Northwestern Basketball Now Defined By Their Toughness

Game one of the 2009-2010 Northwestern men's basketball season is in the books, and I'm here to tell you this will be unlike any season you've witnessed during the Bill Carmody era.

This is a tough, physical, aggressive basketball team. Bill Carmody's Princeton Offense and 1-3-1 zone defense don't typically lend themselves to bruisers, but that's exactly what we have on our hands with this squad.

The reason is simple: say hello to senior Jeremy Nash and sophomore Luka Mirkovic. Both played significant minutes last year, but both have made critical offseason improvements that have changed this team for the better.

In a 77-55 whipping of the Northern Illinois Huskies, Nash poured in a game-high 20 points as he grabbed four boards and dished out three assists. He played his usual phenomenal defense at the top of the 1-3-1 as he notched four steals and even blocked a shot.

But what stands out about his performance is that Nash went 10-12 from the free throw line. Guards in the Princeton Offense NEVER get to the free throw line that much. But Nash did, and it's because he was not afraid to drive to the hoop. In the past, Nash was content passing the ball and occasionally taking a three-point shot.

Not anymore.

He attacked the rack repeatedly, forcing NIU players to foul him left and right. He also threw down some forceful fast-break slam dunks, which got the crowd at Welsh Ryan Arena fired up.

For all the good things Craig Moore did during his time in Evanston, he was not known for aggressively driving to the basket.

It appears that's what Nash is going to be able to do this year for the Wildcats, and that adds a whole new dimension to their offense.

Meanwhile, Luka Mirkovic was a revelation at center.

He chalked up 15 points, pulled down five rebounds, and got to the free throw line 10 times. He hit seven of those free throws and even suffered a blow to the face that caused his nose to bleed.

When was the last time you saw blood spill on the court of Welsh Ryan Arena? It happened not once, but twice in this physical contest, as a NIU player also started bleeding at one point in the second half.

Another first for me was witnessing a spectacular alley-oop slam dunk as Jeff Ryan lobbed a perfect pass to Mike Capocci for the slam. That brought the house down.

Ryan unfortunately went down with an injury later in the game, further hurting NU's depth after the loss of Kevin Coble to a foot injury for at least a month and probably more.

But oddly enough, the loss of Coble, who is one of the great finesse players in the Big Ten, has forced this team to be even tougher. Their top skill-player is out, so they have to attack the hoop more and play even more aggressively on defense.

The defense, once they switched into the 1-3-1, was a force to be reckoned with. Nash and sophomore forward John Shurna particularly stood out on that side of the ball. Shurna wasn't credited for any steals, but his long arms caused havoc on his side of the zone.

This wasn't a good three-point shooting night for the 'Cats as they only hit 23.8 percent of their shots from downtown.

But it's their new-found toughness, personified by the development of Nash and Mirkovic, that can have 'Cats fans still realistically dreaming the impossible dream.

The critics will say, it was ONLY Northern Illinois. That's a very legitimate point. But NIU is no slouch, they were picked to finish second in their division of the MAC.

But the critics are right. Butler this upcoming Wednesday will be a much better test for NU.

If they can find a way to beat the Bulldogs, we could be in for quite the ride...all the way to March.