SB Nation - Northern Illinois Huskies

More on the commitment of Prospect Quarterback Miles "Osei can you see" to NIU

Mike Breese — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 18:27:18 -0000

Dual-threat QB Miles Osei

Mt. Prospect (IL) Prospect
6'2" 194 lbs
40 time: 4.5 secs
GPA: 3.0
ACT: 24

Recruited by: Matt Limegrover

Other offers: Akron, Air Force, Tulane, Navy, Ball State, Buffalo & Central Michigan

2009 Stats: 2,365 yards,18 TDs passing; 1,270 yards, 21 TDs rushing.
Awards: Chicago Tribune 1st Team All-State, ESPN Chicago All-Area, Daily Herald All-Area

Rivals Profile: 3-stars, 5.5, #17 player in Illinois (May)
Scout Profile: 2-stars, #92 QB
ESPN Profile (VIDEO)

Tom Lemming's #24 Dual-Threat QB
Tom Lemming's Scouting Report: 4-stars

Miles Osei is a tremendous commitment to the Huskies. He had a slew of offers, put up monster stats and led Prospect to a very successful season. In terms of pure football players, he has to be one of the select few of the greatest in Illinois this past season. Osei was one of the fast risers in the state, as EdgyTim had him as a 3-star prospect and ranked him as the #17 player in the state back in May.

The big question that always has surrounded Osei is the fact that he hasn't received offers from any BCS schools such as the Big 10. Quarterback is probably the most sensitive position on college football to recruit. Every QB wants to be the star and every coach wants to have depth at that position. NIU and Coach Novak found this out the hard way throughout the 2007 season.

The state of Ilinois was loaded with quarterbacks this past season, but most of them were pro-style quarterbacks with good size who sat back in the pocket and slung the ball around. Case in point Lake Forest's Tommy Rees (Notre Dame commit, still), DGS's Chandler Whitmer (Illinois commit, still again) and Wheaton North's Taylor Graham (Ohio State commit). The only spread guy was the downstate monster from Rochester in 6'5" 205 lb Sean Robinson who committed to Purdue.

He's not a "workout superstar", as it's not apparent that he made the rounds at combines and college camps. Big schools are all about numbers like 40 times. Those type of schools need commitments early and Osei was somewhat of an unknown commodity. He just took the field and won games, rather than focus on himself.

Scholarship spots are limited. Osei is around 6'1"-6'2" and runs a 5-wide set spread offense at Prospect. If you're from a big school, it's hard to take a chance on the kid because you might not be sure if it's just the system, or if this lefty athletic spread QB on the shorter side is going to be able to see the field. B10 schools will look at you and try to move you to WR or defense.

A QB has to find the right system to transition his skills from the high school level.

The Huskies have that system.

But that's just one end of the spectrum. Prospect's coach talks him up as one of the most hard-working individuals that he's ever coached:

"He is thorough in everything he does -- whether it's practicing, weight lifting, speed training," Pearlman said. "Everything he does, he does exactly right. He can tell you what every player does on every play. That is the way he does everything."

If you want to know who Osei's biggest cheerleader is, look no further than long-time recruiting guru Tom Lemming, who you might have caught in the movie "The Blind Side":

"This is the year of the quarterback in the Chicago area and Osei and Rees are the two best," Lemming said. "If the Big 10 doesn't take Osei, they are making a mistake. He is another (former West Virginia star) Pat White. If you are looking for a quarterback to run the spread, there is no one better than Osei. If you are looking for a dropback passer, Rees is the choice."

But I've seen Osei in action and I think he has an edge at the moment. The 6-2, 194-pounder is more effective and more productive than any other others. He is a high school version of Michigan freshman sensation Tate Forcier.

Osei can run and throw. He is a one-man show. He makes all the right moves. He has been offered by Northern Illinois, Southern Illinois, Illinois State, Tulane and Ball State. But I believe he is being overlooked by big-time programs. He is, in my view, Big 10 material. He is one of the top 100 players in the nation.

Remember, North Chicago's Michael Turner had no big-time offers before landing at NIU.

I didn't even know Tom Lemming was on twitter, but he said this quote on there, which is my favorite:

Miles Osei is a huge commitment for Northern Illinois. He's a lefty QB, very similar to Pat White. Best catch for NIU since Michael Turner

Here's his entire profile on Osei:

•••• Miles Osei 6-0, 190, 4.5 Mount Prospect
Here is another ball player who certainly deserves his four stars.
On Film–He is one of the more exciting offensive players in the Midwest. He is a joy to watch with the ball in his hands whether he is throwing it or running with it. He has always gotten great production and all he does is win. He is tough as nails, does a good job of locating open receivers, and delivers a nice catchable ball. He reads defenses well and can make big plays with his feet. A dynamic signal caller who will, believe me, become a dynamic signal caller at the college level.
Stats–He threw for 2,238 yds and 22 TDs and was picked off just twice completing 145 of 225 passes. He also ran for 1,237 yds and 18 TDs averaging 7.2 yds per carry. He is a high school version of Pat White.
Other Sports–He batted .389 as an outfielder in baseball.
Grades–His GPA is over 3.0 and he scored a 24 on the ACT.
Favorite Schools–NORTHERN IL, FL, PURDUE, IN, IL, NORTHWESTERN, AIR FORCE, NAVY, and COLUMBIA.

