BREAKING: Northwestern basketball still sucks
i guess it's time to dust off the old blogging machine. it's been much too long since i wrote anything, but Saturday's home loss to Purdue certainly warrants some ranting here.
Purdue guards driving right past Sobo (and others). missed free throws plus at least one lane violation. offense that managed to be completely ineffective as well as downright ugly to watch. an extended scoreless stretch that is now seemingly featured in every NU game. an inability to stop the other team's best player in crunch time. even less ability to score in even crunchier time.
we've seen this all before. for TWELVE YEARS. i have to think BC has, finally, utterly, run his course. Juice Thompson can't save him this time.
both the Carmody bashers and Carmody defenders are at full throat this week. i am fully aware that BC is the most successful coach in school history. i cannot argue that there are obstacles to success with this program that go beyond the head coach. but it also can't be debated that he has fallen short. he's lasted through three athletic directors, somehow skating through as incrementally successful only when contrasted with the previous 100 dreadful years of Northwestern basketball.
but surely Jim Phillips has to see it. he has to recognize that it all comes down to talent. perhaps moreso in basketball than in college football, because one or two guys can make so much of a difference. to me, this is where BC has failed more than anywhere else. when i see so many minutes going to guys like Curletti, Marcotulio, and Hearn (his two big buckets on Saturday notwithstanding), i can't Expect Victory. it's not like we're competing against the Summit League.
it doesn't help that the two most talented players in the Carmody era were/are unequivocally soft. we all know that Kevin Coble quit the team on the eve of its potentially greatest season. and John Shurna hasn't shown me an overwhelming amount of heart this year. from where i sit, he appears to lack the desire to demand the ball and take over a game, the ability to convince his teammates to let him do so, or both.
the bottom line is that Northwestern's players haven't been good enough to win on talent. and the coaching hasn't been good enough to make up for that talent deficiency. i think twelve years is enough time to figure that out.
Purdue guards driving right past Sobo (and others). missed free throws plus at least one lane violation. offense that managed to be completely ineffective as well as downright ugly to watch. an extended scoreless stretch that is now seemingly featured in every NU game. an inability to stop the other team's best player in crunch time. even less ability to score in even crunchier time.
we've seen this all before. for TWELVE YEARS. i have to think BC has, finally, utterly, run his course. Juice Thompson can't save him this time.
both the Carmody bashers and Carmody defenders are at full throat this week. i am fully aware that BC is the most successful coach in school history. i cannot argue that there are obstacles to success with this program that go beyond the head coach. but it also can't be debated that he has fallen short. he's lasted through three athletic directors, somehow skating through as incrementally successful only when contrasted with the previous 100 dreadful years of Northwestern basketball.
but surely Jim Phillips has to see it. he has to recognize that it all comes down to talent. perhaps moreso in basketball than in college football, because one or two guys can make so much of a difference. to me, this is where BC has failed more than anywhere else. when i see so many minutes going to guys like Curletti, Marcotulio, and Hearn (his two big buckets on Saturday notwithstanding), i can't Expect Victory. it's not like we're competing against the Summit League.
it doesn't help that the two most talented players in the Carmody era were/are unequivocally soft. we all know that Kevin Coble quit the team on the eve of its potentially greatest season. and John Shurna hasn't shown me an overwhelming amount of heart this year. from where i sit, he appears to lack the desire to demand the ball and take over a game, the ability to convince his teammates to let him do so, or both.
the bottom line is that Northwestern's players haven't been good enough to win on talent. and the coaching hasn't been good enough to make up for that talent deficiency. i think twelve years is enough time to figure that out.
posted by Fire Bill Carmody at
8:58 PM
2 Comments
