Amidst all the online craziness that was the fad of the popular reality TV show “Love Island” this summer (it still feels like a fever dream to me), there was one phrase I seemed to forget: “early days.”
Still finding their footing, everyone in the show would constantly bring up how it was still “early days,” and nothing was really ever set in stone in terms of the supposed ‘relationships’ they had built over the past week. As utterly dumb as that show was — and I say that as someone who watch the whole thing, the concept that things can always change and we should never judge people based on their first impression or actions rung true.
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For Northwestern men’s basketball, that sentiment is certainly we need to keep in mind after Sunday’s performance against Iowa State.
The Wildcats traveled to Ames, Ia. for the first time since 1949 to face off against the Cyclones for an exhibition matchup. NU fought tooth and nail, and looked neck-and-neck with an ISU team that earned a No. 16 ranking in the AP Preseason Poll, even holding a three-point lead at halftime. Despite ultimately losing 80-72, there was a ton to learn from a really promising game for both sides.
Primarily, it’s abundantly clear that this team is not the same team we saw last year. And I don’t just mean that literally; yes, the Wildcats lose veterans like Brooks Barnhizer, Ty Berry, Jalen Leach and Matt Nicholson and have brought it both a talented transfer portal class and recruiting class. But it’s more than that.
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The identity of this team is different.
A season ago, Northwestern was defined by its hard-nosed defense and gritty play. That identity was complemented by one of the best assist-to-turnover ratios in not only the Big Ten but the entire country, but was conversely met with some underwhelming three-point shooting that limited some of the Wildcats’ offensive capability.
Despite a dream offensive season from breakout star Nick Martinelli (20.5 points per game), the offense looked awfully stagnant at many times throughout the year because of the one-dimensional nature of the team. And injuries to other capable scorers Jalen Leach and Brooks Barnhizer only served to exacerbate that problem, as NU looked out of its element down the stretch of the season with just Martinelli to save them from complete offensive failure.
This year, A LOT has changed. Northwestern looked shockingly deep, especially on the offensive side. Martinelli, of course, remained the one constant, dropping 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting in 33 minutes of play. But outside of him, first-year Tre Singleton (14 points, three assists in 31 minutes), sophomore Max Green (10 points, two made threes) and junior Arrinten Page (10 points, four rebounds, two blocks) all had superb days in their first respective games in purple and white.
And that’s not even mentioning sophomore returner Angelo Ciaravino, who’s eight points and three boards don’t nearly tell the story of his much-improved physicality and jump-out-the-gym athleticism that coaches have raved about all offseason long.
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“He’s really gotten in the weight room,” head coach Chris Collins said about Ciaravino postgame. “He’s a key piece for us.”
Their contributions helped spread out the scoring a little more and make Iowa State’s job harder defensively; instead of simply honing in on Martinelli and making sure he was either doubled or that he didn’t touch the ball, head coach T.J. Otzelberger needed to respect NU’s other capable scorers who can make plays with the ball in their hands just like the Italian Stallion can. Collins even mentioned postgame that he believes the versatility his team provides this year will allow superstar Martinelli to have more rest during games, allowing him to be “fresher” down the stretch.
Among the most notable from NU’s offensive performance, though, was its outside shooting — 38% (8-of-21) from deep on Sunday — and spreading out the defense a little more as a result. Compared to just a 33% clip a season ago, the ‘Cats already look much more dangerous from beyond the arc, which is sure to open things up inside as well.
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But with all the good, so too comes the bad. While Northwestern’s identity looked much-improved when it came to shooting, once the ball was put on the floor, a whole slew of problems arrived that hadn’t been there a year ago. After averaging just 10 turnovers per game last season (third-best in the B1G), Iowa State forced a whopping 17 turnovers against NU on Sunday, 10 of which came from Martinelli and Page.
“That’s really not who we’ve been,” Collins said postgame. “It’s a credit to Iowa State’s defense.”
Now, that second point may very be an anomaly. A lot of those turnovers can be attributed to that lack of point guard depth available in this game, with both first-year Jake West and junior transfer Jayden Reid not playing. But it is nonetheless something the ‘Cats are going to need to shore up, and quick, with the official start of the season now just seven days away.
At the end of the day, it’s only October. There is tons of basketball yet to be played. Ultimately, it’s important that players, coaches and fans alike take both the good and the bad of this performance with a grain of salt, because plenty can and will change over the coming months. But we’ve seen and are seeing from this team already is something new.
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It might be “early days,” but it is already clear that this Northwestern team is going to be something different. And that might just be what it needs to do something special this year.
