It's Hard To Win A Basketball Game with Seven Players.
by Rodger Sherman on Jan 24, 2012 1:22 PM CST
in 2011-12 Northwestern Wildcats Basketball
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PrintI'll preface the most critical thing I'll write about the Northwestern basketball team in some time with a story from the Blomquist gym.
My fraternity has two white league intramural teams: the a-squad, the Fighting Chabraja's, named after alumnus and former CEO of General Dynamics, Nicholas Chabraja, and the b-squad, named Sigma Nu, after the abandoned fraternity next door. (Apologies to any former members of Sigma Nu for taking your name - also, any of you want your composites?) For two years, I have been the star and leading scorer of Sig Nu and have led us to a blistering 1-7 record. But this year came with hope; some of our freshmen can really play, and for the first time, we had a group of about ten guys who actually routinely play basketball.
Last week, we had our first game, against a bunch of kids from Plex whose roster was about half-female. We figured it would be an easy victory. However, on gameday, conflicts began springing up. About half our team had some sort of conflict or other, and with about an hour before tip-off, I found myself running up and down the stairs looking for available bodies, which turned into seven guys, one of whom was a chain-smoker hadn't shot a basketball in 11 months, one of whom hadn't eaten all day, and the last of which was, in his words, "too high to be good at basketball, but not high enough to think I'm playing well". The other four of us aren't great at basketball, but we figured we had a shot against a weak team.
We showed up, and instead of the bunch of girls and nerdy Plex residents, there were like 15 guys doing organized layup lines. They came out in a full-court press. It was clear that they only had one dude who could shoot and we stayed with them for five or six minutes. I felt good, putting in a layup of an offensive board and swatting some guy who tried putting a layup over me, leading me to to mutter at him not to drive against me again as he went to retrieve the ball from out of bounds. But as they subbed in new lines of players, we got tired and started turning the ball over repeatedly before crossing half-court. About a minute before halftime, the dude who hadn't eaten all day sprinted off the floor in the middle of a defensive possession to go throw up in the bathroom (they scored, we called timeout) and at halftime, the dude who was high followed suit. We switched into a 2-3 zone because it was clear their strategy was just to run around and they had a designed set with a center in the middle of the zone and guys flashing on the base line. In the second half, the dude who hadn't eaten all day started cramping up, they stopped pressing and brought in their worse players, we basically stopped running and just jacked up threes, and we ended up losing by about 20.
We wouldn't have won that game if we had 10 dudes: the other team was probably more talented and practiced together which we foolishly hadn't (and still haven't, but we have time to fix that). But without the majority of our team, we didn't have a shot.
Northwestern does not have a full Big Ten basketball team at its disposal right now. For two halves of their past two games, they were competitive, trailing by two at the half to Wisconsin and staying more or less in the same hole at the end of the blowout loss to Minnesota as they were at the beginning of the second half. For the other two, they were absolutely eviscerated on the road, looking stagnant and out of sorts offensively and lackadaisical on defense.
Right now, Northwester is mired in the middle of Big Ten play without a roster with the depth to win games. With JerShon Cobb and Tre Demps out with injuries, Nikola Cerina sitting out a mandatory year due to transfer rules, Michael Turner apparently not ready for college basketball, Northwestern has shown up to play quality Big Ten road venues with two all-conference scorers in John Shurna and Drew Crawford, a true freshman at point guard in Dave Sobolewski, a three-point specialist in Alex Marcotullio, a former walk-on in Reggie Hearn, two centers in Davide Curletti and Luka Mirkovic, one who has been passable and the other who has transformed into a defensive liability, and a scorer who hasn't cracked the rotation in four years in Nick Fruendt. A few injuries have turned what looked like a tourney team into one playing sophomore walk-on James Montgomery III in actual significant minutes as the team's eighth man in the first half against Wisconsin, and saw Fruendt - whose scoring ability has been touted, but who is apparently poor enough defensively to merit him not seeing any significant playing time through three years - used as the defense end of an offense-defense sub when Reggie Hearn saw foul trouble against Michigan State. This is not the best way to use the scholarship slots allotted. Northwestern is extraordinarily thin, and it's starting to kill them.