So why did Osei pick NIU? It just felt right:

"I liked the fact it was close to home so my parents and family members could go to games," Osei said. "They've been recruiting me the whole year and they've been loyal, trustworthy, honest and upfront about everything they've said.

"There were nothing but positives and it's a program on the rise. It all definitely factored into it."

Osei was also impressed but not overwhelmed by Kill, offensive line coach Matt Linegrover and quarterbacks coach Pat Poore.

"They're honest and down to earth people," Osei said. "They're what you're looking for - the average person."

He'll play QB and QB is where he'll stay (unlike Britt Davis)

"Other coaches and other schools wanted me to play other positions," Osei said. "(NIU) said they wanted me strictly at quarterback and to be the quarterback."

We were his offer way back in March, but it was worth it sticking on him until the end:

"My family and my coaches definitely helped me through the whole process," he said. "I wanted to be patient, see who comes and who stays with me."

What's next for the super-athletic QB?

He said he will begin training this spring and plans to attend former Buffalo Grove standout and current Baltimore Raven safety Tommy Zbikowski's speed camp.

Osei will graduate in June and report to Northern Illinois in DeKalb by the middle of the month.

"I'm just going to go in there and learn as quickly as I can," Osei said.

And those who know him best believe it won't take long for Osei to make an impact for the Huskies.

"His best football is probably ahead of him and that's a big statement considering what he did in high school," Pearlman said.

And looking WAY to the future? When Harnish graduates, RS Sophomore Miles Osei will be fighting it out with Juniors AJ Hill & Jordan Lynch for the starting spot in 2012. Interesting to note that both AJ Hill and Osei are both left-handed.

DeMarcus Grady will be a good mentor to Osei as they both have a similar style. The big difference between the 2 QB is that Grady barely threw the ball in his offense in high school. Miles might be able to teach the other #3 a lesson or two in the spread offense himself!

Maybe we'll get a sneak peak of what Britt Davis could have been if he never switched to WR and a was in a system that matched his strong suits like Kill's does.

The X Factor Floods MD Eastern Shore

Mike Breese — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 01:55:17 -0000

More photos » by Nam Y. Huh - AP

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It was a much needed 87-69 victory at the Convo.

The two Huskies that needed to have good games had them. These players would be Xavier Silas and Jake Anderson.

X had 19 points and 7 rebounds. Yes, he does need to improve a bit on 6 of 17 shooting, but he was 7 of 7 from the charity stripe. He was a dominant force all game in the middle and made a statement with a mean dunk in the 1st half.

This was by far the best performance of his VERY short career as a Huskie. NIU has played in 9 games and Silas has only played in 4 of them. Nobody knows how healthy his shooting hand really is, but he is a warrior for coming out and battling. It was very clear that this team is going to go as far as Silas is willing to take them. He makes his FTs, the team is going to follow suit with 71% from the line. He's going to attack the basket, Kowal and the other big men are going to attack the basket as well.

Jake was good Jake and it was all good with him scoring 15 points and grabbing 10 boards along with 3 steals and 2 assists. The only bad part of his game was the 5 turnovers he had without even getting to the line one time. That needs to stop.

Back to Kowal. He was impressive as hell to me in this game. He was all over the court putting back baskets, posterizing people with dunks and grabbing 5 boards. All in all he scored 12 points and was a dominating force. I was impressed and so were the announcers. As long as he puts his mind to it, he can be a star come conference play.

The only stat that we didn't win was 3-pointers. We continued to struggle only making 3 of 15.

Overall it was a game that Northern Illinois needed to win and did. Mike DiNunno actually played decent with 4 assists, despite his daily bricks from 3. Tyler Storm only played 5 minutes, but it was of very mature basketball. The next game for the Huskies is a week and a day against the Temple Owls at home. That may be one of the more crucial games of non-conference play. It is imminent that we play a close game on our home turf, er hardwood to offset the disaster that was the roadtrip to UIC in the last game.

There is still hope for conference play. That hope comes in three: Jake Anderson, Xavier Silas & Sean Kowal.

MAC Roundtable: Championship Edition

Mike Breese — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 07:04:21 -0000

Kyle Warber. What a lucky guy as the Central Michigan blogger. Make sure to follow Fire Up Chips! as the Chippewas march on through Detroit today for their 3rd MAC Championship in 4 years. He hosts the roundtable this week all while we're still waiting for the first one since 1983.

