Offensive Struggles vs Miami OH

Tim Politz owning the Huskies yesterday
(Chronicle Photo by Eric Sumberg)

Ugly, ugly, ugly. That one word can describes NIU's performance yesterday against the Redhawks of Miami OH. In the first half, nobody scored, while the Huskies managed a measly 16 pts to Miami's 22. We definitely played well enough on defense to win the game, except they stuck their big men in the middle, while we struggled to shoot away from the basket.

Everything was about even except the things that count. You know, like shooting? NIU shot a very bad 35.8% in this game including 1 for 13 from 3-point range. Not to mention going 12 for 21 (57.1%) from the charity stripe.

I'm sure everybody in the Convo that may have fallen asleep by the poor offensive outings by both teams were sure enough awaken by Mike Hart's monstrous dunks throughout this game. I didn't get to witness these by myself, but the reaction by the Miami announcers on the radio was good enough for me.

Star player for this game was Jake Anderson scoring a team-high 16 points. Miami's Kenny Hayes had 25, while Tim Politz had 19 pts and 7 rebounds.

For injury news, we got down to 9 players again, as Jarvis Nichols re-injured his foot that he had a screw inserted in to last spring. Right now he's in a boot. Ben Rand is still out with Plantar Fasciitis in his foot.

MAC Basketball on the Radio

MAC Conference basketball is almost never on TV, so we must resort to listening to games on the radio. Let us listen to free MAC Basketball on the airwaves without signing up for some All-Access pay site! Here are the stations that games are usually on:

NIU on the radio

WSCR 670 AM The Score (Chicago, IL)
Listen Online
http://www.670thescore.com/

WLBK 1360 AM (Dekalb, IL)
http://www.1360wlbk.com/

WSEY 95.7 FM (Oregon, IL)

WRHL 1060 AM (Rochelle, IL)
Listen Online
http://www.wrhl.net/

Akron on the radio

WARF 1350 AM (Akron, OH)
Listen Online
http://www.sportsradio1350.com/main.html

Ball State on the radio

WCRD 91.3 FM (Muncie, IN)
Listen Online (Home Games)
http://wcrd.iweb.bsu.edu/default.asp

Bowling Green on the radio

WCWA 1230 AM Fox Sports Radio (Toledo, OH)
Listen Online
http://www.wcwa.com/main.html

WBGU 88.1 FM (Bowling Green, OH)
Listen Online
http://www.wbgufm.com/

Buffalo Bulls on the radio

Listen Online
http://www.teamline.cc/teampage?teamcode=1426

Central Michigan on the radio

WUPS 98.5 FM (Houghton Lake, MI)
Listen Online
http://www.wups.com/index.html

Eastern Michigan on the radio

WEMU 89.1 FM (Ypsilanti, MI)
Listen Online
http://www.wemu.org/

Kent State on the radio

N/A

Miami OH on the radio

WFTK Pure Rock 96 FM (Cincinnati, OH)
Listen Online
http://purerock965.com/index.asp

WFMG 101.3 FM (Richmond, IN)
Listen Online
http://www.g1013.com/

Ohio Bobcats on the radio

WXTQ Power 105.5 FM (Athens, OH)
Listen Online
http://www.wxtq.com/

Toledo Rockets on the radio

WSPD News Talk 1370 AM (Toledo, OH)
Listen Online
http://www.wspd.com/main.html

Western Michigan on the radio

WZUU 92.5 FM The Zuu (Kalamazoo, MI)
Listen Online
http://www.wzuu.com/

WRCC 104.9 FM (Battle Creek, MI)
Listen Online
http://www.battlecreekradio.com/

WTKG 1230 AM (Grand Rapids, MI)
Listen Online
http://www.wtkg.com/main.html

Only in Dekalb

You only see this in the Dekalb/Chicago area.

This morning I was walking around in a T-Shirt during 47 degree F weather.

Now it is 3 degrees F with a -23 wind chill!!!

Weird Game

NIU loses 63-59 @ Bowling Green.

We only shot 2...count 'em, 2 free throws!!!

