First, it's fun to see our guys play to their potential, and see the pure joy on the sidelines. But here's one that caught me by surprise - One benefit to being a "bigger story" is that when non-BTN announcers talk about our team and call games, they actually pronounce our players names correctly, know their backstory, etc. I didn't realize how satisfying that would be until I noticed it!
Now vs. then...what are the most enjoyable differences?
- Thread starter Pete Purple
- Start date
I find it fun to be truly expecting victory. I enjoy watching us play great defense. I enjoy us watching us rebound. I enjoy us watching us be as athletic or more than the other team. I enjoy the fact that we no longer have to rely on a gimmick offense to stay competitive, and most importantly that we now can play basketball not just to aim to be competitive but to win. I enjoy the fact that we have a coach that knows the importance of recruiting and is able to draw enough B1G caliber players to fill a roster. I enjoy the anticipation and knowledge that we will make the Dance very soon.
Thank you Chris Collins for all that you do.
Great post by Evanston Cat. I want to add three more things that I enjoy from the creation of a winning culture at NU:
1. I enjoy debunking the myth that our arena prevents us from recruiting Big 10 caliber athletes. This myth will be debunked totally in a couple of years with the $100 million renovation of WRA;
2. I enjoy that having some academic standards makes it impossible to win in basketball as opposed to football which it has not prevented us from establishing a winning culture for 20 plus years; and
3. I enjoy the persistent aggressive recruiting efforts and evaluating players and finding players from winning high school players who will work and develop their games at NU. Kudos to the coaching staff!
1. I enjoy debunking the myth that our arena prevents us from recruiting Big 10 caliber athletes. This myth will be debunked totally in a couple of years with the $100 million renovation of WRA;
2. I enjoy that having some academic standards makes it impossible to win in basketball as opposed to football which it has not prevented us from establishing a winning culture for 20 plus years; and
3. I enjoy the persistent aggressive recruiting efforts and evaluating players and finding players from winning high school players who will work and develop their games at NU. Kudos to the coaching staff!
OK, if WRA is not a problem, why spend $110 M to completely redo it? Someone must think it is an issue or they would just put more lipstick on the pig.......
I'm not buying that playing in the worst major conference arena doesn't hurt recruiting.I guess we will find out in a few years after the renovation is complete and Collins signs a couple of classes.
Spending $100M to renovate an arena does not debunk the idea that it is a detriment to the program. Quite the opposite, in fact.
On the other hand, I was a strong supporter of the idea that our facilities and standards would always keep us from recruiting better athletes. While that may still be true in terms of recruiting top-tier athletes, it clearly hasn't stopped us from getting better players than we used to.
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I enjoy good basketball.
I enjoy the occasional great play.
I enjoy seeing Collins and the guys who invested in him succeed.
I enjoy seeing papa Collins in Purple.
I enjoy road wins before big crowds.
I enjoy doing to others what they did to us for so long.
I enjoy WR and its posters before and after a big win.
I enjoy my wife more after she yells "Go Cats"
I enjoy knowing our players do great things on and off the court.
I enjoy seeing the BIG standings.
I enjoy following the recruiting of future Cats.
There's more. But that's it for now.
GOUNUII
I enjoy the occasional great play.
I enjoy seeing Collins and the guys who invested in him succeed.
I enjoy seeing papa Collins in Purple.
I enjoy road wins before big crowds.
I enjoy doing to others what they did to us for so long.
I enjoy WR and its posters before and after a big win.
I enjoy my wife more after she yells "Go Cats"
I enjoy knowing our players do great things on and off the court.
I enjoy seeing the BIG standings.
I enjoy following the recruiting of future Cats.
There's more. But that's it for now.
GOUNUII
I just like when I watch the team I have confidence in them. They may not win every game, but they are right there in every one of them.
I like seeing more dunks. Not because I like dunks more than other stuff, just that it was never really a part of NU's games before now.
Winning on the boards is something relatively new. The offense flows much better, but if they still miss the shot, we don't have five guys already at the other end of the court and conceding the rebound.
As for announcers, it's not just that they pronounce names correctly (though that's nice), but every single ESPN/BTN game I've watched this year has the announcers saying good things about NU. And not just lip service either, but saying, "this is a legitimately good team". Even the few times NU has been close to the NCAA bubble, announcers generally didn't go there. We were more like a scrappy upstart pulling upsets or breaking through or whatever. This team has a lot of good players and plays well together, and people are starting to notice. This is the year.
I like seeing more dunks. Not because I like dunks more than other stuff, just that it was never really a part of NU's games before now.