I. As a Patriots fan since the mid 90's I have learned that once you start winning, everybody hates you. So go ahead and vent. Give me the top 3 things that bothers you about CMU. Something they did to your team, the headlines, or the Dan LeFevour love. If you don't feel comfortable with that, than summarize what the Dan LeFevour era at CMU has meant to the MAC Conference.

If there's one thing that bothers me about this version of CMU is that they've reversed the trend of consistence dominance that NIU has had on them from 1998-2006. Usually we can hang our hat on beating the Chippewas year in and year out no matter how good they were, but that wasn't the case these past couple years. Congrats to Dan LeFevour for continuing to turn that program around since the first NIU game I ever attended against the Chips in 2004.

II. Akron just gave J.D Bookhart his marching orders. Do you think this move is justified, or would you agree with me that winning in the MAC is all about luck and timing...getting that one elite QB the BCS overlooks and riding that Pony as long as you can.

Brookhart had a hex on him all season ever since he kicked Chris Jacquemain off the team and had to fire an assistant coach for a recruiting violation. With all the off-the-field stuff going on, the on-field product wasn't any better finishing with only 3 wins. Winning in the MAC is a gradual process, although most see it as a stepping stone to a next job if you manage to catch magic in a bottle. Those teams that do go through so many coaches can't keep a consistent amount of success season-in and season-out.

III. So its the Fightin' Dan LeFevour's versus the Banged Up Bobcats. Do you think CMU will win this, or do you think there is a chance that CMU get's "Buffaloed" like Ball State did last year.

I really feel that CMU is the team of destiny and that Ohio doesn't have much of a chance. Especially with the home-field advantage that Detroit brings the Chippewa faithful. LeFevour is just too much of a stud and CMU's defense is very underrated.

IV. MAC Player of the Year. Dan LeFevour or Freddie Barnes?

Definitely LeFevour. Freddie Barnes deserves more recognition, but it's tough because Tyler Sheehan is also a great quarterback. The difference is that LeFevour touches the ball every play and CMU would be nowhere without him.

V. What thing about the 2009 MAC season disapointed you the most?

I feel bad for Eastern Michigan, because it sucks when a team doesn't get a chance to taste victory at least once in a season. Ball State and Western Michigan also had disappointing years coming off some success in 2008. Oh well, NIU beat all those teams to become bowl eligible so I guess it's not that big of a deal.

VI. Which teams will be picked to with the whole thing in 2010?

Northern Illinois vs. Temple. Mark it down. Both teams are stacked with quality underclassmen.

Hey Coach Patton, your seat is on fire

Jerry Burnes — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 06:15:09 -0000

More photos » by Nam Y. Huh - AP

about 1 month ago: Northern Illinois head coach Ricardo Patton reacts as he watches his team play Northwestern during the first half of an NCAA college men's basketball game in Evanston, Ill., Friday, Nov. 13, 2009. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

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I've seen all I've needed to see now.

It's time for NIU to take off the gloves and fire Ricardo Patton.

In now his third season as the men's basketball coach, the Huskies have looked worse than ever. Sure, sure it's only six games into the season (they're 1-5, by the way), Xavier Silas is out, and new recruit Tony Nixon has looked good thus far.

Tread lightly Patton supporters.

The Huskies in his three seasons have been marred by lack of discipline and most importantly a lack of wins.

Fact is, this team still cannot make free-throws (53.2 percent so far) and have sent opponents to the line 26 more times (they're shooting 63.8 percent). The Huskies have taken 117 3-point shots to just 101 of their opponents, connecting on a miserable 23.9 percent.

On top of that, NIU has turned ball over 104 times in five games. That's over 20 a game. Let's not even discuss the fact that Jake Anderson is outrebounding Sean Kowal 52-38.

It's easy to blame these numbers on a lack of talent, but the talent is there. At nearly 7-foot tall Kowal should be dominating, especially in MAC play. But there's a reason he didn't last in the Big 12 at Colorado and we're seeing it now. He's not aggressive and nobody seems to want to step out their way to enforce that.

The free-throw numbers, the turnovers and the asinine amount of 3-pointers a game also go directly on Patton. It's real simple, coach, it's called practice. Obviously free-throws aren't practiced enough. Obviously this team either isn't comfortable or doesn't grasp your system. And obviously, you haven't taught them to look for good shots and that a team doesn't always need the 3-ball to climb back.

But no, the Huskies have made the same mistakes for three seasons now. Those mistakes are now called habit and a lot harder to break.

It goes to show, non-disciplined coach leads to a non-disciplined team.

That has shown throughout Patton's tenure at NIU. In two full seasons, NIU is 16-42. Sure, Rob Judson was 74-101 in his career but he turned a 5-win team to a 12-win team in one season. Followed that up with a 17-win season, a 10-20 season, 11-17, 17-11 and the first MAC West Division title in NIU history. Judson knew how to win with what he had.