We only turned it over 13 times, to BG's 7. Not to mention we had a season-high in rebounding with 44 compared to BG's 33.

Shoddy officiating letting seconds go off after BG fouls late. With few seconds left, all BGSU had to do was foul us over and over again as the clock went down.

Jake Anderson scored 18 with 10 rebounds. Played well, things just didn't go our way. 3 game homestand coming up where we should hopefully get 2 out of 3 wins against Miami OH Wednesday, Ohio Saturday and Buffalo the Tues after that.

Here was the log from the end of the game:

0:19	Bowling Green 30 Second Timeout.
0:19	Foul on Sean Smith	59-60
0:19		59-61	Joe Jakubowski made Free Throw.
0:19		59-61	Joe Jakubowski missed Free Throw.
0:19	Sean Smith Defensive Rebound.	59-61
0:14		59-61	Foul on Joe Jakubowski
0:10		59-61	Foul on Joe Jakubowski
0:07		59-61	Foul on Nate Miller
0:04		59-61	Nate Miller Steal.
0:01		59-63	Nate Miller made Two Point Dunk Shot.
0:01		59-63	Chris Knight Steal.
0:00	End Game

Looking to Football Next Year: Injuries, Recruiting

HC Jerry Kill says pull my finger to QB Dan Nicholson

Photo taken by Eric Sumberg (Chronicle)

Today is going to be a very boring day with no NFL to watch, so I was browsing the Dekalb Chronicle and saw a pretty interesting article on the state of the football team. Nice debut article by Jon Styf, who has taken over for former Chronicle writer Bobby Narang. Well, you just have to read:

At this point, Nicholson and plenty of his teammates, like senior wide receivers Britt Davis and Matt Simon, who both had offseason shoulder surgery as well, are all trying to recover. The injuries are so widespread that when the Huskies ran their first conditioning drills under new coach Jerry Kill last Tuesday morning, nearly 20 players were on the sidelines watching.

“There were as many guys watching as working,” offensive coordinator Matt Limegrover said.

Nicholson's had arthroscopic surgery on a tear in his throwing shoulder on Jan. 7. Optimistically, he hopes to be able to start throwing a football again during spring practices. But he probably won't be able to fully return until the summer.

Hopefully most of those injured guys will at least be back by the spring. I'm surprised that many guys are still sidelined. Just shows how brutal last season was injury-wise. It wasn't just some dings here and there. A lot of players had SERIOUS season-ending injuries. I didn't know that both our starting WR's had shoulder surgery in the off-season! Geez!!!

On Dan:

The shoulder, which kept him out of most practices, affected his throwing strength on Saturdays as well.

“My mechanics were the same, but I'm not going to lie, I didn't have 100 percent of my arm strength,” Nicholson said.

And some thoughts on the offensive philosophy:

One of those big changes will be the Huskies' new offense, which is still in the planning stages. The coaches are planning on bringing in their multiple-sets, which Kill compares to what Boise State runs, but they will tweak it to apply to the talent Northern Illinois already has.

“We're smart enough to know that when you have good players to not try to pound that square peg into a round hole,” said Limegrover, who held the same title of offensive coordinator under Kill as Southern Illinois. “We're not going to take where we were last year and just change Southern to Northern.”

I also came across the Sun-Times ranking for High School Juniors who we should start scouting for next year. National Signing Day is February 6th and I can't wait to see the full lists of commits that Northern has coming up. Red shows interest in NIU.

Recruiters zero in on top juniors (Sun-Times)


TOP 30 AREA FOOTBALL PLAYERS IN THE CLASS OF 2009 * By Taylor Bell No. Player, school Ht. Wt. Po.