Winning on the boards is something relatively new. The offense flows much better, but if they still miss the shot, we don't have five guys already at the other end of the court and conceding the rebound.
As for announcers, it's not just that they pronounce names correctly (though that's nice), but every single ESPN/BTN game I've watched this year has the announcers saying good things about NU. And not just lip service either, but saying, "this is a legitimately good team". Even the few times NU has been close to the NCAA bubble, announcers generally didn't go there. We were more like a scrappy upstart pulling upsets or breaking through or whatever. This team has a lot of good players and plays well together, and people are starting to notice. This is the year.
<My guys play really hard...I hope you guys see how hard they play every night...fan support was great...he dreamed of a night like tonight when he took the job... >
"My guys", not "the team". They do play really hard. CCC's vision.
Gotta hand it to JP for this hire. Can't imagine a better coach to lead us out of the gulag of college basketball.
Most exciting thing is they seem to be getting better.
All this with Rap and Falzon on IR for the year and Vassar holding a schollie hostage.
GO CATS!
"My guys", not "the team". They do play really hard. CCC's vision.
Gotta hand it to JP for this hire. Can't imagine a better coach to lead us out of the gulag of college basketball.
Most exciting thing is they seem to be getting better.
All this with Rap and Falzon on IR for the year and Vassar holding a schollie hostage.
GO CATS!
Oh I forgot one more. I enjoy the fact that MysticCat, DocCat, and all the others of their ilk are no where to be found on this board.
Excuse my repetition, but I need to emphasize three of the obvious beautiful things already mentioned about this team - defense, defense and defense. It's what winning teams do.
Otherwise, I love me some blocked shots.
I love the strength and toughness we're seeing on the boards and in the post.
I'm happy 20-point blowouts aren't a monthly thing.
In hindsight, it was nice to enjoy a pre-conference schedule where the Cats generally whupped up on teams it was suppose to beat with ease.
And how about the contribution of generally everybody? God knows there have been several times some of these guys could have up'd and quit. And kudos to the coaches. It's pretty obvious they have a few methods for keeping their "resources" motivated.
Now excuse me again while I return to reality. Still some tough games left. I'm hoping they can find that universally-accepted strong win. They need it.
Otherwise, I love me some blocked shots.
I love the strength and toughness we're seeing on the boards and in the post.
I'm happy 20-point blowouts aren't a monthly thing.
In hindsight, it was nice to enjoy a pre-conference schedule where the Cats generally whupped up on teams it was suppose to beat with ease.
And how about the contribution of generally everybody? God knows there have been several times some of these guys could have up'd and quit. And kudos to the coaches. It's pretty obvious they have a few methods for keeping their "resources" motivated.
Now excuse me again while I return to reality. Still some tough games left. I'm hoping they can find that universally-accepted strong win. They need it.
Can I quickly point out that we have accomplished NOTHING yet. We won 4 BigTen games over 4 teams likely to finish in the bottom half if not bottom third of the conference. I agree we look good, but I'm not ready for celebratory, looking back posts like this until we finish the damn job!!
I agree with this, and add another:
I enjoy watching our players develop and get better--watching the results of the coaching staff working with our players.
Part of me just appreciates the quality of the team play in our best stretches. That's the common thread here.
Another part of me feels like I'm watching my kids take their first steps or learning to pronounce their r's. I am willing to hope that we might become a real power after we first establish a winning tradition. Duke, Georgetown, Villanova, Marquette have all taken private school athletic resources, some of which are well below ours, to national championships. Butler made the finals twice recently. It is possible that Collins could get there after our credibility is better established. I guess there's a little Wrassler in me after all...
Another part of me feels like I'm watching my kids take their first steps or learning to pronounce their r's. I am willing to hope that we might become a real power after we first establish a winning tradition. Duke, Georgetown, Villanova, Marquette have all taken private school athletic resources, some of which are well below ours, to national championships. Butler made the finals twice recently. It is possible that Collins could get there after our credibility is better established. I guess there's a little Wrassler in me after all...
Gonzaga also has turned the corner in a big way. Someday I hope to see NU in that rarefied air.
No. You may not. There is no destination, only a continuous journey that sensible fans are currently enjoying, for the reasons we have shared. And that's exactly the mindset Collins wants from his players. Why not us?
GOUNUII
I have enjoyed this little celebration so I'm going to point out that the up beat comments from media are new regardless of premature celebration or future success. The scary part about this is that if they are right we have years of anger about them to be in denial about.