1. Who will play point guard?
Sophomore Michael McConathy and freshman Dominic Knight from Bolton are the top candidates. McConathy struggled early as the backup last year but got better toward the end of the season. Knight is bigger, more athletic and potentially an excellent defender, but he is still a freshman.
Junior Keithan Hancock, who was recruited as a point but played off the ball last season, could also see time there, as could freshman Logan McConathy. And 6-foot-9 senior Trey Gilder will likely handle the ball at times as a ?point forward.?
Whoever it is, it?s not the biggest issue facing this team. The NSU offense depends more on moving the ball inside-out from the wings and a high-low post game than it does on the point guard initiating things with penetration.
The time the Demons will really need a reliable ball handler and decision maker is when they face teams that pressure the ball all over the floor.
2. Will the Demons be better on defense?
This is the biggest issue facing this team.
NSU was a very good scoring team last season. That may not have been a good thing, because it looked at times like the Demons thought they could win every game just on that end.
This team, coach Mike McConathy thinks, can score the ball even better. NSU has the length and athletes to cause opponents problems on the defensive end. If the Demons can make a significant improvement on the 77 points per game they allowed last year, this team could go a long way.
3. Which newcomers will make a big impact?
Almost all of them.
Knight has a real chance to start as a freshman. Transfer forward C.J. Clark should be one of the top three players on the squad and has the ability to play inside or on the wing. Transfer forward Deividas Petravicius is expected to provide energy off the bench.
The X-factor is redshirt freshman Devin White. He is a fantastic talent, but may not yet have the maturity to be a major contributor.
4. What will the 10-man rotation look like?
What you see at the beginning of the season is not what you will see when the meaningful games start in January.
Jerry Moody is ineligible for the first few games and Demetrius Bell will need an adjustment period once he?s done playing football, so NSU will play the early part of the season without a true post player.
Gilder and senior swingman Colby Bargeman are the only givens to start.
Senior forward Gerrell Thomas, Moody, Hancock, Bell, sophomore guard Damon Jones, the young point guards and newcomers Clark and Petravicius are also expected to play significant minutes, so coach McConathy has a challenge on his hands fitting all those pieces into a rotation.
My best guess at this point is a starting five of Gilder, Bargeman, Moody, Thomas and Knight and a second five of Clark (who could be used as an anchor to the second unit), Petravicius, Jones, Hancock and Michael McConathy, with Bell taking the place of one of the guards against bigger and more physical teams.
That would leave White, junior forward Kalem Porterie and Logan McConathy if he doesn?t redshirt to grab a few minutes per game here and there.
Then again, it could look completely different. At this point, even coach McConathy has no idea who will be playing where for him in a couple of months.
5. Can NSU win another Southland Conference championship?
Yes. In fact, it would be a disappointment if the Demons do not at least repeat as East Division champs.
Preseason polls were split between NSU and Lamar in the East, with McNeese State in third. The Demons have beaten Lamar seven straight times. McNeese always plays the Demons tough, but can?t match their depth over the course of a season.
If Northwestern plays defense and rebounds the way it can, the Demons look like the best team in the Southland. Inconsistency on defense like they had last year, and they?re one of three or four teams fighting for that distinction.
Sophomore Michael McConathy and freshman Dominic Knight from Bolton are the top candidates. McConathy struggled early as the backup last year but got better toward the end of the season. Knight is bigger, more athletic and potentially an excellent defender, but he is still a freshman.
Junior Keithan Hancock, who was recruited as a point but played off the ball last season, could also see time there, as could freshman Logan McConathy. And 6-foot-9 senior Trey Gilder will likely handle the ball at times as a ?point forward.?
Whoever it is, it?s not the biggest issue facing this team. The NSU offense depends more on moving the ball inside-out from the wings and a high-low post game than it does on the point guard initiating things with penetration.
The time the Demons will really need a reliable ball handler and decision maker is when they face teams that pressure the ball all over the floor.
2. Will the Demons be better on defense?
This is the biggest issue facing this team.
NSU was a very good scoring team last season. That may not have been a good thing, because it looked at times like the Demons thought they could win every game just on that end.
This team, coach Mike McConathy thinks, can score the ball even better. NSU has the length and athletes to cause opponents problems on the defensive end. If the Demons can make a significant improvement on the 77 points per game they allowed last year, this team could go a long way.
3. Which newcomers will make a big impact?
Almost all of them.
Knight has a real chance to start as a freshman. Transfer forward C.J. Clark should be one of the top three players on the squad and has the ability to play inside or on the wing. Transfer forward Deividas Petravicius is expected to provide energy off the bench.
The X-factor is redshirt freshman Devin White. He is a fantastic talent, but may not yet have the maturity to be a major contributor.
4. What will the 10-man rotation look like?
What you see at the beginning of the season is not what you will see when the meaningful games start in January.
Jerry Moody is ineligible for the first few games and Demetrius Bell will need an adjustment period once he?s done playing football, so NSU will play the early part of the season without a true post player.
Gilder and senior swingman Colby Bargeman are the only givens to start.
Senior forward Gerrell Thomas, Moody, Hancock, Bell, sophomore guard Damon Jones, the young point guards and newcomers Clark and Petravicius are also expected to play significant minutes, so coach McConathy has a challenge on his hands fitting all those pieces into a rotation.
My best guess at this point is a starting five of Gilder, Bargeman, Moody, Thomas and Knight and a second five of Clark (who could be used as an anchor to the second unit), Petravicius, Jones, Hancock and Michael McConathy, with Bell taking the place of one of the guards against bigger and more physical teams.
That would leave White, junior forward Kalem Porterie and Logan McConathy if he doesn?t redshirt to grab a few minutes per game here and there.
Then again, it could look completely different. At this point, even coach McConathy has no idea who will be playing where for him in a couple of months.
5. Can NSU win another Southland Conference championship?
Yes. In fact, it would be a disappointment if the Demons do not at least repeat as East Division champs.
Preseason polls were split between NSU and Lamar in the East, with McNeese State in third. The Demons have beaten Lamar seven straight times. McNeese always plays the Demons tough, but can?t match their depth over the course of a season.
If Northwestern plays defense and rebounds the way it can, the Demons look like the best team in the Southland. Inconsistency on defense like they had last year, and they?re one of three or four teams fighting for that distinction.
