Monday, November 14, 2011

One Down...

First game is in the bag: Cats 60, Broncs 36. And while it may have been nothing more than a glorified scrimmage in front of the few hundred or so people who decided to come out, that doesn't mean I can't have a bad case of premature evaluation. So here goes:

Northwestern certainly wasn't overly inspiring on the offensive end Sunday night, but considering injuries to returning players and inexperience among the freshmen this early in the season, fortunately, there were no major concerns either.

Despite playing at what seemed like less than full intensity at times, Shurna is clearly the team's star, playing at a different level than everyone else out there (and that's saying something with our weapons this year). While the Cats came out cold from deep, Shurna managed to knock down a couple threes to keep momentum rolling. More importantly, #24 showed off some great moves in the paint, cementing him as one of the best all around offensive players int he conferences. Future opponents: be afraid, be very afraid.

Whoa at Drew Crawford's new build. The guy's shed some serious weight and is now cut like a Greek god. This may only make sense to Cats fans, but he now looks like the players on the teams we face in conference - a sight Northwestern fans are most definitely not used to seeing in purple. Coming off of his ankle injury, it was tough to tell if there will be any significant change in Crawford's quickness, but I think we'll be pleasantly surprised. To be honest, it appears all of the Cats have spent some time in the gym this offseason. Obviously, this doesn't guarentee that we'll suddenly be pushing opposing players around like Purple Powerhouse that we are, errr, could be, but the strength certainly shouldn't hurt.

Scoring-wise, Crawford was fine on offense, going 3-7 from the field with one 3 and 11 points total. But, as I mentioned in the season preview, what we're looking for is agression, and boy did we see something that made our repeatedly-broken-and-stomped-on hearts flutter: seeing an open lane to the hoop, Crawford went all Superman on us with a leap-from-the-foul-line, in-your-face, bring-down-the-house, I-really-like-dashes dunk attempt, the likes of which Northwestern is almost always on the receiving end of on the next day's SportsCenter Top Ten. Unfortunately, in this case gravity was Superman's kryptonite, as he was soundly rejected by the front edge of the rim (one of 2 missed dunks by Northwestern, naturally), and nearly injured his shoulder in the process. Still, its that type of move to the hoop that could make Crawford a truly great player this year.

It was tough to get a read on Marcotullio, as he still seems to be bouncing back from his ankle injury. As he heals, I expect that he'll end up being the primary PG in Northwestern's set, with Sobo backing him with significant minutes. JerShonn Cobb sat out the game as he continues recovery from hip surgery, but may be available Thursday when the Cats tip-off in the Charleston Classic.

The play of the freshman, Sobo and Demps, was adequate for the opening game, but leaves me somewhat concerned in anticipation of our more difficult early season match-ups. Sobo seemed to have the better grasp of the offense, as well as solid ball-handling skills, but was not much of an offensive threat. As the level of competition increases, it will be important to see if he’s able to continue playing effectively as a PG under greater defensive pressure, as well as showing a better outside shot. However, I do feel really good about his longer term prospects, not only from a basketball perspective, but as a real spark with his feisty attitude. Demps will almost certainly also develop into a solid player, though his comfort with the Princeton system may be a longer time coming.

And now on to the centers… On the positive side, both Mirk and Curletti had a size advantage over Texas Pan-Am’s center and used it well on the offensive side of the ball. Mirk in particular showed off a few good post moves that I can’t recall seeing before, and was very effective inside the paint. He also showed a little more aggression in tracking down rebounds, though against stronger competition I’ m not confident that will necessarily continue. Defensively, Mirk had the stronger night by every possible definition. Now, much of this if probably due to the fact that in the first half Curletti came in and picked up two (2!!) fouls in 25 (25!!) seconds. That is to say, in the time it takes Dr. Pepper to tell you they’re having a Real. Good. Time, Curletti managed to come in, play, and get himself pulled. All joking aside, this could be a major problem moving forward, as Northwestern is only two deep at the center position. Its fair to expect that Mirk is going to be pulling huge minutes this season.

One big positive on offense was the play of walk-on Reggie Hearn. Hearn was all over the place on both ends. Offensively, he had the second highest scoring game of his career, while complementing that with a solid effort on the boards. As the primary starters work their way back from injury, Hearn’s minutes will no doubt take a hit, but he should be a solid option off the bench moving forward. Look for him to pick up 10-15 minutes a game, with a consistent 5-10 points and a couple boards.

Overall, we didn’t learn much based on the level of competition and the lingering effects of injuries to a number of players. We’ll certainly know a lot more by Thursday and Friday night, after the Cats get through the first couple of games of the Charleston Classic. The Princeton Offense offers an advantage in these types of tourneys as opponents have limited time to prepare, but if the Cats don’t come out rolling on offense, things could go off the tracks quickly. We’ll have the full recaps here. Till then, Go Cats!!

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