Some of you will certainly blame Bill Carmody for having a hodgepodge roster 12 years into his career. I'll posit that with the team at full strength, it can be quite good, and even with the team he has, NU has turned in some good performances, just not in the past two games with 7.5 guys. Some of you will say he's devoid of blame because of injuries. I'd say there's no reason your team should be thin enough that a couple of injuries - one of which, Demps' problem, was known before the year - should be this toxic.
It's unfortunate that there's been a spate of injuries; those are out of everybody's control. But a) those injuries were to two unproven entities in the first place and b) you shouldn't be in a scenario, like my IM team was, where the loss of a few role players sees your team fall into an abyss of exhaustion and - unlike my IM team - entirely dependent on the day-to-day whims of two players who both have to be clicking for your team to have a shot.
I have hope for Northwestern. This has been a murderous stretch of games, and before these two losses, things were pretty good - one expected win, one upset win, two heartbreaking losses against quality opponents that seemed indicative of an ability to perform at a high level - but things seem to be tumbling apart. Northwestern is blessed with a week-long break heading into its next game, a home date against a good Purdue squad. It's seven days to heal the bumps and bruises JerShon Cobb and Alex Marcotullio have been ailing from and get a little less tired, which, unlike my IM team, will leave them with a solid roster and hopes of competing. Some wins will wax off some of the scratches NU's chances of making the tournament have accumulated. The goal of dancing is still a thing, with well over half of the conference schedule, as well as the conference tourney, still on the horizon. People who are saying otherwise because of two bad outings are just as stupid as people calling it a done deal after beating, oh, I don't know, Mississippi Valley State. But it's going to take some herculean efforts from an unfortunately short-handed roster that won't get significantly deeper, even if everybody heals their wounds without suffering any more through the season's final third.
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Well said.
First off, love the IM bball story. But, next, well said, one or two injuries should not cripple this team to the level it has. This is 100% on Carmody, neither Cobb nor Marco are the star player (i.e. Shurna excuse last year), and regardless of which starter/sixth-man injury it is, the roster has SOOO many wasted scholarships (Fruendt, Turner, etc) that it is 100% on Carmody.
Everyone is excited for a good recruit, but we don’t ever recruit solid classes. This team’s biggest problem is not their lack of defensive acumen, but a lack of good players. Twelve years in, recruiting is still the #1 problem, guess what, it was the #1 problem then and it is now.
Cue them up, let’s start with facilities. Ugg, the cycle goes round and round. When will Carmody stop robbing NU and just resign…
by NU Alumni - Class of 2002 on Jan 24, 2012 1:29 PM CST reply actions
Sigh.
1.
Some of you will certainly blame Bill Carmody for having a hodgepodge roster 12 years into his career. I’ll posit that with the team at full strength, it can be quite good, and even with the team he has, NU has turned in some good performances, just not in the past two games with 7.5 guys.
I’ll just leave that there.
2. Fruendt was a higher rated recruit than Shurna, just for the record.
3. We agree that we need a solid class, but I think you oversimplify things by just assuming we can get one in here.
Cue them up, let’s start with facilities. Ugg, the cycle goes round and round.</blockquote
Exactly how I feel what you post bitching about Carmody/Fitz. You can’t be satisfied, we get it.
Are you satisfied with this?
It’s not that I CAN’T be satisfied, but 6-6 (3-5) and so far of 12-7 (2-5) is not satisfying to me. Yes. You are correct.
If you are satisfied w/Fitz’s resume to date and Carmody’s resume to date, then we will NEVER agree on anything, so I’ll just stop responding to you from now on, b/c we have different standards of success.
by NU Alumni - Class of 2002 on Jan 24, 2012 2:55 PM CST up reply actions
I'm waiting to find out if you are satisfied.
by NU Alumni - Class of 2002 on Jan 25, 2012 7:34 AM CST up reply actions
Me telling you I'm not satisfied
is supposed to bolster your argument or mean you’ve proved something, right? That’s definitely not true.
I agree with Loretta. This condescension is annoying and hardly befitting of someone who struggles with the logic of coin flips below.
