The beauty of college basketball is that you can lose big and painfully, but it will never be your end.
That was the fate of Northeastern when it hosted top-ranked Michigan State on Dec. 19. The Huskies took it to the Spartans early before ultimately fading late and losing by 20 points. The loss stung, but for the reigning Colonial Athletic Association champions the experience, and knowledge, gained by playing Sparty made up for the defeat.
“When you play the number-one team in the country they hold you ultimately accountable,” Northeastern coach Bill Coen said after the game. “If you don’t follow a scouting report, if you don’t do everything exactly right, they make you pay. The good part about playing a game like this is that’s something we’ll have to learn to win a CAA championship.”
The Huskies start CAA play soon on New Year’s Eve, a game at NC State on Dec 29 is their last non-conference game, and will look to defend their hard-earned CAA title from last season. Northeastern has the tools needed to make another run at winning one of the harder mid-major leagues in the country, but finding a defined big man inside will be one of its biggest goals curing conference play.
Northeastern graduated Scott Eatherton who was a monster inside for the Huskies en route to the league title last year. Eatherton was seventh in the CAA in scoring (14.4 ppg), fifth in rebounding (6.5 rpg), and led the league in shooting percentage (.579). The 6-8 forward also led the Huskies with 18 points in its near upset of Notre Dame in the NCAA tournament.
In his place the Huskies rotate a mix of youth and senior leadership. Quincy Ford, a 6-8 senior forward, will play both forward positions, and freshman Jeremy Miller, all 6-11, 235 pounds of him, plays an imposing center while also having the ability to step and score from beyond the arc. Senior forward Zach Stahl, while only 6’4, has the toughness to tear it up inside. Ford (16.3 ppg) and Stahl (12.9 ppg) are second and third on the team in scoring.
“I think it’s good to have a mix,” Stahl said after the MSU game. “It keep us old guys young. We just try to do everything we can to get them ready to come play everyday and try to use our knowledge to get them ready for this year and the years to come.”
The driving force though for Northeastern has to be David Walker. Walker was second team All-CAA last year and was named first-team preseason All-CAA. The guard does it all for the Huskies. His name appears everywhere among the elite of the CAA. This season he is second in the league in scoring (19.9 ppg), third in field goal percentage (48 percent) and free throw percentage (85.5 percent), fourth in steals (1.8 spg), three-point percentage (44.2 percent), and fifth in assists with 3.7 a game.
Walker’s talent put Michigan State’s Denzel Valentine on notice.
“He’s really talented and that’s something I saw especially,” Valentine said of Walker. “His passing is what impressed me. When we were getting over those screens he was making those pocket passes. He’s a good player, and I’m sure they’re going to be a good team this year.”
The mix of seniors and youth, when added with the depth of the team, should be an asset for the Huskies. Northeastern has had nine players get time in at least 11 of the team’s 12 games so far this season, and eight of those players are averaging at least 10 minutes a game. In a league where seven teams already have at least seven wins, being able to have fresh legs on the court late in a league tournament game can be the difference between the NCAA tournament and the CBI.
“We got a core group of seniors, some talented young players, and others who are emerging so it’s about getting those young guys the experience they need so they can help you win big games down the stretch and getting the chemistry between the veteran group and the younger group,” Coen said. “We’ve been through the wars of the CAA. These seniors know what it takes to win a CAA championship, and conference play is just around the corner. We have to make sure we have a mindset to try to go out and win another CAA championship.”
The Huskies played Vermont three days after losing the Sparty. They won by 12.