Judson's recruiting ties to Illinois were also undeniable. A tie that would have brought DeKalb High School center Jordan Threloff to NIU, not Illinois State, where Judson currently coaches. And Patton? Since the days of Chauncey Billups, the old coach hasn't had too standout recruits. It was obvious when he left Colorado and landed at NIU what kind of players he recruited there. The Big 12 led kids to CU, not Patton. Those who followed Patton were Kowal and eventually Silas, nobody else. Silas tried staying his sophomore year at CU, but was dismissed from the team after averaging 12 points a game his freshman year and 9.7 his sophomore year.

Listen, I'm all for new coaches and giving them time with a new program. But when a coach all but runs out the recruits of the previous coach and continues to run that team into the ground, it is time for a change. Rich Rodriguez didn't send his Lloyd Carr guys packing and Jerry Kill has taken Joe Novak's boys to two straight bowl games.

The constant lack of discipline from a coach who preaches it, combined with a constant lack of wins, a constant brush off of the local media after road losses and a constant feeling of disappointment within the program is reason enough to send him packing.

This is the telltale year for Patton. It's his recruits (Silas, Nixon, Kowal, Mike DiNunno* and Najul Ervin) now running the show, minus the lone starting Judson holdout in Anderson. *[DiNunno was originally offered by Judson, but Patton kept the offer on the table as he committed in 2007]. It is time we finally get a clear picture of the future of NIU basketball and what type of talent Patton will bring to the MAC without the lure of the Big 12 to aide his recruiting.

If the start to this season is any indication of the rest of it, or the rest of Patton's tenure, we're in for a long ride. I say, it's time to get off that ride before nausea takes over and see if someone else can put the pieces together.

Poll

When should NIU part ways with Ricardo Patton

Now, this team isn't learning or winning.

21 votes

Season's end if they don't show improvement.

29 votes

At least wait til after next year when Jake, Kowal and Silas are seniors.

23 votes

73 votes | Poll has closed

NIU Huskies heading to the EagleBank Bowl in D.C.?

Mike Breese — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 08:10:47 -0000

More photos » by Joe Raymond - AP

When Notre Dame's bowl decisions start affecting MAC teams, then you know you're going to get fired.

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All signs seem to be pointing that way.

It's likely that no MAC Bowl tie-ins available with 10-2 CMU, 9-3 Ohio & 9-3 Temple taking the three spots in the GMAC Bowl, Little Caesar's Pizza Bowl & International Bowl.

The teams with 7+ wins looking for an at-large spot in a bowl game:

9-3 Middle Tennessee State
7-5 Northern Illinois
7-5 Bowling Green

The wild cards

9-3 Temple

They could decide to go to the EagleBank bowl considering the proximity that DC is to Philadelphia. Would be a great gift to Owl supporters and will maximize revenue. That would leave the International Bowl available to select NIU. Only CMU & Ohio are relegated to go to a MAC-affiliated bowl game.

6-6 Notre Dame

Will they even go bowling after Charlie Weis gets fired? They could play the MAC champ in either the GMAC or the Pizza bowl. UCLA will be the hot 6-6 bowl team if ND decides to stay home.

Available bowl spots:

EagleBank Bowl (~~ACC #8~~ At-Large vs. Army or Marshall)
Humanitarian Bowl (~~MWC #5~~ At-Large vs. WAC #1)
GMAC Bowl (MAC #1 vs. ~~ACC #9~~ At-Large)
Little Caesar's Pizza Bowl (MAC #2 vs. ~~Big 10 #7~~ At-Large)

Why the EagleBank Bowl?

It's likely that the WAC will be sending Idaho to the Humanitarian Bowl in Boise because of the proximity to fans of the Vandals. Last time I checked, the Huskies already played Idaho this year, so I see Bowling Green heading to the H-Bowl in Boise and NIU to the EagleBank Bowl in Washington DC.

The only problem would be that we won't know who our opponent would be until Dec. 12th when Army takes on Navy.

And of course neither MAC team is going to play another MAC team in the GMAC or Pizza bowls. Expect those spots to be filled up by MTSU and...Notre Dame to the Pizza Bowl? It's a distinct possibility at this point.

Hawaii could get 7-wins next Saturday against Wisconsin at home, but that's a long shot. If they did get a winning record then they would go to the Hawaii Bowl and probably send Fresno State looking for an at-large spot.

The Pundits start ringing in:

CBS Sports - EagleBank Bowl: Northern Illinois* vs. Marshall*

SI - Eagle Bank: Northern Illinois (ACC*) vs. Marshall (C-USA)

The Rivalry, Esq. - EagleBank Bowl: Northern Illinois* vs. Marshall*

ESPN - Humanitarian Bowl: Idaho vs. Northern Illinois*

CFN - Roady's Humanitarian Bowl
December 30th, Boise ID, 4:30 pm ESPN
Mountain West vs. WAC
Projection: Northern Illinois* vs. Idaho
*No Mountain West team projected available

Poll

What bowl is NIU headed to?