I know you can’t be satisfied with Carmody. I’m waiting for this up-and-down season to be over, because I have this naive hope that I desperately want shattered at the end of the season. See wcgrad, Loretta, and Rodger for further commentary. I basically agree with everything they said (and rec’d it accordingly).
The Tourney isn't a hope...
… but not just because of the two most recent bad losses. If we want to get to the next level, we needed to finish that game against Michigan or Illinois, or done something against Creighton or Baylor (OK, I’ll give a little on Baylor, they’re just damn good).
The reality is that we’ve had seven quality games, eight if you want to include Seton Hall, and the only W we have to show for it is MSU (+ SH, if you want to go there). We weren’t injured for all of those games, so why would we magically assume that when we get our guys back, somehow we’re going to go on a tear? Why do we take one win, which probably represented the absolute peak of our capability, and assume that is the norm as opposed to the six examples where we were clearly lacking and a seventh where we were outplayed by what many considered to be a weak Minnesota squad?
This is not a good team, or better said a tournament quality team. I don’t say that to hate on the players or ruin anyone’s dreams for the season, but we’ve had our chances, we have been measured, and we’re hitting .143 in the games that mean something. That’s not going to change just because we get a few bodies back.
by GTom on Jan 24, 2012 3:33 PM CST reply actions 2 recs
i think youre overestimating how good a tournament quality team needs to be
NU’s played 9 games vs NCAA teams (or 8 if you dont want to count Minnesota, Seton Hall definitely counts) and they’re 2-7. three of the losses have been close, four have been blowouts. and of those 7 losses, five of them were road games.
if they close out the Illinois and Michigan games then NU is looking great for a tourney spot right now. they’d probably be in the 7 to 9 seed range in the mock brackets. they didn’t close out those games, and that’s on them. but its not like this team is miles away from contending. i think thats what makes it all the more frustrating.
we look back at 08-09 and the huge blown leads vs Illinois and Purdue and how close that team came, and I see the same thing with this team.
the season is far from over. however, it will pretty tough to recover if they can’t beat Purdue at home on Saturday though. win that (it’ll be about a 50/50 per the betting lines), and they’re right back in the conversation.
by Loretta8 on Jan 24, 2012 4:20 PM CST up reply actions 1 recs
God, this.
And I think that your conclusion about this Saturday’s game is spot on. If we win, we have the “Can we make it?” discussions all over again. If we lose, the sky continues to fall and everyone should be fired, etc.
But the season’s not over. And like Sec. 112 says, it’s been a crazy season, and we’re along for the ride.
The problem is that they didn't win those close games...
… and I don’t know what it is about those games that people think they can throw out and magically turn into W’s for the rest of the season. The ’Cats even out-performed relative to expectations against Michigan, and yet the team still came up short.
We’ve got 11 regular season games left, and at most five losses to give to make it to the tourney (probably only four). Four of those games are against Michigan, OSU, Illinois, and Indiana. Three are against Purdue and a Minnesota team that just beat us. Four are against Iowa, Nebraska, and PSU, but two of those are on the road. Even with an upset against the top tier, that means that the ‘Cats will need to go at least 5-2 against a Minnesota team that just beat us, Purdue, and two road games. That’s asking a lot from a program that hasn’t shown it can consistently beat the likes of Purdue or Minnesota (or Iowa or Nebraska, for that matter).
Excuse my repetition
Sorry Rodger, but this is becoming the excuse du jour – a lack of depth and injuries.
The Minnesota game STARTED on a 21-4 run. it didn’t happen late in the half. It didn’t happen late in the game with the Cats wearing down. Reggie Hearn was the only guy in that lineup that none of us would have expected major minutes during discussions in August or September. And he’s played better than Cobb and Marco have at any point in the last several years.
At Wisconsin, NU got killed at the beginning of the second half – once again, not late in the game. Three shots , three possessions and that game was done.
Stay in the game until ten minutes remain, then we can start chalking this up to a short bench.
