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.