Northwestern women's hoop team dares to be different

A few old dorm friends reconnected with Amy Jaeschke this summer and convinced her to join them and kayak the Chicago River.

"It was really cool going down the river and seeing all the buildings," Jaeschke said. "I would have never thought to do something like that. It was something really different."

Jaeschke would love to continue that theme this winter.

The 6-foot-5 Northwestern center, a junior from New Trier, is hoping the upcoming basketball season will be different. Something completely different, actually, from what the Wildcats have done for more than a decade.

The Northwestern women's basketball team hasn't posted a winning record since the 1996-97 season, averaging 7 wins a season in the 12 years.

But Jaeschke senses a change coming. Something as different as kayaking the Chicago River.

Magnetic head coach Joe McKeown, who was stolen two years ago from George Washington, where he had built a perennial Top 25 program, is beginning his second season at Northwestern.

Jaeschke says the getting-to-know you stage is over and that the players are now completely comfortable with McKeown and his system.

With the Wildcats boasting a healthy roster for the first time in years and welcoming one of their most highly touted freshman classes in recent memory, optimism in Welsh-Ryan Arena is soaring.

"This is going to be a huge turnaround year for us," Jaeschke said. "This is our second year with Joe. We're used to him. And we've got a great freshman class. They're good. Really good.

"There's a shift in mentality, with us and even around the Big Ten."

Jaeschke happily pointed out that Northwestern was picked eighth in the preseason coaches poll, which doesn't seem like a huge compliment until you remember that Northwestern has probably been picked No. 11 in the last 12 preseason polls.

"That just shows you where our program is headed," Jaeschke said. "You can just look at where I've been. Freshman year, we were getting blown out by everybody. Last year, we were in a lot of games. I think people (coaches) recognize that those improvements are going to carry over into this year and that we've added a lot to our team and that's why we were given a little bit of respect (in the preseason poll). That brings a lot of excitement to the players.

The excitement starts with Jaeschke, who averaged a team-high 13.9 points and 8.2 rebounds per game last year and ranked fifth in the nation (second in the Big Ten) in blocks with 3.2 per game.

Jaeschke says she is stronger, faster and in the best shape of her life, thanks in part to Northwestern's strength coach, Katie Austin.

"Conditioning-wise, I'm at a whole different level this year," said Jaeschke, who managed a team-high 35.9 minutes per game last season. "When it gets down to the end of the game, I'm not going to be tired. I'm going to be at the same level I was at the first five minutes of the game. That's going to be huge for me."

The Wildcats are also banking on the fact that their freshmen will come up big.

Dannielle Diamant, a 6-foot-5 freshman who happens to be the granddaughter of former UNLV coach Jerry Tarkanian, is ranked one of the best incoming centers in the country. And Kendall Hackney, a 6-foot-2 guard/forward, was named Miss Ohio Basketball in 2009 and is vying for major minutes, perhaps even a starting spot.

"You're starting to see things come into place, to the point where you feel like, 'Wow, we're so much better than we were even last year," said McKeown, whose Wildcats finished 7-23 last season but were without guard Beth Marshall (leg), Kaitlin McInerney (knee) and Allison Mocchi (knee), all of whom are back. "I like where we're at right now."

Then again, McKeown also admitted that his team is nowhere near where he ultimately wants it to be, and not at all where he's used to."

"I'm used to being ranked No. 1 or No. 2 in the preseason (conference) polls, so I take No. 8 as a slap in the face," McKeown joked. "But, in all seriousness, you look at where we are and the direction we are going, and it's nice to see there's a little bit of recognition of that.

"We wish the change would come faster, but we'll continue to work on it and prove that people were right in their assumptions that we'll be much better this season."

Check 'em out: The Wildcats open up the season Nov. 13 on the road at Toledo, and then are at home for seven straight games beginning Nov. 20 against SIU-Edwardsville.

Top dogs: No surprise here. Ohio State, which has won five straight Big Ten titles, was tabbed by conference coaches and media to add yet another league trophy to its collection.

The Buckeyes have one of the top centers in the country in junior Jantel Lavender.

pbabcock@dailyherald.com