Until then, it’s a pretty wacky conference so far this year. That’s what I’m holding onto. I hope the Cats can ride some wave of wackiness.
i'm not saying its an excuse
i’m just saying it’s an explanation. NU shouldn’t be in this scenario.
by Rodger Sherman on Jan 24, 2012 4:52 PM CST up reply actions 2 recs
FWIW
Every B1G team seems to have struggled on the road. We have only dropped 1 home game and not played any of the “weaker” opponents on the road yet. I can see this team winning all but one of the remaining home games, that means we need to find wins over teams like Iowa and PSU on the road. This scenario would be excellent performance, but we did manage to win 3 games in 3 days to start the season. We can ill afford the types of effort we’ve seen over the last 3 halves, however.
I’m vacillating between cynicism (blow it all up and start over!) and delusion (WE’RE GOIN’ TO THE ‘SHIP) almost on a game by game (sometimes half by half) basis. Yeah, outwardly I’m skeptical, but inwardly I want nothing more than to pick NU to win the tourney in my Bracket.
by wcgrad on Jan 24, 2012 5:51 PM CST via iPhone app reply actions 1 recs
Not beng eliminated in mid january is something to hang your hat on?
I agree that this season is not over, and there is a path to win 8 in conference. That + a bad bubble might get you in. But 2 things:
1 you could say that every year, and the same crap happens
2 this team is even thinner than ever
It’s a crime that we only dress 10 scholarships if no one is hurt. In fact, it’s ridiculous. Don’t let rooting for the team get in your way of fairly evaluating the program. A boot stringed roster in year 12 of a regime is a joke.
Root for this team, assume we are going to win all those gimme games that aren’t gimmes, and let’s hope for the best. But the state of this program is a joke, and that stuff doesn’t fix itself.
Don't worry,
I wrote this knowing that it would take a Herculean effort just to get to 8 conference wins. I said so after the MSU game too that it would take higher achievement than perhaps any past NU team over better competition than any previous NU team has faced.
I thought that Carmody’s seasons where he went 2-14/1-17 in conf were inexcusable and I don’t see a reason that NU can’t put together a solid basketball program. The historical excuses are just that, excuses. That said, I’m not going to root against the team just because of Carmody’s past failures.
After the season, if Phillips is going to make a change at the top, I hope that he knows whom he will hire. But I think this evaluation should be done after the season.
The Ship Be Sinking
And Bill Carmody is Francesco Schettino.
My dreams are dashed
I’ve shared with you all how desperately I was hoping for The Dance this year. I dreamed of taking my 90-year-old father-in-law, Class of ‘43, who literally has waited EIGHT DECADES for this, and my Class of ’12 daughter, who was as sure as I was that we’d get in this year, to wherever Selection Sunday might lead us. After the Michigan State game, I was actually beginning to check airline schedules to Dayton, which is where I and some of the bracketologists figured we’d end up. I was purple-pumped.
But no more. The moment of disillusion came about halfway through the second half of the Minnesota game. Twice in a row, Minny picked our pockets around midcourt and scored. On the second of those, Crawford and Hearn literally waved a hand at the Gopher thief as he drove by. Although there was still plenty of time to mount a comeback, albeit an unlikely one, our guys had given up.
Certainly, they were drained, in large part because of the short bench. But there was another expression on their faces, one not only of exasperation, but of defeat and of a total lack of confidence in their team and, I believe, in their coach. And why not? All they had seen from him from about 4 minutes into the first half was his typically sour, dejected expression, a look somewhere between disgust and disdain.
It’s time, Mr. Phillips. My 90-year-old father-in-law and I implore you.
More of the same
L8, you are better than going down the “If/should have/could have” route, every time you say “If” then the other team can say the same. Bottom line is Carmody’s record is what it is.
Yes, of course making the tournament doesn’t mean that NU has to be a good team, being eighth with a 8-10 record could qualify for a tournament doesn’t really mean that NU is a great or even good team. But, how does this team currently get to eight wins? It means beating EVERY bad team in the Big Ten and sneaking another upset. I watched the Purdue game and came away thinking NU can absolutely beat this team, especially at home.
But to everyone who says we are prematurely judging this team, no, that it incorrect, 19 games is a large sample size, and while the past eleven seasons are independent from this one, it is hard to seperate because we have all seen this program’s failures.
