#HLMBB Preview: Northern Kentucky
Cam Fuller
Northern Kentucky Norse
Last year: 24-11 overall, 12-6 Horizon League (Motor City Madness Champions)
Coach: John Brannen (3rd year)
Team Preview
By Joey Yashinsky, Horizon League Contributor
Lavone Holland II is not the top perimeter threat in the Horizon League. He’s not the most athletic player, either. But when the stakes are highest, when the minutes are melting away and the game is in the balance, there is nobody you’d rather have holding the basketball.
That clutch gene was on full display during Motor City Madness where Holland II made countless big plays in leading Northern Kentucky to the tournament championship, the first in program history. He took home the event’s MVP honors, too. In watching Holland II, it’s hard not to be reminded of 2004 NBA Finals MVP Chauncey Billups (Mr. Big Shot), a guard that never wowed you with one particular skill, but who always seemed to find a way to guide his team to victory. Holland II enters his senior year as a second-team All-Horizon League selection and quite clearly the preeminent point guard in the conference.
Many teams crave having that inside-outside duo, a shooter to bomb away from 3-point land and another to maneuver for easy baskets inside. The Northern Kentucky Norse receive that devastating combination from a single player, the Horizon League Preseason Player of the Year, Drew McDonald. The junior forward is a virtually impossible cover for opposing defenses. Assign a lumbering big man to McDonald and he’ll burn you on pick-and-pops from the perimeter, as he did in his 26-point outing against Jorden Kaufman and Youngstown State in the Horizon semifinal. But try to stick a smaller, quicker player on McDonald and he’ll drag you to the paint for a post clinic. It’s the reason coaches and media tabbed him as the league’s top player coming into the 2017-18 season.
The scary thought for the rest of the Horizon League is that the defending champion Norse are bringing virtually the whole crew back this season. John Brannen will lose one of the league’s top 3-point marksmen in Cole Murray, but otherwise, the key elements are all back and ready to repeat.
Carson Williams was voted to the All-Freshman team a year ago and he could be approaching All-League status next. Williams is a sturdy 6-foot-5, 230-pound, forward that impacts the game on many levels. He is relentless on the offensive glass, competes extremely hard on D, and scores in double figures without needing a whole lot of sets designed specifically for him. (He shot 60% from the field as a freshman.) Williams took it to in-state rival Kentucky during the NCAA Tournament, registering 21 points and nine boards to cap off a memorable debut season. Drew McDonald made a major leap from his first collegiate season to his second; if Williams can do the same, the Norse will instantly possess one of the most dangerous frontcourts in the entire country.
As good as many of the headliners are on Brannen’s club, this is a deep roster, too, with a host of valuable contributors.
Jordan Garnett is a ball-hawking senior forward that welcomes the nightly challenge of shutting down the opposing team’s top scorer. He’s a deceptive offensive threat, too, sinking 42% of his 3-point attempts and converting 79% at the foul line.
Mason Faulkner, an emerging sophomore point guard, was one of Northern Kentucky’s best players during their run at Motor City Madness. He will likely see increased court time alongside Holland II this year as Brannen lets his devastating guard tandem play off one another.
The Norse will also benefit from the return of Jalen Tate, an athletic wing player that missed most of last season with a hand injury. Chris Vogt is a skilled 7-foot freshman that will be plugged into the rotation early in his NKU career.
With hoops season getting set to kick off, there is a palpable buzz emanating from the Northern Kentucky campus. The Horizon League champions are on the hunt for more hardware, and will do so with nearly the same cast of characters back in the fold.
But going back-to-back in the Horizon League is no simple task. Since Butler repeated in 2010 and 2011, there has been a new champion crowned every March.
The Northern Kentucky Norse are out to reverse that trend.
And they have more than enough firepower to turn that dream into a reality.
Motor City Madness
Support the Norse at the 2018 Little Caesars Horizon League Basketball Championships March 2-6 at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. Tickets can be purchased at campus box offices now and online starting December 15. For more information, click here.
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