Hey, so the Northwestern Wildcats just lost in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament. So, hey, they blew a 16-point lead. So, hey, whatareyagonnado?

Northwestern closes the season 1-18 in the Big Ten, which is awful, but at least better than 0-16, I guess. I'm okay with that.

I'm okay with it because, well, I still like cheering for Northwestern. And I like them to do well. And because, well, hey, it's just basketball anyway. Also, because, for all the frustrating things about him (mostly his poutiness in cases of early deficits), I like Bill Carmody.

Is it completely defeatist to say that a coach, in year eight, who hasn't made a single postseason tournament (though he deserved the 2002 NIT, for what it's worth), is doing fine? Is that okay? Because that's kind of how I feel.

Certainly, Bill Carmody isn't the problem. Which is different than saying he's the solution. But he's not the problem.

The problem is, mostly, history, I think.

And the fact that, at Northwestern, the women aren't so good looking and that, at Northwestern, the players have to go to class kind of and that, at Northwestern, out of a student population of 7,500, only, say, 12 will worship the ground you walk on if you're a basketball superstar. It's an indifferent student population, which is cool if you're a student and like to stand in the front row of the student section, but isn't so cool if you're a scholarship athlete who wants the adulation that goes along with the stress. Because, let's be honest, it's quite a stressful life, with travel, and with class requirements, and with missing winter break, and with practice all the time. At OSU or Michigan State or Michigan or Wisconsin, you get some adulation for your work. At Northwestern, well, you get more work. And class until June.

So, Bill Carmody's up against a lot.

Now the question is, Is the program better now than when he got here?

Yes. When he got here, Harry Good and Casey Cortez and Patrick Towne were on scholarship. When he got here, they had just gone 0-16, and Jitim Young was the only thing resembling a Big Ten player.

Now, they're coming off this 1-17 year. Kevin Coble and Michael Thompson are rotation players on other teams. Craig Moore might just be a rotation player.

Now, the real question is, Is the program better than it was at the midpoint of his NU coaching career? I'm not sure. My tendency is to think that, yes, it is. But I remember how highly we thought of TJ Parker and Mohamed Hachad and Vedran Vukusic and, yes, we all loved Davor and, probably a little, Michael Jenkins.

Things that are good:

- Local recruiting inroads. Next year's team will have Illinois/Chicago representation, I think, in all four classes; senior Sterling Williams, juniors Jeff Ryan and Jeremy Nash, sophomores Michael Thompson and Mike Capocci, and freshmen John Shurna and Nick Fruent. This includes three that claim Chicago as home. Not the 'burbs, but Chicago. I think this is important.

- Related to this, Tavaras Hardy, who is totally fat at this point.

- Kind of related to this is legitimate class balance. Moore and Williams are seniors next year, Coble and Ryan and Nash are juniors, Baran and Peljusic and Capocci and Thompson are sophomores, and Fruent and Shurna and Curletti and one more, potentially, are freshman. (That might be the whole roster. In fact, that is the whole roster. I'm such a nerd.)

- Kind of related to legitimate class balance is legitimate star balance. Moore, Coble, Thompson are for real, y'all, and recruits are gonna want the chance to play with a guy like Juice.

Things that are bad:
- Most everything else.

Things not included among "most everything else:"
- The Princeton offense. It's beautiful, and we're getting closer to a roster of guys suited for it. (Well, next year Coble and Moore and Thompson and Shurna, apparently, and Fruent, apparently, are shooters. Baran could become one, as could Peljusic, and Ryan was one, I swear, four years ago.)

Thing I hate most about this year:
- The Big Ten Network. Maybe I'll be in a place where I can get satellite TV next year. Or maybe the Big Ten Network will stop sucking.

Okay, that's all on Northwestern basketball.

Check back in in about three months, when I'll sing the praises of the next rising high school senior to commit to Northwestern. Because there will be that post, because I'm a total nerd.

(We've already got Craig Moore's replacement committed. Marcutullio, or something, a 6-3 Catholic school kid from the Detroit area. Word is, he's got "Area Code Range." "In The Gym Range." "Majerle Range." No word if he can make those shots, just that he's willing to take them. Michigan liked him, but Northwestern offered him first.)

God, I love Northwestern sports. I hope Carmody's around for a few more years.