Sure, we can wait till the end of the season to have the full Fire/Keep Carmody discussion, but what if the team is 2-15, do I really need to wait for the final game to make a valued decision? No. My judgements are from what I’ve seen so far, and so far, NU has beaten one quality team, yes, Seton Hall is a solid team but isn’t and wasn’t ranked when we played them, so I don’t put as much stock into it. MSU is the only signature win, to date, and sure if NU wins the next three, we have a different discussion and all our opinions are subject to change, but as of now, I think Carmody should not return.
by NU Alumni - Class of 2002 on Jan 25, 2012 7:41 AM CST reply actions
condescension in the first sentencce
pretty much ensures im not going to read any more of this
by Loretta8 on Jan 25, 2012 7:53 AM CST up reply actions 1 recs
But, stop with the "If"
Sure, If NU did X, then Y. But, what about all the close games NU won, the other team could have said “If”. Just stick to factual results.
by NU Alumni - Class of 2002 on Jan 25, 2012 8:03 AM CST up reply actions
hypotheticals
are too much for you to wrap your mind around?
Come on man.
L8, don’t get all angry. I’m usually with you on things, but what good does looking bad to 08-09 and saying “If” NU had won some games, they would have made the tournament, how many teams could say the same thing? Bottom line, they weren’t even on the bubble then, so NU has never been THAT close to the tournament.
It’s not that hypotheticals are difficult for me to comprehend, it is that it is the #1 excuse of people when a team loses a close game. How many “ifs” could have been said this weekend during the AFC & NFC champ games? Tons, but bottom line, it is a black and white result.
Here’s a better question to you, you’ve said that you don’t think NU will make the tournament. I agree with you, but then why do you think Carmody should be brought back? 12 seasons, no tourneys, 4 NITs. What does that warrant an extension to you? If you say trending positive these past four years, wouldn’t you agree that this team has plateaued at 8-10/7-11?
by NU Alumni - Class of 2002 on Jan 25, 2012 8:22 AM CST up reply actions
Not to put words in L8's mouth but
I think he’s waiting until after the season to make a decision on Carmody.
It’s a little different to look at the ‘ifs’ after everything is in the past (e.g. AFC/NFC games) and ‘ifs’ when they’re still playing the game!
Why?
Why cannot someone evaluate Carmody during the season? I don’t have to wait till 30 games are played to tell me if NU is good or not. There have been times when I thought NU was playing well, 2 close losses coupled with a MSU win, there are times I think NU has played poorly, Creighton and this most recent two game stretch.
It is just a way to defer the Carmody talk to say, wait till the end of the year. We’ve had 11 seasons of data, not one or two.
by NU Alumni - Class of 2002 on Jan 25, 2012 10:36 AM CST up reply actions
yes
but this is about a season. a season that would teeter into drastic confusion if the head coach was removed. i’m not particularly optimistic about coach carmody right now, but, well, i’m reserving judgment.
by Rodger Sherman on Jan 25, 2012 5:02 PM CST up reply actions
Carmody is 60-131 in Big Ten games all-time
Why bother waiting for a few more?
Ignore this L8
NUCo2002 is willfully ignorant to the idea that close games are coin flips in reality, and that NU is closer to being a Tourney team (indeed, they still could make it and some projections STILL have NU in after the Minny loss) than they ever have been.
by Chadnudj on Jan 25, 2012 10:24 AM CST via Android app up reply actions
Coin flips?
If coin flips were the case, then it would be 50/50. NU really doesn’t seem to be 50/50 anywhere Chad.
What tourney projection still has NU in the tournament, please show me.
by NU Alumni - Class of 2002 on Jan 25, 2012 10:35 AM CST up reply actions
Also, since you decided to chime in.
What is your overly optimistic attitude towards this team?
- Is this a good team in your eyes?
- Will this team make the tournament?
- As of now, do you think Carmody warrants an extension?
