Baseball: Beavers @ UCLA Recap

Game 1- 4-2 W: The Beavs won but still they need more runs. I loved the play from Kwan and Madrigal. Kwan is on a four game hitting streak and over those four games he has seven hits. ATTA KWAN! Madrigal went 0-2 but he faced 15 pitches in those at bats. Heimlich pitched a gem going seven scoreless innings. The Beavs once again are saved by pitching.

Game 2- 7-1 L: The Beavs must score more runs. Pitching cannot save the Beavs forever. Madrigal was the only hope in this one. Madrigal was the player that drove in the Beavs only run. MORE RUNS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Game 3- 2-1: More runs! PLEASE! The Beavs were saved by pitching again. Jake Thompson held UCLA scoreless through six innings. ATTA BOY! Madrigal had another good game. On another note, this is the Beavs last game outside of the state of Oregon.         

Northwestern Basketball Player Review: Vic Law

Over the next few weeks, I will review each player on Northwestern's basketball team and go over what they need to improve  for next season. Up next is sophomore forward Vic Law

Law was great at times, especially the
Gonzaga game where he almost single
handedly led Northwestern back from a
22 point deficit. 

Season Review: First watch this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dA5zOfShNO0 . The trajectory of Northwestern's season could be seen by looking at Vic Law's game by game stats. Law was consistently putting up double digit points during non-conference games. During Northwestern's dominant start to conference play, Vic Law was dominant. Then in February, his jump shot disappeared and Northwestern's winning ways disappeared. It's hard to evaluate Law because it seems like he was two different players. When he was feeling it, he was a lights out shooter who could get to the basket at will. When he was struggling, he was nonexistent. He was not aggressive at all on offense and never looked to shoot, even when he was wide open. The one consistent aspect of Law's game, though, was his defense. He was Northwestern's best defender all season long. He could get Northwestern a stop whenever they needed it, no matter who he was guarding. Law was frustrating to watch at times because it was clear how good he could be, but confidence and consistency issues derailed his season at times.
Off-season: CONSISTENCY. That is all Law needs to work on. He has the talent to be one of the best all around players in the Big 10. If he can consistently be a force on offense, next year's team will be special and Law will be the driving force behind it.

Collins and Fitzgerald Sign Contract Extensions

Northwestern locked down the best coaches in school history, for both football and basketball, with long term contract extensions. Reports of the extensions came out yesterday and they were officially announced at the Under Armour store in downtown Chicago today. This is expected for Fitzgerald, as it appears he will never leave Northwestern. This was huge news for the basketball program, though. Many fans, including myself, were worried that Collins may leave for a big name job now that he had success at Northwestern, but it appears like he will be in Evanston for the foreseeable future.

Beavs Basketball Review: Stephen Thompson Jr.

Clutch Stevie

Recap: Stevie in 2015-2016 averaged 10.6 points per game, 0.8 assists per game, and 1.9 rebounds per game. In 2016-2017 he averaged 16.3 points per game, 4.3 rebounds per game, and 3.0 assists per game. Stevie went from 21.7 minutes to 36.2 minutes. Stevie obviously had to step up into a bigger role this year in Tinkle's absence, and I think he did GREAT. Although I felt Stevie could have passed more or get more assists he still vastly improved from last year. Stevie was a great scorer this year and greatly improved in scoring and rebounding. He became a great all around improved player.  Stevie kept his clutch gene this year. Last year Stevie hit that amazing shot vs. Washington which helped the Beavs greatly in making the NCAA Tournament. This year Stevie hit that crazy underhand floater to beat Utah. Stevie had a great year.

Off-season- I think Stevie can work on his passing. I want Stevie to get his assist average up to 6. This will be hard for Stevie, but I know he can do it. If Stevie can do this that would be huge. He can pass off to Tres who is a big time scorer. This one is a stretch but I want Stevie to average 20 points per game. This will be very hard for Stevie if not anyone.

BeavCats Cast #4

- First annual BeavCats Awards

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B9qmd59K_u44dkRoNWtFNWtLek0


(Intro song: "The Champ is here" by O Fresh)

Northwestern Football Uniform Combinations: #11

Over the next few weeks, I will rank  Northwestern football's uniform combinations from the 2016 season  from my least favorite to my favorite (going from 12 to 1).

Helmet: Purple (White "Cat")
Jersey: Gray
Pants: Gray

So close, yet so far away

This uniform combination could have been great. I have long dreamed of Northwestern wearing gray uniforms, and these uniforms were everything I could have hoped for. The only problem was the helmet. This helmet is actually one of my favorite helmets that Northwestern wore this past season, but the purple just didn't fit with the gray jerseys and pants. If Northwestern had worn a gray helmet (same color as the jersey, obviously) with a purple "N" and a purple face mask, I would have loved this uniform combination. Don't get me wrong, this combination wasn't horrible by any stretch of the imagination, but it just wasn't complete. In the end, this was an okay uniform combination that could've been great.