1 Craig Drummond, Morgan Park 6-5 245 DE

2 Evan Watkins, Glenbard North 6-6 225 QB (Northwestern Verbal)

3 Chris Watt, Glenbard West 6-4 275 OL

4 Lendell Buckner, Leo 6-2 320 DL (Illinois Verbal)

5 Darius Moffett, Hubbard 6-4 220 LB

6 Pat Ward, Providence 6-7 270 OL (NIU Offer)

Rivals Profile

7 Leon Hill, Leo 6-5 330 OL (Illinois Verbal)

8 Charlie Goro, Maine South 6-3 182 QB

9 Jon Budmayr, Marian Central 6-1 185 QB (Wisconsin Verbal)

10 Mike Trumpy, Wheaton North 6-0 197 RB (Northwestern Verbal)

11 Robert Morgan, Leo 6-2 205 RB

12 Shaun Pratl, Richards 6-7 215 TE

13 Jordan Roberts, Aurora Christian 6-1 205 QB

Rivals Profile

14 Dominique Bell, Morgan Park 6-1 190 RB

15 Jake Juriga, St. Charles North 6-3 205 LB

A dramatic change (Sun-Times)

16 Cody O'Neill, Marian Central 6-3 275 OL

17 Jake Baratz, Naperville North 6-5 285 OL

Rivals Profile

18 Kyle Zelinsky, Bartlett 6-2 220 LB

Rivals Profile

19 Jeremy Johnson, Mount Carmel 6-1 230 LB

20 Marquone Edwards, Waukegan 6-1 190 WR

21 Nick Mlady, Naperville North 6-1 190 RB

Rivals Profile

22 John Brewer, Lake Zurich 6-3 240 DL

23 Jordan Coffey, Batavia 6-5 210 QB

24 Mike Adams, Aurora C. Cath. 6-5 230 QB

25 Jerad Grundy, Johnsburg 6-0 175 QB

26 Bryan Bradshaw, Prairie Ridge 6-2 185 QB

27 Tyler Hudetz, Joliet Catholic 5-10 185 RB

28 Ben Sampson, Stevenson 6-6 305 OL

29 Mark Zielinski, New Trier 6-5 290 OL

30 Jamal Gray, Thornton 6-3 190 WR

Rivals Profile

And while we're at it, here are some players that are interested in NIU:

TyQuan Hammock, Fort Wayne, (IN) Bishop Luers 6-1 220 LB (Thomas Hammock's brother)

Rivals Profile

NIU 2-3 Against MAC West

After 2 losses, damn it felt good to get a win tonight 60-58 against Ball State at home. Greek Night. All my fraternity brothers at the game. AD Jim Phillips came around and gave some guys some pats on the head. We were up by as much as 16 points, but then came a very bad drought during the 2nd part of the game. It was pathetic how we couldn't score. Everybody looked really shaky. Ball State turned the ball over 5 times to our 19!!!

Luckily we out-rebounded them 40-26. What the heck happened in this game? Our guards are awful. Bottom feeders of the MAC battling it out. Shaun Logan scored 19 and got 9 rebounds. Grafel went for 11 with 10 rebounds. Nichols chipped in with 13 pts.

We always have one player DESTROY us and in this game it was Anthony Newell who scored 24 for the Cardinals.

We won the game by Jarvis Nichols dishing it to Egan Grafel for the basket and the free throws in the last few seconds!!!

Patton wants this lineup for the rest of the season:

G Jarvis Nichols
G Jake Anderson
F Sean Smith
F Shaun Logan
F/C Egan Grafel

INJURY REPORT/ROSTER CHANGES (Chronicle):

Cody Yelder and Darrius Gaters both won't be returning to the basketball team because of academic issues.

Ben Rand is still out with plantar faciitis, while Jeremy Landers is nursing a pulled groin. We're down to 9 players!!!

Interesting Patton Quotes (NStar):

“The guys we started tonight should be starting,” Patton said. “I’d like to stick with this lineup now for the rest of the season.”

“Michael Patton has the ability to make shots,” Ricardo Patton said. “Michael Hart can also do some things. We don’t really have many perimeter players off the bench. We need to be more focused on pounding the ball inside.”

"We rebounded the ball well. This team has rebounded against everyone but one or two opponents so I am pleased with that."

Patton on Landers & Michael Patton (Chronicle):

“He's our best perimeter defender and we certainly miss him, especially on defense,” Patton said. “But he'll be back.”