I’m just curious how Mr. Optimism sees this season. We know you somehow gave Fitz a B- grade for a 6-6 season, so I’m curious how Carmody’s doing on your grade inflation scale.
by NU Alumni - Class of 2002 on Jan 25, 2012 10:40 AM CST up reply actions
thats not quite it
when i point out that fitz has been somewhat lucky in close games he agrees
however, when carmody has a bad record in close games, its carmody’s fault, not luck
Really?
Where did I say that? I’ve been on the record everywhere saying, “I don’t care about close game vs blowout record, I care about wins and losses.”
But, when we were discussing Fitz’s close game record, I wanted to see how it was against the spread (i.e. competition), so when Fitz wins a close game against a garbage opponent, that does not deserve praise.
Fitz’s and Carmody’s records are black and white results that have produced their postseason records. I don’t think Fitz’s record in close games is an issue of luck, I think it is one metric that shades positive for him, too bad no one cares when you follow it up with blowout losses. Cardiac Cats, except when NU loses by 25+!
by NU Alumni - Class of 2002 on Jan 25, 2012 12:53 PM CST up reply actions
But wait!
You can’t care if he follows it up with a blowout loss. You can ONLY care if he follows it up with a loss. You are officially on the record. From here on out, you are not allowed to mention margin of victory.
Deal.
A loss is a loss and a win is a win.
It’s Chad’s thing to loss close games and talk about being close.
by NU Alumni - Class of 2002 on Jan 25, 2012 3:14 PM CST up reply actions
And it's your thing
to respond in kind with something deprecating about “blowout losses”.
This is gonna make for a fun couple weeks til I forget about it.
Will it be fun for you b/c NU will be 7-11?
by NU Alumni - Class of 2002 on Jan 25, 2012 3:23 PM CST up reply actions
I do want Carmody gone.
So, I’d rather be super bad than 7-11 and wind up with another 3 year extension. So, if NU is not going to succeed, then yes, I want this administration/AD to be forced to change coaches.
But, to be honest, I don’t think it will enough come to that. I have more faith in Jim P than I did before, and I think if NU doesn’t make the tournament with a mature roster of three contributing seniors and three contributing juniors, then the future doesn’t look very bright.
Have a good day as well MNWildcat!
by NU Alumni - Class of 2002 on Jan 25, 2012 3:44 PM CST up reply actions
to be honest
I don’t believe close games are coin flips. See my post from a few weeks ago. Good teams will win slightly more, bad teams will win slightly less, teams without killer instinct will win fewer.
by Rodger Sherman on Jan 25, 2012 5:00 PM CST up reply actions
Here's one.
Jerry Palm has NU has a 10 seed at 2-5. Wow. What the NCAA tourney has become, 9 teams from one conference.
by NU Alumni - Class of 2002 on Jan 26, 2012 1:46 PM CST up reply actions
After ESPN saying we have "no chance at the tournament", now this
9. Northwestern
Offense: Getting their poor fans’ hopes up
Bottom 10 judgment: “That Was Just a Dream.” Oh, Northwestern fans. The Bottom 10 feels for you. One day, your team is torturing you with heartbreaking losses at Michigan and at home to Illinois. The next day, it offers you unbridled hope with an 81-74 home win over Michigan State. And then, a few days later, the bottom falls out. After Jan. 14’s big expectations-raising win over the Spartans, Northwestern went to Wisconsin and lost 77-57. Losing at Wisconsin is hardly a crime, even if the Badgers haven’t been as steady there this season as in most. But following it up with a 75-52 loss at Minnesota is. In the matter of three weeks, Northwestern has gone from brutal but somewhat hopeful to “Hey, this just might be the year!” to “Well, never mind that.” That elusive first NCAA tourney bid is still a faint possibility this season, but if the past week is any indication, Wildcats fans are going to be disappointed yet again.
“I got to believe in you/I got to believe it’s true/I got to believe/Say goodbye”
by NU Alumni - Class of 2002 on Jan 25, 2012 8:52 AM CST reply actions
Saw that, pretty brutal
However, Keep in mind all those ESPN commentators look only at the boxscore and are too busy watching other games because NU is just not that high on the list. (Yes I think NU should be higher on that list, every other B1G program would command more attention.) In addition, ESPN is prone to knee-jerk proclamations (and heck a lot of sports journalism) because it gets people to read their features. And because if they happen to be wrong no one will call Eamon Brennan on it a la:
You said NU wasn’t going to make the tourney but then they DID so there! You’re stupid!
