It’s hard to imagine what could have been this year for the Northeastern men’s basketball team.

The switch to the Colonial Athletic Association would have looked a lot more intimidating had the program’s two most important pieces departed this offseason. Thankfully for NU fans, head coach Ron Everhart will still call the shots and senior guard Jose Juan Barea will still run the offense, making this season one of the most significant in NU history.

Normally when two great sports personalities mesh into a cohesive duo, they are polar opposites whose strengths counteract the others’ weaknesses. With Everhart and Barea, that’s not the case.

Their similarities are what make them such a dynamic pairing and have yielded the growing success they have enjoyed the past three seasons on Huntington Avenue.

Had it not been for their loyalty to each other, their run together would most certainly have been cut short this offseason, when both contemplated leaving Northeastern.

Barea

If you didn’t know who he was, Barea would be just another student on campus. His laid-back, carefree off-the-court persona make it all the more unbelievable when he slices through the lane for an and-one left-handed layup.

He has led the team in scoring since his freshman year and at the end of this season he’ll likely only trail the late Reggie Lewis on the all-time scoring list at NU.

“He really is our coach on the floor. This guy runs our team, make no mistake about it,” Everhart said. “He’s played a lot of basketball, he’s a very experienced guy and I’ve got all the trust and faith in the world in him.”

Despite a disappointing showing in the America East championship game last season, the Northeastern men’s basketball team capped off their best season since 1994 with a 20-11 overall record and the university’s first ever bid in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT). The Huskies lost their first-round game 90-65 to Memphis, but played their final game of the season without Barea.

The point guard, whose 1680 career points rank him 4th all-time at NU, was suspended by the university for an incident that occurred in the championship game against the Vermont Catamounts.

As expected, the university’s decision was not popular with the student body, and most definitely not with Barea and his family.

Already mulling the decision to skip his senior year and enter the NBA draft, the initial product of the suspension seemed the certain loss of Northeastern’s brightest star. Barea felt betrayed by the university to which he’d given his all until a bold move by his coach.

Knowingly risking his job, Everhart lashed out at the university for suspending Barea.

In the March 16, 2005 issue of The Northeastern News, Everhart said, “I’m 100 percent behind my player. He’s never not stood behind me. I wholeheartedly disagree with this decision.”

Everhart’s stance was a crucial selling point for Barea to stay in Boston. However, the coach would soon have a decision of his own.

Everhart

Everhart is the kind of guy you’d want on your side in a fight. His intensity is illustrated on the sideline by his penetrating stare. You rarely hear him shouting at his players during games and it’s never clear what he’s saying during a timeout, although it’s quite clear the team is listening intently.

After taking over a struggling Husky program in 2001, all Everhart has done is win. Improving the team’s win total each year, his ability to coach and recruit made him a candidate for the vacant Tulane job last spring.

“Being loyal is something we talk a lot about in this program as well as being straightforward with one another like brothers and sisters are in a family,” Everhart said.

Just as he had the year before, when he was offered a spot on Bob Huggins’ Cincinnati staff, Everhart decided to remain at NU.

“I wouldn’t be here if he wasn’t back,” Barea said.

While they may look and talk differently, their greatest similarities might also be their greatest attributes. In the end, it’s their loyalty to each other and the university, as well as their unrelenting desire to win, that allow this season to arrive with legendary implications.