Several Northwestern basketball teams have been described as “small but slow.”
Third-year Wildcats coach Bill Carmody has taken strides to eliminate the “small” moniker, and hopes freshman T.J. Parker can do something about the “slow” reputation.
Carmody is looking for the mercurial freshman point guard to penetrate and distribute the basketball when Northwestern opens Big Ten play Wednesday night at home against Iowa.
Parker averaged a team-high 12.7 points per game as the Wildcats built an 8-3 non-conference record. The question now is whether his success can continue against Big Ten competition.
Other than 6-foot-11-inch senior center Aaron Jennings, the Wildcats will be undersized in the frontcourt, especially with the season-ending shoulder injury to 6-8 forward Vedran Vukusic.
Northwestern will have to counter with a pesky defense and a more up-tempo offense that renders easy baskets. That’s where Parker and shooting guard Jitim Young come in.
The 6-2, 160-pound Parker has dazzled fans at Welsh-Ryan Arena with his precise no-look passes and acrobatic, off-balance scoop shots underneath the basket.
“T.J. has gained a lot of confidence during our non-conference schedule,” Young said. “He has gotten a taste of the kind of guards we are going to play [in the Big Ten].”
“I love the way T.J. has played all along,” Carmody said. “He makes open shots and puts a lot of pressure on the defense. He has been really consistent for us.”
On the road again
The Wildcats are 8-3 heading into the Big Ten portion of their season. They open at home against Iowa but must travel for five of their first seven games, including to
nationally ranked Indiana and Minnesota, which nearly knocked off the No. 10 Illini in Minneapolis on Tuesday night.