So I’d trust the analysis of Rodger and L8 over any ESPN commentator. Aside: you referenced a Myron Medcalf comment about NU: I discount his opinion because he can’t even admit that the B1G is the best overall conference this year. I mean that’s like trying to argue that the Big East wasn’t the best overall conference last year. I’m pretty sure he just looked at the boxscore too.
The only issue I have with this assessment is:
Northwestern has gone from brutal but somewhat hopeful
Since when is 11-3 with losses to Baylor (home) Ohio State (road) and Creighton (road) brutal? Also and thats not counting neutral court wins over Seton Hall and LSU. Alas, perception is reality from the National Perspective.
On second thought, maybe its a good thing they only saw the boxscore of the Minnesota game…
Sure,
I would ABSOULTELY agree that most ESPN commentators aren’t tracking NU’s progress as much as everyone, but some of these guys are pure Big Ten bball bloggers and follow the Big Ten very well.
Plus, as much as we hate it, it does reflect the opinion of the largest sports outlets.
by NU Alumni - Class of 2002 on Jan 25, 2012 10:38 AM CST up reply actions
as noted above
i’m not particularly optimistic about nu right now, but the bottom 10 is a humor column.
by Rodger Sherman on Jan 25, 2012 5:03 PM CST up reply actions
Sigma Nu in the house
Yo Rodger, I am a former Sigma Nu man from back in the day (class of ’93) and if you seriously have composites from any of the years from 90-93 I would be all over them. I only keep in touch with 2 guys from the house but looking at those composites would be pretty hysterical.
Yeah, and playing hoops with 7 guys is hard but it doesn’t explain falling behind 21-4. I’m with Sec 112, let’s play out the season and see what happens. I’m pretty much resigned to no NCAA but maybe I will be pleasantly surprised.
i'll keep an eye out
we have a bunch of composites from the 80’s.
by Rodger Sherman on Jan 25, 2012 5:03 PM CST up reply actions
Not a Sigma Nu, though I knew a few
But if anyone ever sees any 80s DU composites floating around, I’d be all over those
i assume DU still has theirs.
i haven’t stepped up my breaking-and-entering game to non-abandoned houses.
by Rodger Sherman on Jan 26, 2012 2:34 PM CST up reply actions
11.5 Years is Enough
Coach Carmody’s conference record after 11 years is 58-126. This year he is 2-5. By any measure this is poor performance for over a decade.
Welcome aboard.
You’ll quickly get shot down with a) wait till end of season, b) Carmody’s is NU’s ‘best bball boach’, c) facilities are improving, d) recruiting is improving, e) the weather is too cold, f) academic restrictions are hardest in country (eventhough Stanford and Duke are better universities), g) girls aren’t hot enough, h) tradition is lacking, i) student size is smallest in Big Ten, j) alumni base is smallest in Big Ten, k) Welsh-Ryan is too far away, etc,
We should all be thankful that Bill Carmody is coaching at Northwestern with his $1 million plus salary.
by NU Alumni - Class of 2002 on Jan 26, 2012 10:39 AM CST up reply actions
I hope everybody reads this post
and remembers never to respond to NU Alum’s baiting in the future.
by Herman on Jan 26, 2012 10:42 AM CST up reply actions 1 recs
Indeed
And just because the internet makes it easy to be a condescending bully doesn’t mean people have to avail yourself of every single opportunity. I swear, I’ve read the exact same exchange 15 times in this post alone.
It’s been a while since I’ve commented around here and honestly, I think it’s time for me to take a break from even reading the comments here or at LTP. When every single discussion turns into a rehash of the exact same points people have been arguing about since at least June… well, that’s just no fun. Maybe some people enjoy it, but not me.
Have fun listening to yourselves talk in circles, everyone! I’ll be watching basketball the other room until lacrosse season starts.
by TDozer on Jan 26, 2012 11:05 AM CST up reply actions 3 recs
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