Doubts about Northeastern in the CAA are sure to come again

It’s been said many times and in many contexts that history repeats itself. Surely one form of that is already here and will continue: the question of whether or not Northeastern can win in the Colonial Athletic Association.

Northeastern had to overcome a 24-point deficit against George Mason in the semifinals and then fell behind big early in the championship before falling to James Madison. The Huskies were the CAA regular season champions, but they couldn’t close it out thanks to a poor performance in the biggest game of the year.

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Jonathan Lee and Joel Smith have grown and shared a lot together

Northeastern’s first CAA regular season title has been driven by an unlikely senior backcourt. Jonathan Lee and Joel Smith come from different parts of the country and different worlds, and they have decidedly different games and personalities. But teams that win do so with togetherness even with differences, and when you look at the success of the Huskies, one place to start is with what Lee and Smith share together.

They share more than meets the eye, especially since they came to Huntington Ave. They have shared playing time, roles and work ethic, and have done much of it together with a bond they forged almost as soon as they arrived in a different world than the one they grew up in.

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Northeastern is very much in the driver’s seat in the CAA

BOSTON – Sunday night didn’t settle anything once and for all in the Colonial Athletic Association.  Each team still has ten games left before the conference tournament, and this is still almost certain to be a one-bid league when it comes to the NCAA Tournament.  But what Sunday did settle is that right now, Northeastern is very much the team to beat, as the Huskies moved to 8-0 in the conference by putting on a clinic to beat George Mason 71-51.

Northeastern is now three games ahead of George Mason and James Madison in the loss column in the CAA.  With a lot of time left, that’s a nice place to be since it gives them some margin for error.  What’s more, the Huskies are 4-0 against the projected top three teams in the preseason, having swept George Mason and won at Drexel and at Delaware.  They still have visits from Drexel and Delaware, and their only meeting with James Madison, tied with George Mason for second, is at home in about three weeks.

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Win over William & Mary helps explain Northeastern’s 7-0 CAA start

BOSTON – Northeastern didn’t win Wednesday night’s game as comfortably as they probably should have.  The Huskies had a 16-point lead early in the second half and appeared to be dominating William & Mary, which one might expect given that the Huskies came in undefeated in CAA play and the Tribe was a game out of the cellar and mired in a seven-game losing streak.  In the end, they won 95-91 in double overtime, and head coach Bill Coen breathing a sigh of relief tells you how much the bottom line is what counts.

“We were very, very fortunate tonight to come away with a victory,” said Coen.  “A lot of teams, after surrendering a 15-point halftime lead, wouldn’t be able to find a way to win.  It speaks to this group because they stuck together, they believed in one another.”

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Now would be a good time for Northeastern to turn a corner

NEW BRITAIN, Conn. – Northeastern may be in a position to turn a corner at a good time. That might seem like an odd proclamation about a team that just snapped a five-game losing streak on Friday night, but take the way they won and add the recent return of their leader, and things could be looking up for the Huskies with CAA play right around the corner.

Friday night was Jonathan Lee’s second game back from a broken foot that shelved him for nearly two months. An All-CAA candidate, the senior leader doesn’t look like he’s missed a beat, and given how competitive he is that isn’t entirely surprising. With 15 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists, Lee was the catalyst in Friday’s 82-63 win at Central Connecticut, and figures to be the rest of the season.

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Northeastern shows areas for concern but also some real positives in opener

BOSTON – A lot of things happen on opening night that don’t happen at any other time in the season. A team’s opener isn’t always a barometer of what is to come for a variety of reasons, but if the season-opening 65-64 win for Northeastern is one, there could be better things ahead than one might expect from a nail-biting win over a young Boston University team.

Certainly, Friday’s outcome can be a testament to how one shot can change something more than it should. Northeastern basically stole one at home and had some of its concerns exposed, and that wouldn’t have changed if Demetrius Pollard didn’t hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer from the top of the key that was followed by fans rushing the court to mob him in the corner. But there were some positive developments that could bode well for this team, and Pollard’s shot means they also have something to show for it on the bottom line.

