Will Northwestern finally make the NCAA tourney?
It's the elephant that's never been in the room.
You know that Northwestern never has participated in the NCAA Tournament. Northwestern's players and coaches know all too well that they represent the only BCS conference school never to reach the NCAA Tournament.
Yet, somehow, they can't help but point out the void to themselves.
“We'll talk about it every once in a while,” said sophomore guard Drew Crawford, the Naperville Central product who is touted as one of team's most-improved players.
“Sometimes we'll just be sitting in the locker room and it's like, ‘Guys, we've got to make it this year.' That's our ultimate goal. It's something that's always in the back of our head.”
On occasion, senior point guard Michael “Juice” Thompson thinks it's important to slap somebody upside the head with the team's obvious mission.
“Someone always throws it out as a reminder,” Thompson said. “If they see someone slipping or not working as hard as they can or even if everyone's working hard as they can we're just trying to find that extra push and continue to stay hungry so that we can be a part of history and make it to the NCAA Tournament for the first time.”
Without question, Northwestern has the front-line pieces to make the leap into the 68-team field. The Wildcats retain four starters and six of their top seven scorers from last year's 20-win squad.
• Thompson, who has started every game since he walked into Welsh-Ryan Arena, will finish as Northwestern's all-time assist man, No. 2 3-point shooter and No. 3 scorer if he replicates last year's 14.2 points and 4.1 assists per game.
• Crawford, who shared the Big Ten's freshman of the year honors with Illinois' D.J. Richardson, devoted his offseason to gaining muscle and perfecting his handle.
Between Crawford, prized freshman JerShon Cobb and sophomore Alex Marcotullio, NU coach Bill Carmody has lots of options to be Thompson's running mate. He also has candidates to run the point for the few minutes Thompson sits each game.
“I think I've gotten a little bit better in that aspect,” Crawford said. “Just maintaining better control with the ball, being comfortable with it and then that left hand, you've got to get it as good as the right.”
He ran the point for his Sonny Parker Summer League team that also featured John Shurna.
Crawford claimed (and Thompson grudgingly confirmed) his team would have won the championship if he and Shurna hadn't been unavailable for the semifinals.
• As for Shurna, he's one of the 50 players on the John Wooden Award's preseason watch list. That makes the junior forward from Glenbard West the most highly regarded Wildcat since second-team All-American center Evan Eschmeyer.
If Shurna (18.2 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 78 3-pointers) had made 1 more free throw last year, he would have been the first NU player since 1951 to lead the Big Ten in scoring during league games.
Carmody expects a lot more than 1 more free throw out of him this year.
“Shurna, he's got a long way to go,” Carmody said. “He scored last year. Now he's got to work on his defense. He's got to get to the basket and finish, which he's doing real well. He's posting real well. He can improve drastically, that kid.
“We've been working on his dribbling a lot. His passing has improved. He has room there.”
Northwestern also welcomes back starting center Luka Mirkovic (7.3 ppg, 5.7 rpg) and Marcotullio (4.8 ppg, 41 3-pointers.
The key to Northwestern's season, though, won't necessarily be found among the team's top six or seven players.
It could be up to the guys who'll round out the rotation such as senior forward Mike Capocci (1.8 ppg), senior swingman Jeff Ryan (who played just 14 minutes last year due to a knee injury) and backup center Davide Curletti (2.0 ppg, 1.3 rpg).
If Capocci's offseason improvement is any indication Carmody suggested he might start depending on matchups the elephant might well enter the room on Selection Sunday in March.
“He's been playing pretty well,” Carmody said. “In Italy he played well. He just seems to have calmed down a little bit. It's going more slowly for him. He sees things. He's not trying too much. He just sort of gets it.”
Projected starters
F John Shurna* 6-8 215 Jr.: Spent time with USA Basketball again this summer; earned spot on Wooden Top 50 watch list.
F Drew Crawford* 6-5 205 So.: Shurna claims Big Ten's co-frosh of year made huge improvements in the offseason
C Luka Mirkovic* 6-11 248 Jr.: Healthy and stronger and ready to approach double-double numbers
PG Michael Thompson* 5-10 190 Sr.: 4-year starter deserves more acclaim so he's no longer Big Ten's most underrated player
G JerShon Cobb 6-5 182 Fr.: Team's best athlete boasts lethal first step, good handle and terrific eye for passing
Reserves
G Alex Marcotullio 6-3 180 So.: Time spent with Great Britain's U-20 team has made overall game better; has outside range
F Mike Capocci 6-6 195 Sr.: Drilled 10 straight 3s in practice recently; Glenbard East grad set to be first forward off the bench
G Jeff Ryan 6-6 205 Sr.: Fully recovered from last November's torn ACL, he'll help a ton at guard and at forward
C Davide Curletti 6-9 238 Jr.: Stretches defense with his 3-point shot, but his defense (and rebounding) is what matters most
F Ivan Peljusic 6-8 220 Sr.: Carmody likes what he sees from energetic fifth-year player; he factors into the forward picture
G Nick Fruendt 6-5 200 Jr.: Became an occasional part of rotation late last season; could regain sharpshooter role
G Reggie Hearn 6-4 205 So.: Walk-on's jersey featured on cover of media guide, but he has some game as well
G Austin Nichols 6-0 192 So.: Walk-on joined squad at midseason; he's a good match for Juice Thompson in practice
Wildcats at a glance
<p><b>Coach: Bill Carmody (140-163, 11th year at Northwestern; 232-188, 15th year overall)</p></b>
<p><b>2009-10 record: 20-14 (7-11 Big Ten, tied for 7th); Lost at Rhode Island in an NIT first-round game.</p></b>
<p><b>Starters returning/lost: 4/1</p></b>