Wednesday’s loss to Minnesota marked the halfway point of the Big Ten season for Northwestern, and the ‘Cats are sitting at 3-6 in conference and still have yet to defeat a ranked team this year. As midterm season is upon us, it’s time to give the basketball team some midseason grades as well.
Guards: B-
Senior Michael “Juice” Thompson has been a constant for the Wildcats. Again, he is among the nation’s leaders in minutes per game, and his 13.9 points per game average is good for second on the team. He has led the team in 3-pointers taken and is hitting a solid 38 percent of them.
His backcourt partner, freshman JerShon Cobb has been anything but a constant. The freshman, Northwestern’s highest-rated basketball recruit ever, is averaging 7.7 points per game on inconsistent shooting. Cobb has looked nervous and overwhelmed at times this year, and although he has improved significantly in Big Ten play, he is still shooting only 41 percent from the field and 31 percent from beyond the arc. Still, Cobb’s 9.6 ppg average in league play is good for fifth among Big Ten freshmen.
While Cobb has been inconsistent so far, he could actually be the key to the rest of Northwestern’s season. He has shown the ability to create good, open shots for himself off the dribble, and may in fact be the most talented player on the team in this regard. He has the potential to score 20 points in any given game, which would make him a lethal fifth scorer if he could harness his shot. The ‘Cats are not especially deep this year, and Cobb heating up will be the key to taking down a ranked opponent and bolster NU’s NCAA Tournament résumé.
Forwards: B
This was one of the more difficult grades to hand out. As a huge John Shurna fan, I feel obliged to give him the benefit of the doubt about his ankle. I know that he has been wearing a walking boot when not playing. And yes, he is leading the team with 19 ppg and is fifth in the nation in three point percentage, shooting 52 percent from beyond the arc, all while attempting more threes than anyone else in the top ten. Yet I can’t shake the feeling that Shurna is racking up his points against the lesser opponents on the schedule, and shrinking somewhat in big games.
In the six games against ranked teams (including the second game at Michigan State), Shurna has averaged 10.7 ppg on 32 percent shooting, 22 percent from three. Yikes. Shurna did not make more than one three in any of those losses. While his badly sprained ankle undoubtedly affected his play, it also appears that Shurna is much less effective against goods teams who spotlight him. If Northwestern has any hope of making its first NCAA Tournament appearance, Shurna must put up numbers closer to his season averages, even against good teams.
Drew Crawford is third on the team in scoring, averaging 13 ppg. Along with Cobb, Crawford is the most able on the team to create his own shot. Additionally he is shooting a solid 37 percent from downtown and is the team’s best defender. He does have a tendency to get lost during games, and has yet to take over this year. As long as Shurna is still hobbled, Crawford is essentially alpha dog on the team and must play like it for Northwestern to win.
Center: B-
Luka Mirkovic is basically doing what is asked of him, but not much more. As the fifth scoring option most times he is on the floor, Mirkovic is putting up 8.8 ppg and, just as important, is grabbing six rebounds per contest. Mirkovic is not a great defender, but he holds his own as the only traditional big starting for the ‘Cats. Davide Curletti has been a serviceable backup center this year, averaging 4.2 points per game, and showing the ability to stretch defenses with his three-point shot.
Coaching: C-
Bill Carmody got a multi-year extension during the season, but his success will still be judged on whether he can get this team into the NCAA Tournament, as many had projected. The Wildcats have blown a couple of winnable games against ranked teams this year, and coaching is at least somewhat to blame.
In the first Michigan State loss, after a furious comeback to draw the ‘Cats within one, Carmody inexplicably did not put Luka Mirkovic and Davide Curletti on the floor at the same time while Kalin Lucas was shooting free throws. Lucas missed, NU couldn’t grab the must-have rebound with only one true big on the floor, and Durrell Summers got an easy putback to essentially ice the game.
Northwestern blew a three-point lead in the last 30 seconds of the second game against Michigan State, and laid an egg on national television against Illinois, our supposed “rival”. Of course, sports is one of those facets of life where redemption can come quickly, and if the ‘Cats make the tournament, you can be sure that Carmody’s grade will inflate to an ‘A’.
And I’ll be saying I knew it all along.