“I think Michael Patton is a guy that has shown the ability to make the shots but he needs to get a little stronger handling the basketball,” Ricardo Patton said. “That's why we had intended to redshirt him this year.

“But I think he can come off the bench and make some big shots for us.”

2007 Blogger Awards

College Football has ended and it's time to look at this past season and help recognize some of the best blogs out there. I started this blog by glancing at the 2006 winners, and got inspired by some of the really cool ones out there. Last year this whole thing was set up by Tennessee Blog Rocky Talk Top, while EDSBS has the listings of the awards and criteria for this year and has details on how to nominate blogs for awards.

The awards I'm most excited about are as follows:

Best new blog

FOR: The best blog started within the past year.

CRITERIA: Must have launched sometime after the prior year’s national championship game.

The Job Award

FOR: The blog that has suffered through its chosen team’s dismal season with the most dignity.

CRITERIA: Continued engagement in the face of crippling, misery-inducing defeat. A stiff-upper lip and sane reaction to everything crumbling to dust. (Yeah, this is definitely how I felt following NIU Football this year lol)

And of course...

Best Non-BCS blog

MY NOMINATIONS:

Anyways, I've been really impressed with a few of the blogs that I have read and people I have conversed with in the Blogosphere.

I would like to nominate the AKOLDIES.org Blog for "Best Looking Blog", "Best Non-BCS Blog" and "Best New Blog". The Akron alum posts consistent information about the Zips and the site is very visually pleasing.

Also, I want to nominate Saturday Sound-Offs for "Best New Blog" and "Best Writing". The wealth of info on that site is ridiculous. You can always expect great commentary consistently from that site.

One other blog out there is tremendous and needs to be commended for his great efforts this season and that's Navy blog Pitch Right. I would definitely recommend that blog for the "Best Writing" and "Best Non-BCS Blog" awards. His huge, detailed and interesting posts inspired me to write a little more in my own postings.

For "Funniest Blog", the Iowa blog Black Heart Gold Pants has to win. Whenever I need a laugh I go to that site. I haven't seen one site yet post consistently funny material quite like BHGP. Definitely one of my biggest inspirations to start my own blogging experience.

No Super Bowl Ring for an NIU Alum This Year

Michael Turner against the Pats
(Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

Disappointingly, there aren't going to be any Huskies in the Super Bowl this year. Last year, Ryan Diem got a ring playing RT for the Indianapolis Colts. The previous former NIU player to win a SB Ring before Diem was Safety Clarence Vaughn in '88 and '92 for the Redskins.

Obviously, the San Diego Chargers beat Indy in the Divisional Playoffs. Former Huskie great Michael Turner stepped up and rushed for 71 yds on 17 carries against the Colts. Unfortunately, Turner had trouble putting the ball in the endzone as LT usually efficiently does in both games. Unfortunately Tomlinson got hurt and Phillip Rivers had to carry the team the rest of the way.

Against the Patriots, Turner only went for 65 yds on 17 attempts and no touchdowns. You have to wonder what would have happened with LT still playing. Turner just wasn't as effective as LT would have been out of the backfield or even throwing the ball as LT does sometimes.

As for other Huskie alums fared in the playoffs, backup Tackle Doug Free and TO's backup WR Sam Hurd got upset at home against the now Super Bowl-bound NY Giants in the Divisional Playoffs. Both players received minimal playing time.

What did I just watch?

I came out of the Convo today with a look of confusion.

What had I just seen with my own two eyes? Could that have been NIU Basketball? A 78-62 blowout victory for my Huskies? How is this possible?

Enough with the questions, the Ricardo Patton era of basketball is in full swing after a HUGE victory against our rivals in Toledo. They talked about the rivalry against Toledo a bunch on the radio. Ricardo even found out about it during the week.

Gone is the Rob Judson era, where players would just pass the ball around the perimeter, not attacking the basket and just not being athletic whatsoever. Judson never improved his teams throughout the season. 2 games into conference season, you can already see the improvement by Ricardo Patton's squad.