EagleBank

52 votes

Humanitarian (Idaho rematch!)

7 votes

Other (International, New Mexico, etc.)

21 votes

Queso (staying home)

18 votes

98 votes | Poll has closed

Bruce Weber Emotional Report Card: NIU

Joe Kutsunis — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 01:27:07 -0000

Yes its that time again. Yeah, I know that this is the first post of the day (my traffic report has reminded me the importance of prompt and daily posting.) But in my defense, literally nothing of interest has happened today. Nothing, so in the absence of informative coverage, I give you childish humor. Hey I give the people what they want.

Bruce Weber Emotional Report Card:
Brandon Paul's first half performance against Northern Illinois makes Bruce feel.

An emotion we can only interpret as:
Saints and begorrah! A freshman that can score like that? My life just got a hell of a lot easier.

Ohio one of "those" games for the Huskie faithful

Mike Breese — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 02:30:03 -0000

via www.cm-life.com

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"Its like being in the I-AA playoffs. We're in the playoffs right now. This is the first game of the playoffs. Every game is important. If we want to have the chance to compete for a conference championship, and Ohio is saying the same thing [we need to win this game]. One of us will advance, and one of us will be still trying to win the next game. It will be a darn important game, it just won't be for the conference championship." - Head Coach Jerry Kill

Saturday, November 21st at ~~high noon~~ 1 PM, two 7-3 teams will step in to Peden Stadium in Athens, OH and only one will come out with the opportunity to play in the MAC Championship. The stakes are high. One loss and you won't make it to the next round against Central Michigan.

After being burned so many times in recent years, the typical Northern Illinois Huskie fan would off the cuff tell you that we're not going to win this game. It's only suitable through all the painful losses that we've talked about over and over again in great detail.

Ohio is a good team with a good record that we should be able to beat on the road. NIU doesn't have much of a chance in "those" games. It's a natural instinct at this point.

Just even to have a chance at getting to the championship is something to be proud of. It's a task that hasn't even been thought much of ever since Garrett Wolfe's senior year in 2006. NIU was far and away the favorite to win the MAC West with their powerful offensive rushing attack. After a losing to the #1 team in the nation in Ohio State to open the season, guess who came to town?

The Ohio Bobcats traveled to Dekalb for an extremely early MAC opener. Wolfe didn't disappoint rushing for 196 yds and 2 TDs, but the Huskie defense was overwhelmed as Ohio exploded with 509 total yds offensively. At the time, Huskie fans were all over the defensive coordinators and how much our secondary played off of receivers.

The result was an annihilation through the air by Ohio QB Austen Everson going 23 of 31 for 322 yds and 3 TDs. It was the classic case of just making more big plays as two of the scores were for over 50 yds. RB Kalvin McRae had 209 total yds on the ground and through the air and 3 TDs.

They even gave us the ball twice on the ground. Having to come back from a deficit for the majority of the 2nd half, Horvath passed for 41 passes, completing only 19. They were able to figure out to not stop, but contain Wolfe so that he couldn't burn the Bobcats all day long.

Garrett Wolfe: Bobcat suplex specialist

The following players are still playing from that team: LB Cory Hanson - Started with 8 tackles, DE Brandon Bice - 1 TFL, C Eddie Adamski - Started, FS David Bryant, RB Justin Anderson, LB Spencer Williamson, RB Ricky Crider, LB John Tranchitella and WR Preston Williams all played as well.

That one loss continues to sting after all these years, signifying how much those Huskie teams didn't live up to their true potential because of a lousy defense and inconsistent offense. The shocking losses at home eventually built up and started discouraging fans to attend games at Huskie Stadium. The thought was that if you were going to be disappointed by the performance on the field, why attend the games?

Sure the Huskie hardcore were going to keep going, but a lot of the casual fans detracted and we have to build this team back up again.

OK, so get this:

At his short time at Northern, Coach Kill HAS NEVER BEATEN A TEAM WITH A WINNING RECORD

In 2008, his biggest win was over a 6-6 Bowling Green. Right now, Big 10 foe Purdue is only 4-7 and WMU has a slim chance at making a bowl at 5-6 currently.

This game in Athens is not only the most important conference game since '06, but is Kill's most important game of his short D-I career. If we somehow lose this game, then his decisions will be criticized until no end this entire off-season.

The "what-could-have-been" is not something that I want to spend the rest of November and December focusing on. The time is now for Coach Kill and the Huskies to do something that Huskie fans haven't seen much of these past few years:

Beat a quality team that we "should beat" and stay in the MAC West race right until the end.

