Gregor: Things looking up for Wildcats basketball

Continued patience, please.

Even though Northwestern still carries the dubious distinction of being the only collegiate team from a "power" conference never to qualify for the NCAA Tournament, things are actually starting to look up in Evanston.

"The idea of making the tournament, that means you have one good team," said Wildcats coach Chris Collins. "We're trying to become a good program."

One step toward achieving that goal was upgrading Welsh-Ryan Arena. Badly in need of a facelift, the Wildcats' home gym has a new floor, new videoboards and new seats.

"It's a whole new atmosphere which I think is good, because we played better on the road than at home last year and that's not going to get it done," Collins said.

In Collins' first year as head coach, NU was 14-19 overall and 6-12 in the Big Ten. At home, the Wildcats were 8-9 (2-7 in conference).

Sprucing up Welsh-Ryan is a step in the right direction, and so is bringing in better talent.

Collins wasted little time landing a legitimate recruit, signing Vic Law in the summer of 2013.

Law, a freshman forward from St. Rita in the Chicago Catholic League, is a consensus Top 100 recruit.

"He's a very levelheaded kid," said junior guard Tre Demps. "That's rare when you think of a freshman, especially with that kind of reputation. He comes in every day and handles himself like a veteran. He brings the intensity that it takes to win every single day, and he wants to win every single day. I think he's going to be a prime-time player in this league."

While Northwestern does have some good returning talent in Demps, JerShon Cobb, Alex Olah and Benet Academy grad Dave Sobolewski, the arrival of Law this season and Aaron Falzon next year bodes very well for the future.

Another current freshman, Bryant McIntosh from New Castle, Ind., had 15 points and 11 assists in Friday night's 102-52 exhibition win over Division II McKendree,

That doesn't mean the Wildcats are lacking confidence as the upcoming season approaches.

Cobb, a senior guard, averaged 12.2 points per game last year before missing the final 10 games with a knee injury.

Demps, a junior guard, averaged 11 ppg and hit clutch baskets late in the game to spark wins over Illinois, Purdue and Minnesota.

"He's not afraid to take the big shot," Collins said. "He's proven to be a guy that you can go to and he'll deliver."

Demps said his attitude has changed since he arrived at Northwestern in 2011 from

Ronald Reagan High School in San Antonio, Texas.

"When I chose to come to this school, getting to the NCAA Tournament for the first time, that was a big reason why I came here," Demps said. "I wanted to be a part of history. But as I've grown older, the one thing I've learned is you can't look to that. You can't look to the future. You have to stay in the present and embrace the little things every day. Once you start getting away from those little things, the progress starts to slip."