For the
Northwestern Wildcats, a 6-10 record in the
conference is a successful season. T.J. Parker may have
underachieved last year, but his decision to leave Northwestern
will hurt Bill Carmody’s squad. Five returning players averaged
over 20 minutes per game, so this isn’t an inexperienced squad.
Who’s Out:
T.J. Parker, as a junior last year, averaged 9.7 points and 2.3
assists per contest. Returning players Mohamed Hachad and
inspirational former walk-on Michael Jenkins will get the first
shot at running the point in Parker’s absence. Forward Davor
Duvancic started 26 games, averaging 6.5 points, 4.4 rebounds
and a surprising team high 2.7 assists.
Who’s In:
Craig Moore is the only incoming freshman. The 6-4
Lawrenceville, NJ native is a tremendous outside shooter and
ball handler. Moore could see action at both guard spots.
Despite being the only true freshman, Moore isn’t the only
newcomer heading into the 2005-2006 campaign. Bernard Cote, a
transfer from Kentucky, will be eligible to play. He is big, has
a solid shooting range and can run the floor. The 6-8, 230 pound
forward was recruited out of high school by Northwestern. Two
years ago at Kentucky, Cote played in 27 games, averaging nearly
six minutes per outing. Shooting guard Sterling Williams
redshirted last year prior to his freshman season. He has good
size at 6-5, and should be able to battle with the tough wing
competition in the Big Ten. Williams will get a long look for a
starting job. The status of Gary Lee is still up in the air. The
small forward redshirted last year and is a solid shooter and
could see some minutes if he is able to play for the Wildcats in
2005-2006.
Who to Watch:
Vedran Vukusic was the only player to start
all 31 games for Northwestern last year, extending his starts
streak to 59. The 6-8, 245 pound forward is a versatile player
to say the least. He took six shots a game from behind the arc,
making 2.2 of them. Vukusic’s big body can bang underneath if he
needs to, but his versatility fits very well into Coach
Carmody’s Princeton offense. The Split, Croatia native led the
team with 16.8 points per game as a junior. He added 4.0
rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.0 steals per contest.
Projected Conference Rank:
If these guys can start shooting a little
better things would be much easier for Coach Carmody. For a
system that highly depends on the perimeter shot, the Wildcats
placed ninth in the conference in 3-point field goal percentage
last year. Once again the Wildcats think this is the year, and
once again a trip to the NIT is the obtainable goal. A 10th
place finish is worse than last year, but everybody else in the
conference should be better, except Penn State. Yet, it is
always fun to try and cheer the Wildcats on to their first ever NCAA
Tournament. The Cubs might win the World Series first.
Projected Post-season Tournament:
none
Projected Starting Five:
Mohamed Hachad, Senior, Guard, 8.6 points per game
Michael Jenkins, Senior, Guard, 4.5 points per game
Vedran Vukusic, Senior, Forward, 16.8 points per game
Bernard Cote, Junior, Forward, DNP last season
Michael Thompson, Senior, Center, 10.2 points per game
