Recruiting update and a huge WTF

Tavaras continues to go hard after local talent, as NU has made an offer to Mundelein's Ben Brust. while the Wildcats are a little late to the party with Brust, it's at least encouraging to see them in the mix.

now, more importantly...

imagine my shock and confusion when i saw that former walk-on Joe Kennedy is writing for The White House Blog. that's right, this guy. and it's not just some political commentary site; i'm talking about the actual White House website. you can check out the words from NU's "former baller" right here.

Another winnable ACC/Big Ten challenge game?

NU goes to NC State on December 1. assuming the Wolfpack doesn't land John Wall, there isn't any reason to think the Wildcats can't compete in that one. given the other matchups that night, expect NU to get bumped to ESPNU.

Sure, I'll pile on

LTP rightfully calls out BC for dropping the ball last night. events like this have little/nothing to do with recruiting, but they go a long way in earning a program some respect and acknowledgement. they also might help NU hoops (gasp!) sell some tickets. if Tavaras is smart, he was primarily working the room in an effort to line up his next coaching gig.

Things will be rough for the Wildcats next season

of course, things could change with injuries or early-entries to the draft, but at least one expert thinks that the Big Ten could be the toughest conference in the country next year. with Indiana bringing in a top-10 recruiting class, it looks like only Iowa could give NU a challenge for the conference basement.

I found him

this is him. this is the guy. the man who will lead Northwestern basketball to the Promised Land. forget for a minute that he was just hired as head coach by another school. NU isn't throwing out Carmody just after they made the NIT. but when BC's contract is not renewed after the 2009/2010 season, this is the coach who should make the leap from a great mid-major job to the Big Ten Conference.

his name? Shaka Smart. "hmmm," you're wondering, "i like the sound of 'Smart' but 'Shaka' doesn't sound like the kind of name that would fit in with the Northwestern administration." but wait, i can explain. a brief bio:

• 32 years old
• native of Madison, WI
• coached/recruited for five years in the midwest (Akron, Dayton)
• served as an assistant under Billy Donovan

and there's more:

• played basketball at Kenyon College, but only after deciding not to go to Harvard, Yale or Cornell. graduated magna cum laude. as a senior was North Coast Athletic Conference Scholar Athlete of the Year. was one of 20 student-athletes selected for the 1999 USA Today All-USA Academic team and received a NCAA postgraduate scholarship.

i dare you to read this article and tell me Shaka Smart wouldn't immediately energize an NU program badly in need of it.

"WREAK HAVOC ON OUR OPPONENTS' PSYCHE"

are you kidding me?!?! VCU even had Billy Donovan as part of yesterday's press conference! i'm calling on all NU boosters to put aside some money right now. we'll use it to take care of whatever trifling little buyout will be necessary to get this guy to Evanston in 12 months. mark it down - you heard it here first.

Northwestern's postseason continues

tonight Craig Moore will participate in the annual seniors-only College Three-Point Championship. i've listed the participants below along with how many 3PT field goals they made this season.

don't be scared off by John Grotberg; his numbers are inflated by the insane and quite awesome style of play that gets Grinnell over 100 ppg. McClinton and Woodfox strike me as players who shoot better within the flow of a game, and i'm thinking Ruoff will continue the struggles that plagued the end of his season.

Matt Lawrence was a late replacement for Kyle McAlarney, whose team will be playing in the NIT consolation game tonight. my pick is Jimmy Baron, but this should be an environment that Moore does well in. if Moore is the best of these eight shooters, let's hope he doesn't follow that up by losing to a girl.

154 - John Grotberg, Grinnell
135 - Erik Kangas, Oakland (because there always has to be a local player)
110 - Jimmy Baron, Rhode Island
105 - Craig Moore, Northwestern
101 - Jack McClinton, Miami

88 - Alex Ruoff, West Virginia
86 - Booker Woodfox, Creighton
82 - Matt Lawrence, Missouri


the dunk contest features a lot of no-name participants aside from Wesley Matthews and Jeremy Pargo, but my money is on UCF's Jermaine Taylor. and yes, i realize i'm one of only dozens who watches this event every year, but nothing will top the 2004 contest. Texas Tech's Andre Emmett was in it along with Bobby Carter from Western Illinois. after chatting for a while, the two (who had never previously met) realized they were cousins and cheered for each other the rest of the night with rambunctious yells of "Dat's my cuz!!" i can only imagine the course of conversation that led to that revelation.