No pressure on the Kill man though:

"This is a heck of a deal. This is what you work for. There's no pressure; this is fun. This is why you work. I tell them to go out and have fun. We're playing for in November. There are a lot of teams right now that aren't playing for anything. This is a good opportunity for us to continue to improve our program. I'm excited about it."

Brandon Paul and Mike Davis lead Illini past NIU, have I heard this before?

Joe Kutsunis — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:53:04 -0000

More photos » by John Dixon - AP

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Yes the long awaited reaction to last nights intrastate match between the Illini and the Huskies of Northern Illinois has finally arrived. I feel that the win over the Huskies, while not as comfortable as the win over SIUE has taught us much mroe about how the Illini will perform this year as a team, and there is a lot more good than bad.

If nothing else the game showed us that Brandon Paul's earlier stellar debut against SIUE was no fluke, as he posted another 20 point game, this time doing all of his scoring in the first half. D.J. Richardson has not had the regular season scoring explosion to match Paul yet, but he is still contributing in no small amount putting in 31 minutes and getting steals and assists as the current second option for running the offense after Demetri. I have no doubt that the scoring torrents will come sooner or later though, just as we saw in the final exhibition game against Quincy.

Speaking of Demetri McCamey, I know its very early in the season, but it has become very apparent that DMAC is a completely different player than we have seen before, and in a very good way. DMAC had 10 points, 8 assists, 3 steals and a block. He even ended up being second in the rebound column with 5 (more on that later.) The only blemish on his stat sheet being his 4 turnovers. The stats however do not do justice to some of the coolest passes I have seen Demetri ever make, specifically finding Mike Davis for the easy points down low. I said before that when Demetri was out of the game, the offense does not move with the same rhythm or efficiency, and this was still true last night. But maybe it looks to our eyes even worse than it is because DMAC is getting it and running the offense that well. I know its premature to say so, but with stat lines and play like last night McCamey could very well be on his way to being a true replacement for Chester Frazier, but with the threat to still go off for 20 in a game, which is something different entirely.

My ~~last~~ next note on the game should be the so-so lackadaisical performance of Mike Davis. All he did was record 14 points, 17 boards, (4 offensive) and a couple blocks. Yawn. In all seriousness, this performance only seems to reinforce my belief that Davis will be First Team All Big Ten this year and that he is on his way to another big jump this year. This is Mike's second straight double-double, and doesn't look like he will be easily stopped from doing so against most teams. We already know he can score, but getting boards like he did last night, especially on the offensive end are hopefully a sign of things to come.

Overall the rotation of the big men is going much deeper than last year, where there were really only 3 players that got all the minutes down low last year, this year Tyler Griffey and Bill Cole have been getting very good minutes to spell Tis Davis and Dominique Keller, who got 10 points and 2 blocks in his own right.

Of course the who night wasn't all roses and happiness, the team had trouble keeping NIU from creeping back into the game on multiple occasions and the virtual disappearance of Mike Tisdale in the first half are things that both need to be addressed. The team definitely ratcheted down the defense in the second half, but the team defense was not as consistent as it needs to be in order to fully control a game like Bruce wants to. In future against other Big Ten teams that will defend you brutally and leave you bruised, this team may not be able to count on explosive wide open shots for Brandon Paul like the ones that carried the team in the first half.

The next two games of course are very much still warm up games, but I will be there on Saturday night to cover the Illini game against the Presbyterian Blue Hose. Yeah, yeah we all know the jokes. Am I being irrationally exuberant about this basketball team? Maybe I am, but I am going to enjoy top 25 winning basketball until someone can convince me otherwise.

Short-handed NIU Huskies hang tough with the Illini, fall 61-80

Mike Breese — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 04:22:57 -0000

More photos » by John Dixon - AP

about 1 month ago: Illinois' Mike Davis (24) is fouled going to the basket by Northern Illinois' Najul Ervin (2) in first half of an NCAA college basketball game at Assembly Hall in Champaign, Ill., on Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2009. (AP Photo/John Dixon)

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This game showed a lot of heart by the Huskies, which was really impressive to see. I just assumed like everybody else that Northern Illinois was just going to get blown off the court, both because of the missing Xavier Silas and the superior talent of Illinois.

Little did I expect to be within a breath of beating the Illini, as late as 6 min left in the game. Both Tony Nixon and Jake Anderson started the game off strong, putting NIU right there with the Illini for the first 10 minutes into the game.

The Huskies got behind as many as 19 points with 3:12 left in the 1st half, before they started to rally back. With around 2 minutes left in the first half, Bryan Hall played like a man possessed stealing the ball twice and scoring layups. To finish the first half, he hit a buzzer beater from half court to make the score 41-49 going in to the locker rooms. Single-handedly he turned around the Huskies' momentum.

After the half, NIU came out and challenged Illinois to put the score at 46-49. It seemed as though as much as the Huskies got down all game, they had both the drive and determination to come back and make it a game. Illinois didn't seem like a Top-25 team out there, as the Huskies were mostly beating themselves with fouling and turning the ball over.

