from matt shelton from wildcat report
1) How is Collins dealing with losing Nance et al?
1) Losing Nance to North Carolina, and sixth man Ryan Young to Duke, has definitely stung the program. Nance was the leading scorer on last year's team and was the crown jewel of Collins' recruiting efforts. However, on some level, the program and the fans were ready for his departure. He played four seasons at Northwestern and earned his degree, and it was assumed that he would declare for the draft and then get a spot on a G League roster or play overseas. There was a flicker of hope that he might come back when he withdrew from the draft, but after his four seasons for the Wildcats never even yielded a tourney berth, I don't think anyone faulted him for transferring to play for a team that had just played for a national title.
From a team perspective, it remains to be seen. This game is going to be a great indicator if Northwestern can replace Nance's scoring and shot creation. That void is going to need to be filled by more shots from Robbie Beran, Ty Berry and continued production from Boo Buie. Beran and Berry have delivered so far, but Georgetown will be their toughest test by far this season.
Another loss for the Wildcats has been Ryan Young. Young was far from having Nance's ability to create or defend, but he was a big body who could score and rebound. Northwestern is really thin at center this season, which is never a good thing in the Big Ten. Beran has been playing power forward, but he's more of a stretch four archetype and often played alongside Nance and Young. The two players that the Wildcats have gone to early at center have been Tydus Verhoeven, a 6-foot-9, 225-pound grad transfer from UTEP, and Matt Nicholson, a 7-foot 255-pound junior. Verhoeven hasn't been able to produce much offensively yet, and Nicholson has been plagued by foul trouble for much of his Wildcat career. With Young and Nance gone, the Wildcats are going to need Verhoeven and Nicholson to play well to stay in games.
2) At this juncture, where do you see NW standing in the Big Ten?
2) Frankly, not high. Northwestern finished 12th by record, 10th via the tournament, in the Big Ten last year. Any time a team finishes below the number of its own conference, that isn't a good sign. That team lost its leading scorer and rebounder when Nance transferred to UNC, and its second-leading rebounder when Young transferred to Duke. It's still very early, but it doesn't look like much has come up through the program to replace that production. Beran and Berry have played well early, but the Wildcats haven't faced an opponent like Georgetown yet. Even if Beran, Berry and Buie can deliver on replacing Nance's scoring, the defensive deficit at center is going to be hard to overcome this season. Unfortunately, I think the Wildcats are going to finish towards the bottom of the conference around 12-14 again.
3) Offensively do the Wildcats still deploy vestiges of the Princeton offense? How do they skin the cat scoring?
3) The vestiges of the Princeton offense are gone, and the scoring and shooting comes down to Northwestern's perimeter players. Verhoeven and Nicholson are averaging fewer than 10 shots combined per game, and scoring a combined 12.5 points so far. The Wildcats will rely on the shot creation of their guards, with Ty Berry getting most of his looks via catch-and-shoot opportunities. Beran relied on catch-and-shoot a lot last season, but has been more proactive off the dribble so far.
4) Defensively what do they do?
4) Defensively, the team identity is mostly man-to-man. They will use a swarming and physical defensive style early in the season; they even broke out a press last week against Northern Illinois. Later in the year, though, against larger, more athletic and physical opponents, the Wildcats will scale back the pressure to avoid fast breaks and blow-bys. However, they will be looking for any edge they can find with how undersized they can get if/when Nicholson picks up too many fouls, so it is possible that they will switch to zone if they think the opportunity is there.
5) Is Collins' job safe?
5) Collins is definitely on the hot seat. Northwestern athletic director Dr. Derrick Gragg released a statement after last season sharing in the disappointment of the fans and tasking Collins to make changes in the program. To many fans, it read as a one-year notice to Collins to get the program back on track and headed in the right direction or he would be fired. Collins' job security has already taken a toll on recruiting, and the Wildcats have struggled to replace stars and avoid transfers. If the Wildcats finish in the cellar of the Big Ten again this year, Collins' decade-long tenure at the helm could very well end.
6) Being a high academic institution, does NW admit athletes holistically - i.e. take into consideration other things besides grades/scores and does admissions preclude some guys from enrolling?
6) Northwestern definitely maintains an academic expectation for their athletes that is considerably higher than the NCAA standards, so their talent pool is significantly smaller than the Big Ten schools they are competing against. That said, the academic requirements are still lower than the NU student body as a whole and they do look at potential players holistically. Both the football and basketball coaching staffs know those restrictions when they hit the recruiting trail, and they work with players and commits to hit those academic requirements. Given that Pat Fitzgerald is in Year 17 for football and Collins is in Year 10, they both know the ropes, so it is extremely rare for a commit or player to be unable to attend based on their grades. They get things straightened out with admissions very early in the recruiting process.
t.co