Gone is Judson's players barely scoring more than 10 points in every game and never holding on to the ball. In comes Ricardo Patton's high flying team scoring at will and 3 guys scoring in double digits. All the talent has been brought out of whatever Judson gave us. I remember watching the highlights from some Judson years, and I almost fell asleep. This team doesn't do that to me.

I have always been embarrassed to go to NIU Basketball games, or even ask my friends to go. With today's victory, I don't feel that way anymore. If we win on Wednesday against EMU, I don't have any doubt in my mind to invite more people to the games and encourage people to show up at the game. This was an unbelievable victory that will hopefully impact the way the rest of the season will be played.

Memorable moments included Jarvis Nichols hit 3 3-pointers in a row towards the end of the 2nd half. Also Jake "Don't call me Darion" Anderson had a HUGE dunk that rocked the Convo. Anderson also had 10 rebounds.

Notable performances were from Jarvis Nichols with 21 pts, and Sean Smith with 18. Smith has such a pretty shot. Shaun Logan played gritty, dishing out 6 assists and fouling out and coming on to the bench with a standing O. Bristan Kelley did the dirty work in the paint scoring 11 points. We only turned it over 13 times in this game, which was key for a victory.

It was nice to see Sean Smith get his academics together and come back to play this game. He is a phenomenal player and will continue to improve adjusting from JUCO to D-I. Ben Rand was out with a sore foot.

So here is the current inactives...

Michael Fakuade - Redshirting as a Freshman
Lee Fisher - Redshirting as a Freshman
Sean Kowal - Sitting year out as Soph transfer from Colorado

"Judson Guys"
Darrius Gaters - Out for academic reasons
Zach Pancrantz - Out for season because of shoulder surgery
Ryan Paradise - Decided to end career because of broken nose/December graduation
Cody Yelder - Out for academic reasons

So here's a tally of post-HS experience on this team in order of most minutes played:

32 Jake Anderson, Fr - Spent 1 year at a prep-school improving his academics
25 Shaun Logan, Sr - Played for NIU LY and JUCO the 2 previous years
3 Jarvis Nichols, Jr - Redshirted LY and JUCO the 2 previous years
21 Egan Grafel, Sr - Barely played last year for NIU and JUCO the 2 previous years
24 Jeremy Landers, Fr - None, True Freshman
12 Sean Smith, Jr - JUCO the 2 past years
4 Michael Patton, Fr - None, True Freshman
10 Michael Hart, Sr - Played for D-III Carthage and at the Rec Center
2 Najul Ervin, So - Played 1 year of JUCO
31 Bristan Kelley, So - Played for NIU LY

Attendance tally for the season:

SFA - 1,141
Lamar - 1,042
Air Force - 1,169
UALR - 2,164
Toledo - 2,138

Assistant Coaches Pt 2

DC Claeys and OC Limegrover staring you down.

Almost a month ago, I reported about the new coaching staff, and there is finally a press release about it. Some things have changed since my last post about this topic.


Jeff Phelps will continue coaching the D-Line.

Former NIU WR PJ Fleck will pick up duties as our Recruiting Coordinator (Holy Crap!) along with continuing to be our WRs coach (Teach Britt Davis to catch already!!!)

Brian Anderson will be the Tight Ends Coach

Jay Sawvel will coach Defensive Backs and be Special Teams Coordinator

Northern Illinois' assistant coaching staff brings 122 years of coaching experience to the Huskie sidelines. Kill is happy to have his staff finalized as the spring semester and critical recruiting period begins.

"There is no question Northern Illinois has hit the gold mine as far as the coaching staff is concerned," Kill said. "With the core group that had so much success at Southern Illinois joining the returning coaches, I am excited about this group and the knowledge, enthusiasm and experience they bring to our program."

Kill expects to bring a director of football operations on board later this month. The National Letter of Intent Signing Day for football is Feb. 6.

CONFERENCE PLAY KICKS OFF @ 1 PM CST!!!

Ricardo Patton QOTD:

“We're laying a foundation. When you're building a house, you have to first dig a hole, pour that foundation and then get the foundation firm. Now that it's built, we've tweaked a few things on that foundation. That's where we are now. We're firm”