The Stats

Apparently, the Big 10 refs don't like us all that much. The result of this game was the same as the last as the Huskies went to the line only 12 times and hit only 50%. On the other side, the Illini got to the line 30x and hit 73% of their shots. Only 3 players got to the line (Anderson, Fakuade) and Kowal was 2 for 6. That's the difference in the game right there.

Turnovers were aplenty 19-14. From the floor we shot only 25-68 (37%) compared to UI's 27-62 (44%). It seemed like we had open looks all game long, but we just couldn't put the ball in the basket. Three-pointers were just OK going 5-19 (26%). Rebounding again was impressive grabbing 38 to 42.

The Backcourt

Ladies and gentlemen, we have found our Point Guard. Bryan Hall was the man today with the ball up top. He finished the game 4-5 from the field, with 3 assists and only 2 turnovers.

On the other side of the spectrum was Mike DiNunno. He started the game at PG, but then continued his poor performance from last week going 2-7, 0-3 from three and finished the game with a whopping 5 turnovers in 16 mins played with only one assist. He looks lost out there on the court and just by the eye test, has regressed since last year. DiNunno is not going to be a starter right now, and should only provide a spark off the bench.

Jake Anderson had to step up big-time with the loss of Xavier Silas, but it became quite clear that he couldn't accomplish that task. He picked up 2 fouls early and could only play 4 mins in the first half. Offensively, he just looked lost out there and only was 1 for 10 from the field. He would try to drive to the basket and draw a foul pretty much every time he touched the ball. The times he didn't miss, he turned the ball over which happened 4 times. The positive thing that he did do was cause havoc on the boards grabbing 10 rebounds, leading the team.

There's Good Jake and there's Bad Jake. Tonight we got Bad Jake.

Tony Nixon was impressive for a freshman scoring 10 pts in 29 mins and Mike Patton scored 5 in 13.

The Frontcourt

Sean Kowal had flashes of good play out there, but the stat line doesn't show it. The big man played 33 mins, went only 3-10 from the field, grabbed only 4 boards and turned the ball over 3x. He got hacked a couple times, but only made 2 of his 6 FTs. A lot of the other time, he was just getting swatted or missing layups in the post. He was a presence, he just needs to be a lot more effective in the next few games.

Najul Ervin was an absolute stud. After him and Anderson were sitting down for most of the 1st half, he exploded going 5-6 from the floor, grabbing 7 boards and swatting 2. All in only 18 minutes.

Michael Fakuade scored an impressive 6 points while grabbing 3 boards and stealing the ball 3x in only 12 mins. He fouled out of the game late.

Tyler Storm was only 1-7 on FGs and made some poor decisions shooting some unnecessarily deep 3-point shots. For as much of a stud he was in high school, the results just aren't there yet.

Overall, it was an impressive showing by the Huskies that can only make you wonder how close this game would have been had Xavier Silas been healthy. Illinois showed flashes of greatness, but overall they weren't that impressive of a team as a whole. Northern Illinois should take this game and be very proud of the results they got out of it, given the circumstances.

It was great exposure for both teams to be part of ESPN's 24 hour kickoff, even though it was only on ESPN360.

Next up: Tennessee State at home on Friday.

GO HUSKIES!

Monday Merges Into Tuesday, Thanks To A Marathon

Chris Dobbertean — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 22:00:14 -0000

by Mark J. Terrill - AP

Drew Gordon and UCLA start the ESPN Tip-Off Marathon at midnight Eastern Tuesday..(AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

View full size photo »

Starting at midnight Eastern with Cal State Fullerton at UCLA, ESPN will run more than 24 straight hours of college hoops. Since I'm nuts for this stuff, I'm going to try to follow the bulk of the marathon over at SBNation.com. However, since I'll be sleeping from the time I get home from work until some point in the Titans-Bruins tilt, I won't be able to catch any of Monday's action. Expect to see a Monday night recap at some point on Tuesday morning.

After the jump, I'll provide a comprehensive look at the marathon, culled from my earlier piece about it (with some updated information). I'll also have a brief rundown of the other games on the Tuesday slate.

ESPN has the bulk of the action overnight and during the day. Right after the clock strikes midnight on the East Coast (a perfectly reasonable 9 p.m. Pacific time tip), UCLA hosts Cal-State Fullerton. It will be the first chance for most of America to see how the Bruins cope after losing Jrue Holiday, Alfred Aboya, Darren Collison, and Josh Shipp. The Titans meanwhile lost Big West POY Josh Akognon and his 24 points per game and have six new faces (including 3 D1 transfers) on the roster.

In the 2 a.m. Eastern slot, St. Mary's, without Paddy Mills but with fellow Aussie Andrew Dellavedova attempting to fill the void, faces San Diego State, a team that will again challenge in the Mountain West, even though they only return one starter, F Billy White. The Aztecs knocked the Gaels out of the NIT at the end of last year.