Beavs Basketball Review: Drew Eubanks

Review: Drew was a beast this year. Drew ended the season averaging 14.5 points per game, 8.3 rebounds per game, and 1.2 assists per game. Drew ended with 8 double-doubles. I loved Drew's play in February. In February Drew scored double figures in all but one of his games. I was most impressed with his blocks. Drew was a big shot blocker this season and that was HUGE. Next year they need those blocks from Eubanks. If Eubanks plays all of next year like February he will be a Pac-12 player of the Year candidate. Drew had huge heart this year. I felt like Drew always hustled and never backed down when he faced bigger and stronger opponents. 

Off-season- Drew needs to work on his passing. Next year I want Drew to average 4 assists per game. If Drew and Tres can work well together they can be a force to be reckoned with. Drew doesn't need to work on much but I want him to be a double-double machine. I want Drew to get at least 12 double-double's next year. Drew was a 2-time monthly review MVP.





Announcement- BeavCats Award Show Podcast is on 4-17.
In the future the award show (at least for me) is on April 15th for basketball and February 1st for football.

Northwestern Basketball Player Review: Scottie Lindsey

Over the next few weeks, I will review each player on Northwestern's basketball team and go over what they need to improve  for next season. Up next is junior guard Scottie Lindsey

Lindsey was by far Northwestern's most important player

Season Review: I don't know what switch flipped in Lindsey's head, but he went from an average player who had a lot of potential to the best player on the team. He actually scored more points this past season than he did in his first two years in Evanston combined. He was Northwestern's best scorer, whenever they needed a bucket badly, he could deliver. He also improved drastically on defense. With his length and athleticism he was an effective perimeter defender. Lindsey's importance to the team was magnified when he went down with an illness. Without Lindsey, Northwestern's offense and defense fell apart. The offense was completely stagnant and relied on McIntosh far too much. The defense was hurt because Sanjay Lumpkin and Gavin Skelly were forced to guard the perimeter and they were not quick enough to stay in front of guards. After Lindsey came back, he wasn't able to fully get back in rhythm and wasn't the same player, but he still showed glimpses of how good he was before he got sick.
Off-season:  Honestly, Lindsey doesn't have that much to work on in the off-season. He could improve his three-point shooting. If he can shoot closer to 40%, Northwestern's offense could be scary good. He also could work on his defense and become a more complete lock-down defender. With both him and Vic Law being lock-down defenders, Northwestern could have one of the best defenses in college basketball. Overall, Lindsey was solid in all areas of his game, but slight improvements in some key areas could take both his game and Northwestern as a team to a level never before imagined.

Projecting Northwestern Basketball's 2017-18 Starting Lineup

Option #1

PG: Bryant McIntosh

SG: Scottie Lindsey

SF: Vic Law

PF: Aaron Falzon

C: Dererk Pardon

This is the most likely option, with Falzon replacing Sanjay Lumpkin at power forward being the only change from this past season.

Option #2

PG: Bryant McIntosh

SG: Isiah Brown

SF: Scottie Lindsey

PF: Vic Law

C: Dererk Pardon

This is an interesting option. With this lineup, Northwestern would have their two best scorers on the floor at the same time (Brown and Lindsey), but McIntosh and Brown never seemed to play well together last season, so that dynamic would have to improve for this lineup to work.

Option #3

PG: Bryant McIntosh

SG: Scottie Lindsey

SF: Vic Law

PF: Rapolas Ivanauskas

C: Dererk Pardon

This is very similar to the first option, with Ivanauskas replacing Falzon at power forward. I prefer the first option over this one, though, because Falzon and Ivanauskas are very similar players and Falzon has a whole season of playing in the Big Ten under his belt, so I would prefer Falzon start. 

Option #4

PG: Bryant McIntosh

SG: Scottie Lindsey

SF: Vic Law

PF: Dererk Pardon

C: Barret Benson

This lineup will almost certainly never happen, but it's an interesting thought. Pardon is a little undersized for a center, so moving him to power and having Benson at center would help Northwestern match up size wise. Pardon; however, didn't have any trouble at center this past season, so this move is really unnecessary. 

Baseball: Beavers @ Washington Recap

Game 1- Loss 3-2: The Beavs started out good again scoring a run in the first inning. They then proceeded to go scoreless till the ninth. The Beavs need to score more. They need one game where they score double digit runs and just blow out the opponent. Luke Heimlich pitched a great game with one earned run and gave up 7 hits. Lastly, Nick Madrigal had a great game with 3 hits and 2 runs. THE STREAK IS OVER.

Game 2- Win 5-2: The Beavs started good scoring a run in the first and scored through the game. Bryce Fehmel pitched a gem with 1 earned run and gave up 6 hits. I still think the Beavs should have scored more but a win is a win. This was a good team win.

Game 3- Win 3-0: The Beavs should have scored more but yet again a win is a win. Jake Thompson got the win and is now 8-0. Jake pitched a gem giving up 0 earned run and 6 hits in 7.2 innings pitched. Steven Kwan had a huge game going 3-4 and had 2 RBI's. Nick Madrigal had the other RBI. The Beavs won the series but I expected more from them.

