking of also why I'm not discouraged - I like the early returns on our bench:
I know KJ has started, but once Brooks returns, I envision that this will be our bench. And, of course, Blake Smith will likely log some time (he's currently at 19 %Min, up from 11 %Min in '24), but at this point Mullins and 'Gelo have jumped him in the wing rotation. I'm looking forward to seeing how this looks after the next 4 home games - I expect more regression, but hopeful that they'll stay on the plus side of the ledger.
Back to the original thread, overall I'm not mad at a Quad 1 loss. It's great that we can schedule these types of games in the non-con, and it's a useful benchmark - especially for the younger players to get a sense of what Tier A+B game intensity will be like. Speaking of also why I'm not discouraged - I like the early returns on our bench:
| Player | %Min | Box Plus/Minus | Ranking among other B1G (minimum 40 %Min) |
| Angelo Ciaravino | 47.5 | 14.0 (!) | 14th |
| Justin Mullins | 57.0 | 4.6 | 65th |
| Luke Hunger | 42.6 | 4.5 | 70th |
| KJ Windham | 70.7 | 3.9 | 77th |
I know KJ has started, but once Brooks returns, I envision that this will be our bench. And, of course, Blake Smith will likely log some time (he's currently at 19 %Min, up from 11 %Min in '24), but at this point Mullins and 'Gelo have jumped him in the wing rotation. I'm looking forward to seeing how this looks after the next 4 home games - I expect more regression, but hopeful that they'll stay on the plus side of the ledger.
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I think I'm going to temper my expectations on Brooks return. Leach and the freshmen haven't practiced with him, let alone played with him, afaik, so even when he comes back they'll need some experience to adjust to the changes he brings to how the team works in a game.