Hawai'i again gets a 4 a.m. Eastern game. Last year, the Warriors defeated Idaho State in a game that was in overtime when I woke up at 6 Eastern. This year, it's another Big Sky opponent for UH, Northern Colorado.

According to Andy Katz's Daily Word, this will be the first time ESPN has ever carried games at 6 and 8 a.m. Eastern. The 6 a.m. offering, features a rising St. Peter's squad hosting a Monmouth side that's been down of late. My quibble with this matchup is the location, as the Hawks are opening up a new arena this year, yet they're on the road for this one. Go figure.

The 8 a.m. game could be a real donnybrook, however, and it takes place just a couple of miles from where I spent my first few years. Niagara, who finished behind Siena in the MAAC last year and is ready to challenge them again hosts Drexel, the team I foolishly picked to take the CAA's auto bid late last year. The Dragons problem then was scoring (61.7 ppg), an issue that won't get better as they lost their only double-digit scorer, Scott Rodgers, to graduation.

At 10, Clemson visits Liberty, a game that would've been more attractive had Seth Curry not transferred to Duke. The Tigers lost Terrence Oglesby to Europe, but gained Trevor Booker's younger brother Devin. He and 6-9 frosh Milton Jennings (a McDonald's All-American) give Clemson a significant post presence.

There is a nice little matchup in the East Coast lunch hour, as CAA contender Northeastern visits MAAC power Siena. Even though the Saints lost Kenny Hasbrouck to graduation, they return their other four starters (watch Edwin Ubiles closely). Bill Coen's Huskies also return four starters, including G/F Matt Janning.

At 2 p.m., Arkansas-Little Rock visits Tulsa, the team many think will usurp Memphis as the standard bearer for Conference USA.

Temple-Georgetown game, follows at 4 p.m. The Owls will be challenged this season without Deonte Christmas, while the Hoyas look to improve on last season's disappointment.

ESPN2 gives viewers a second option at 5:30 Eastern. Pitt hosts Binghamton in a preliminary game in the CBE Classic, where the Panthers are already guaranteed a trip to the finals in Kansas City. This game won't be quite as competitive as originally thought, thanks to the scandal that decimated the Bearcats' roster.

The 6 p.m. offering is the East regional final of the NIT Season Tip-Off. Barring a huge upset, Duke will take on Charlotte or Elon.

At 7:30 on ESPN2, it will be the first of two from the Hall of Fame Classic in St. Louis. (Save yourself $200 and watch this doubleheader at home.) Arkansas, a program that's been in a bit of turmoil during the offseason, takes on Louisville, another team that's been the focus of a lot of offseason news.

At 8 on ESPN, Gonzaga visits Michigan State. The Spartans are among the favorites to make it to Indy, while the Bulldogs will be good, even with the loss of four starters and a boatload of new recruits. This may not be the time to watch them, however.

If the TV action isn't enough, you can also see Northern Illinois-Illinois online at 8.

ESPNU picks up another CBE Classic preliminary that's not really a preliminary at 9. Duquesne, who--don't laugh--will build on last year and be a serious challenger in the A-10 this year--even without the services of leading scorer (and only loss) Aaron Jackson, visits Iowa. The Hawkeyes, just like they every year under Todd Lickliter, have personnel issues. Leading scorer Jake Kelly transferred to Indiana State and PG Jeff Peterson, the no. 3 scorer on the roster, transferred to Arkansas.

ESPN has the second Hall of Fame Showcase game at 10 p.m. It's a rematch of that 2008 National Championship game that the NCAA wants to wipe from our collective memories. Preseason No. 1 Kansas takes on Memphis in one we can only hope is as memorable as the game that didn't happen (but really did).

If you're still conscious at 11:30 Eastern, you can watch the final of the West regional of the NIT Season Tip-Off. Arizona State--presuming they knock off Texas State--will take on Cal State-Northridge or TCU in the final game of the day.

Here's a quick look at the non-marathon games slated for TV.

UConn should feature in the NIT North Region final which will air at 7 on the Big East Network and Full Court.
UNC Asheville at Tennessee (select FSN outlets/Full Court, 7)
Bowling Green at Xavier (FS Ohio [outside of Cavaliers' territory, 7:30)
Fairfield at Maryland (CSN Washington, 8)
UT-Martin at Missouri (FS Midwest/Full Court, 8)
Louisiana-Monroe at Oklahoma (Full Court, 8)
Fresno State at Northern Arizona in the West Coast Classic (UniversityHouse/FS Arizona/FCS Pacific, 8:30)
Columbia at DePaul (Lakeshore/SNY/Full Court, 9)
New Mexico at New Mexico State (Full Court, 9)

Visit Matt Sarz's College Sports on TV site for games telecast only locally or online.