MVP: Pitching easily

Next game and series: @ UCLA April 21-23 

Northwestern Football Uniform Combinations: #12

Over the next few weeks, I will rank  Northwestern football's uniform combinations from the 2016 season  from my least favorite to my favorite (going from 12 to 1).

Helmet: Purple (stars and stripes "N")
Jersey: Purple
Pants: White

The American Flag deserves better

Northwestern's worst uniform combination of the year comes from their worst game of the year (if you haven't figured out what game it was by now, it was the Illinois State disaster). This was ugly (both the uniforms and the game). I have no problem with Northwestern honoring those who served our country by having "Heroes Day", in fact I think it's an awesome idea. The problem arises when Northwestern tries to put the American Flag into their uniforms. We all remember the "Wounded Warrior" disaster, and this one wasn't much better. I've never been a huge fan of  Northwestern wearing purple, purple, white because the white pants just seem out of place, so that's one knock I have on this combination. My second, and final, knock is the Stars and Stripes on the purple helmet. This alone put this put this combination in the last spot. It's just plain ugly. Red and Purple have never gone well together and this helmet further proved that. You've probably heard the saying "look good, play good", but with Northwestern's performance in this game they "looked bad, played bad."

Beavs Basketball Review: Tres Tinkle

Review: Tres was injured for basically the whole year. He was around for maybe 6 games and was a STUD. Tinkle was a consistent scorer. He had two double-double's. He will be huge next year.(if he stays healthy.)









Off-season- Work with Drew Eubanks. If Eubanks and Tinkle could work together they both could be double-double machines.

Note- This was short due to Tres Tinkle's long injury.

Northwestern Basketball Player Review: Bryant McIntosh

Over the next few weeks, I will review each player on Northwestern's basketball team and go over what they need to improve  for next season. Up next is junior guard Bryant McIntosh

McIntosh shouldered a large portion of the offense as he
got Northwestern to the NCAA tournament

Season Review: Bryant McIntosh is an interesting player to review. He was very good this season, but he could have easily been great. McIntosh played too much hero ball, in my opinion. Even when his shot wasn't falling, he continued to heave up jump shots. What made McIntosh special, though, was when his shot was falling. McIntosh could score on anyone when he was feeling it; his floater is unguardable and he could hit a three off a high screen over anyone. Scottie Lindsey's illness seemed to have more of an effect on McIntosh than I thought it would. With Lindsey out, McIntosh felt more pressure to carry the offense (Lindsey's absence also coincided with Vic Law's worst slump of the season). This led to him playing hero ball more often than ever and really hurt the team. Overall, McIntosh had a great season and was the engine that drove Northwestern to the NCAA Tournament.
Off-season: Shooting, shooting, shooting. That's the only word McIntosh needs to worry about this off-season. If he can shoot consistently, there will no longer be "Good BMac" and "Bad BMac", just "Great BMac". He should also work on consistently playing within the offense. He is at his best when he plays within the offense, but also looking for his own shot. He (and the offense as a whole) struggles the most when he holds the ball for 20+ seconds and then tries to get off a shot. In the end, if McIntosh can shoot consistently he will be the key piece in taking Northwestern to new heights.

Baseball: Beavers vs. Utah Series Recap

Game 1: Win 5-4- The Beavers started off good by scoring in the first inning. They have scored first in 20 of their games this year. That was most of the scoring until the end when the Beavs needed to score. The bats need to stay consistent.
Pitching: Luke Heimlich made fairly easy work of Utah. Heimlich went about 7 innings and struck out 8 again. The pitching has been outstanding lately.
Batting: The bats need to stay consistent if the Beavs want to make a title run.

Game 2: Win 5-4- WHOOO! This was a long one. 16 innings.
Pitching: The pitching was outstanding considering the 16 innings that were played. In particular Jake Mulholland and Brandon Eisert held the Utes to six hits and two runs over about 10 innings.
Batting: The bats need to wake up. (they are capable of scoring way more than just 5) On the positive side Nick Mandrigal started with a triple, THIS KID IS A STUD!

Game 3: Win 5-1- SWEEP!
Pitching: 1 run given up, enough said.
Batting: I still think they could have scored more, but the hitting was still great.
Random: Pat Casey is 2 wins away from 1,000 wins as a collegiate coach, the Beavs have been upping their attendance, and have swept all their conference series so far.

MVP: Pitching. And Heart.

Next game: vs. Gonzaga on 4-11-17

Next Series: @ Washington on 4-13 through 4-15

BeavCats Cast #3

- March Madness
- Spring football
- Baseball


https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B9qmd59K_u44Z2xhcTVXWm5sYUk


(Intro song: "Centerfield" by John Fogerty)

Important Update

For the Beavs football season I will be using the format for basketball monthly reviews along with individual game recap.

*Note*---- I most likely (99%) will be doing a Beaver football season preview over the summer.

*IMPORTANT* I will start writing about Beaver Baseball!!!!!!  (I will do a recap on each series)