For any of you familiar with Zach Lowe and his “10 Things” from his ESPN days, please forgive my blatant plagiarization of an admittedly great idea.
Every week of the NBA season, Lowe gave 10 things he liked or didn’t like from around the league. It was a fun way to stay engaged with the goings-on in professional basketball, even for those of us who might not be tuning in every night. (I was one of the ones tuning in every night, but still.)
Sixteen games of Northeastern men’s basketball — five wins, 11 losses — might not have the same volume of content, but here are five things that I like or don’t like from the team’s first semester of hoops.
Like: This team is really fun. Win or lose — lose, mostly, in recent weeks — these Huskies play an upbeat, pacy style of basketball that’s easy on the eyes. It’s almost European in that it relies so heavily on pass, cut, pass, cut, without a whole lot of dribbling; seemingly every possession features some kind of dribble handoff or off-ball screen that sets a shooter free. They’ve parlayed that into a top-50 three-point rate and one of the higher tempos in the country.
In conference play, they’re third in offensive efficiency, and leading in pretty much every shooting category. The defense has absolutely hemorrhaged points, but Northeastern games have been very track-meet-ish, which is preferable to slow, boring slogs. At the very least, win or lose, these games have been entertaining, which isn’t always the case in college basketball.
Dislike: The injury bug. Who put a hex on this team? Last year’s squad dealt with its fair share of injuries, such as star guard Masai Troutman missing the second half of the season with a mysterious ankle injury, but this iteration went through hell and back before the calendar even turned over. Three players have already been ruled out for the season: star guard LA Pratt broke his foot on what looked like a completely innocuous play three games in, freshman stud Miles Newton tore his Achilles in practice (what are the odds of that?) and redshirt freshman Xander Alarie is undergoing season-ending surgery on what seems to be a nagging shoulder issue. For some context, all three of those players were opening night starters for the Huskies.
That isn’t all, though. Graduate student forward Haris Elezovic has missed significant time, as has star senior forward Youri Fritz. The result has been challenging, with head coach Bill Coen often forced into playing guys out of position or in roles they’re unfamiliar with. It’s also given some younger players some unexpected opportunities, which is certainly a plus, but it’s generally made life really tough on a thinning roster.
Like: When junior guard Will Kermoury goes on a heater. He isn’t the most consistent guy in the world — he’s had as many games under five points as he’s had over 15 — but when he gets going, it’s something to watch. Kermoury combines a quick-twitch jumper with the audacity to shoot from pretty much anywhere, and is connecting on a career-high 46% of his treys, including a whopping 64% over his last three contests. It’s genuinely amusing to watch opposing defenses chase Kermoury around the floor, and even when he hasn’t been making shots, his gravity attracts defenders and opens the floor for his teammates.
Dislike: Defensively, things haven’t been pretty. Granted, this team is missing three of its most important defenders, but opposing defenses have shredded Northeastern, producing bottom-quartile marks in efficiency and opponent field goal percentage.
In conference play, the defense has been so bad it’s almost impressive: Its adjusted defensive rating (130.7) ranks nearly seven points worse than the worst mark in the country if extrapolated over a full season. And, to make matters worse, opponents haven’t even shot the three particularly well against the Huskies, meaning there’s room to sink even further.
Why? Depth and inexperience are issues, but the problems run top to bottom. Northeastern doesn’t have a particularly accomplished rim protector, especially after losing Alarie; it doesn’t have much in the way of stout perimeter defense, either, which owes somewhat to Pratt and Newton’s absence. Opponents have been able to beat the Huskies off the dribble far too easily, leading to a two-point defense that slots into the bottom 10% of the country. Northeastern has looked better using a zone defense, but Coen has shied away from using zones for more than a minute or two at a time thus far. Team defense should improve as players gain more experience, but it’s been a hard watch so far.
Dislike: Gamblers, especially on X. I mean, just look at this post after Northeastern lost to Holy Cross:
That’s a tame example, too. It’s hard to imagine anything more pathetic than rage-posting under a final score graphic of a low-major basketball game that cost you money. A political candidate who ran on throwing anyone who does this in jail would get my full-fledged support.
Moral of the story? Basketball — particularly mid-major basketball — is the world’s greatest game. (Soccer is a close second.) Things happen here that simply don’t occur anywhere else, and Northeastern, through all of its struggles, is no exception. And, to boot, they’re a couple of tweaks away from being genuinely, legitimately, good.
