As I watched several of my compatriots from the Herald march through the blistering cold en route to Gov. Doyle’s 2005 State of the State address, two realizations swept over me like frost on a windowpane: First and foremost, g’damn already, that’s far too miserable of a trek just to get bullshitted. Second, with all the pundit activity sure to follow Doyle’s address, why can’t bloviators of the sportswriter stripe receive such a gala midseason event?
Well, we should — for the readers’ sake as much as our own. After all, basketball fans often get so wrapped up in the affairs of their own team that the status of rival Big Ten squads tends to fade from focus. Then, all of the sudden, the conference tournament rolls around and scores of Badger fanatics find themselves scratching their heads before tip-off, asking, “Wait, is Northwestern any good?”
Well, when in doubt as to that specific question, the safest answer is always “no.” However, better to err on the side of safety, and to that end, I present the first of a series of columns slated to run over the course of the Big Ten schedule dubbed, the very unofficial, “State of the Conference.”
Alford naught
When the basketball season began, I made the prediction that Iowa would fall short of an NCAA Tournament berth on account of head coach Steve Alford’s inability to maintain a frontcourt. Well, it’s been 16 games and the Hawkeyes continue to hang in the rankings. However, the original assertion will not be retracted — it’s only a matter of time.
Through the Hawkeyes appear more tenacious on the glass this season they’re still giving up way too many second chances. For this reason, the hero of the squad hasn’t been standout guard Jeff Horner or explosive swingman Pierre Pierce but strong forward Greg Brunner, who’s averaging 8.1 rebounds on top of his 13.0 points per game. Neutralize Brunner as a bailout option in the post, and the Hawkeyes simply don’t have the defense to stay in the game — as Ohio State and Michigan discovered just weeks ago.
In the earlier part of the season, the Hawkeye’s non-conference opponents seemed caught unaware by the imbalance Pierce and Brunner can create in a defense. For example, it’s easy for a team to overcompensate on Pierce for fear of the junior igniting the baseline. As a result, Brunner often received some easy looks underneath.
Big Ten coaches, however, won’t be so quick to buy into Alford’s ruse.
Split connection
If there’s one thing I’ve learned from years of watching Bond movies, it’s to always be careful when dealing with folks from the old Soviet Bloc. You just never know if they’re going sell you out to some insurgent leader with nefarious designs. Last fall I had the opportunity to speak with Wildcat head coach Bill Carmody, who certainly seemed like a trusting soul, but that may be his undoing.
After mounting a marginally disappointing campaign in 2003-04, the Wildcats fell hard to open the season with a string of losses to four sub-par opponents. Carmody’s squad rebounded with a vengeance in December before collapsing again in January. Talent-wise, this team could be poised for an inconsequential NCAA tournament appearance, but that depends on forwards Vedran Vukusic and Davor Duvancic.
The pair — hailing from the Croatian city of Split — represents the hopes of the downtrodden Wildcat faithful. While Vukusic and Duvancic have combined for 24.4 points per game on the year, their productivity in other fields seems a little below potential. With rebounding in particular, the Wildcats need more from the Balkan ballers.
Right now, Northwestern sits dead last in the Big Ten in offensive rebounding with 29.2 per game — almost three boards fewer than the next lowest. Against Illinois, the Wildcats out-shot the Illini 56 to 47 percent, yet failed to come even close to claiming the upset due to a remarkable disparity on the weak-side glass. Vukusic and Duvancic (4.9 and 4.7 rebounds per game, respectively) need to step it up in the post if Northwestern is to stand a chance.
Humphries McWho?
There’s absolutely no question which player earned the honor of most dominating Big Ten freshman last year. Starting at forward in 28 of the Gophers’ 30 games last season, first-year phenom Kris Humphries led the conference in scoring (21.7 points per game) and rebounding (10.1 per game). Following the landmark campaign, Humphries opted to depart from the Twin Cities in favor of professional pastures.
Now, it would stand to reason the Gophers should be reeling from this loss — after all, one can’t argue with those numbers. Yet, it’s also hard to argue with Minnesota’s success this year. Boasting of an astonishing 12-4 record (considering the circumstances), the greenhorn Gophers continue to roll. Young stars such as guard Vincent Grier, center Jeff Hagen and point man Rico Tucker — players otherwise destined to sit in Humphries’ shadow — are enjoying breakout years in a system forced to develop new options.
Consider this: Last year, while Humphries scored on 221 shots from the field, he failed to score on the other 277. Do the math and it comes out to a shooting percentage of 44.4 — 5.2 percent less than the Gophers are averaging this season as a team. Minnesota might still be an outside shot for the NCAA tournament, but at least they’re multifaceted now.
What’s the Matta with Ohio State?
Not nearly as much as many people anticipated. Combine high-caliber players with the innovative system of head coach Thad Matta and the Buckeyes seem destined for bigger things … eventually. For the time being, however, Ohio State still has too many issues to constitute a serious threat in the Big Ten.
For starters, the Buckeyes are quite ghastly from the line, shooting just 61.7 percent on the year. Also, their defense tends to break down at critical moments — like, for example, early in the second half in their Jan. 11 loss to Wisconsin. Yet, considering the backcourt prowess of Ohio State stars Tony Stockman and Brandon Fuss Cheatham coupled with the powerful frontal presence of forward Terrence Dials, a Buckeye resurgence may lay in the near future.
Only one question begs answering: Thad, what’s the deal with dry-erase boards on the court? Very prep ball, Thad, very prep ball.