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Northeastern Huskies 2012-13 Preview

Northeastern Huskies (14-17 overall, 9-9 conference)

Projected starting five:

Sr. G Jonathan Lee
Sr. G Joel Smith
Fr. G-F Zach Stahl
So. F Quincy Ford
So. F Reggie Spencer

Important departures:

F Kauri Black (4.4 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 1.2 apg, transferred to Tulsa) is the only starter who departed, while G-F Alwayne Bigby (3.3 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 1.2 apg) and Ryan Pierson (1.9 ppg, 1.1 rpg) also transferred (to Rhode Island and Vermont, respectively) and G-F Kashief Edwards (5.5 ppg, 1.9 rpg) graduated.

Returning:

76.2 percent of scoring and 69.3 percent of rebounding

Additions:

Fr. G Derrico Peck
Fr. G-F Zach Stahl
Fr. G-F David Walker

Schedule Highlights:

Northeastern’s non-conference slate isn’t as loaded as it has been in other years under Bill Coen. In fact, they have as many home games (six) as road and neutral site games. They open with cross-town rival Boston University at home, head to Ivy League favorite Princeton and host America East contender Vermont before heading to the Great Alaska Shootout. After that, a four-game homestand awaits, featuring UMass and La Salle. Early on in CAA play, we’ll find out something about this team as four of the first six games are on the road, including trips to George Mason, Drexel and Delaware.

Projected finish and outlook:

The Huskies are a sleeper contender this season, especially after a couple of players transferred this off-season. While Black and Bigby helped, neither lived up to their potential and Pierson didn’t improve from his freshman season. What they return is an underrated and experienced backcourt, with Lee as the team’s unquestioned leader although he’ll miss some early time with a foot injury. Ford’s ceiling is very high, and he’s only begun to show how good he can be. Spencer is the X-factor, as he had some good moments as a freshman but also the inconsistency one expects of a freshman and some offensive limitations. If he makes a nice leap, the frontcourt will be in better shape. The big keys for the Huskies besides Spencer’s development are some freshmen filling in as role players and taking better care of the ball after only Towson committed more turnovers last season. Stahl played well in the Huskies’ summer trip and looks to be the freshman most ready to contribute immediately, while Walker has a bright future and Peck should get minutes. Northeastern can contend, but they’ll need to improve defensively as well, so while the personnel is there to be a sleeper there’s some work to be done. The thinking here is that they will make the improvements and the senior backcourt will drive this team a long way.

Next: Old Dominion Monarchs

Back to CAA preview

Northeastern hopes to ride senior backcourt and other key players into CAA contention

BOSTON – The Colonial Athletic Association will have a little different look this season, but that isn’t true only because one team is gone and two more teams will be gone after this season. Look near the top of the standings and there will likely be a team or two that hasn’t been a traditional contender in the mix. Northeastern hopes to be one of those teams, and there is reason to believe the Huskies can be there.

Northeastern returns four key players from last season’s team that will be the foundation of this season’s team. The last time the Huskies contended in the CAA, it was similar – four core guys and role players that surrounded them. Potentially, this team will have more depth than that team, and the four core players might collectively match the ones from that team.

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Northeastern has promise next season, but clear room for improvement

RICHMOND, Va. – You can only survive so many turnovers for so long, unless you’re playing out-of-this-world defense as well or shooting the lights out when you don’t give the ball away. Northeastern did neither of those on Saturday night, and as a result the Huskies are headed home after an interesting season.

Northeastern managed to hang in early on despite VCU out-playing them. The Rams forced 11 turnovers in the first half, a number of them coming in the early minutes, but they never got a big lead. The Huskies were able to tie it at 26 at halftime thanks to holding the Rams below 40 percent from the field while they shot over 47 percent. VCU also turned the 11 turnovers into just nine points, so the giveaways weren’t hurting the Huskies yet.

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2012 CAA Tournament – First Round Notes

RICHMOND, Va. – The first round of the CAA Tournament is in the books.  The seeds held to form save for the first game of the day, although Towson had a chance to change that before Delaware was able to hold them off.  William & Mary also made a charge at Northeastern, but to no avail, and the best team performance of the day came in the last game as Georgia State dominated Hofstra, playing like a team on a mission as head coach Ron Hunter described after the game.

Here are some quick hitters on what happened Friday:

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