Last Year
The Detective did not go out on a happy note. While Nick Martinelli played almost all the minutes and scored all the points, the teammates didn't hold up and the Big Ten kicked their ass. That resulted in a 15-19 overall record and 5-15 in the conference. They at least got a couple fun wins in the BTT before getting bounced by Purdue.
Happy Trails
- Nick Martinelli finally solved the case of collegiate eligibility, and took Justin Mullins with him.
- The portal came for the frontcourt, as Arrinten Page headed to Providence and Tre Singleton headed to Iowa State.
- The portal also came for the backcourt: Jayden Reid went to Memphis and Jordan Clayton went to UMass.
- And well the portal came for most everyone else: Max Green (Charleston), Tyler Kropp (Washington State), and Cade Bennerman (North Carolina, wait, like, the real one? Yes, apparently so.)
Starters
- PG Jake West, 6'3'' Sophomore: Not everyone left Evanston. West was a frosh last season who gradually earned more minutes and was starting by year's end. He was at least functional, which is always a good description of a point guard.
- SG Angelo Ciaravino, 6'6'' Junior: The other big returnee is Ciaravino, who was a solid but unspectacular part of the rotation last year. He didn't shoot much and couldn't hit threes, though, so tough to see him earning more minutes if he doesn't improve there. But he probably does know something about the secret menu at Club Lucky.
- SF Jack Karasinski, 6'7'' Senior: Karasinkski comes to Evanston in search of Polish sausage and buckets. He was a remarkably consistent and efficient scorer at Bellarmine last year. Northwestern will have to do a lot to replace the Detective, and a forward who shot north of 40% from three will get a long look.
- PF Colin Smith, 6'8'' Senior: Smith, like Karasinski, is a fifth year import. He spent two seasons at Santa Barbara after two seasons at Vanderbilt. He was also efficient, if less prolific, and also shot over 40% from three. If nothing else, the Cats should be able to space the floor.
- C Luke McEldon, 6'10'' Senior: The Cats have some options at the five, and not knowing much about any of them, I'll pencil in McEldon here. He's a fourth year guy from Mount St. Mary's who rebounds and makes bunnies. He has zero made threes in his career and shot 42% from the free throw line. Hack a Luke? Or Hack a Mack(eldon)?
Bench
- SG LA Pratt, 6'5'' Senior: Pratt comes over from Northeastern, and obviously is trying to hit all the directions on the map. More of a scorer than a shooter, he will at least give them some length in the backcourt. He missed nearly all of last season with a broken foot.
- PF Okku Federico, 6'9'' Junior: Okkulis Prime comes from Drake, where he tried to be an inside/outside player and had at least some success. He's originally from Finland; we'll see where he can find some poronkaristys (sauteed reindeer).
- C Ryan Soulis, 6'10'' Junior: Soulis comes over as a fourth year guy from Columbia. He started 17 games and as far as I can tell, went to all his classes. He should continue attending class at Northwestern.
- SG Aleksej Kostic, 6'4'' Sophomore: Kostic comes over after a season at BYU, where he was mostly a reserve. His Northwestern profile says he "competed alongside the 2026 NBA Draft’s No. 1 overall selection in AJ Dybantsa," so he's got that going for him.
- PG Dylan Williams, 5'11'' Senior: Williams comes over from Penn, so Chris Collins must have been scouring SAT scores in the portal.
- SG Phoenix Gill, 6'2'' Sophomore: Gill is the third and final returnee for the Cats, and he is notable for scoring a total of five points last year.
- Two freshmen in four star guard Jayden Hodge and 3 star center Symon Ghai
Outlook
MaximumSam: The big question is whether anyone can become a dependable scorer. Can the transfers play in the B1G? Can Ciaravino or West threaten defenses? Can anyone play the five? Looking up and down the roster just creates more questions than confidence, and it's tough to find a path for them out of the bottom five of the conference.
glass: Wildcats' return just over 20% of their minutes from last season. Which is maybe a good thing coming off the back of a going 5-15. While I am a Chris Collins admirer, and Jake West would look AWFULLY good in a Boiler uniform, there are too many complete unknowns in Evanston. Torvik has them finishing 16-16 (7-13), but I get the feeling it'll be closer to 12-20.
MNW: You've got the starters right, and hit the general vibe of the program. It's lots of unknowns – even down to the bench, where Northwestern replaces longtime play-drawer-upper and general sage Brian James. At some point it might be worth a conversation about where Chris Collins goes in this age of money being thrown around so liberally in the Northwestern athletics department if it's not going to his NIL budget...but today is not the day for that.
'Cats fans are broadly optimistic about Jake West: the kid's got moxie and program legend Bryant McIntosh in his ear, and while he'll be a facilitator first, I'm not upset that he's leading the line. Same goes, though less so, for Ciaravino. He's just never quite been able to crest the hill on his potential, and he'll need to make a big leap defensively to keep himself in the starting lineup.
Defense is one of the big question marks around the 'Cats as presently constituted: where's it going to come from? The hallmark of those really dogfight-kinda Northwestern teams a few years back was a junkyard mentality and lots of bewildering trapping sequences. Boo Buie pickpocketing you in the post, things of that nature. It comes from AC Chris Lowery, who's clearly got a system that works...but does it work in the Age of the Portal? Northwestern took a marked step back last year with a roster of transfers, and that's not changing this year.
One thing to note: while the C outlook is grim (Ghai's 7'3" but not playing anytime soon), McEldon's role as a paint-filler and rebounder would be a welcome return to the days of Silent Matt Nicholson, the Amish Boy Wonder. While I learn for the days of Luka Mirkovic and Alex Olah stepping out and draining threes, then throwing up the Euro three sign, the Lowery defense and Collins identity works well with a space-filler at the five. Keep McEldon on the court, and I'm less concerned there than I've otherwise been.
So. IF there's a defensive renaissance in Evanston, and IF the quiet collection of three-ballers Collins is assembled hits (West and Kostic at 36%, Karasinski and Smith up over 40%), there could be a little three-and-D to Northwestern's vibe this year. If not, it could be lots of LA Pratt hero-ball when the options run out, and that'll get ugly.
BoilerUp89: Beyond the Detective, I liked several of the younger pieces on Northwestern's roster last year thinking they just needed a bit more experience. However when you take the B1G's smallest fanbase - and seemingly all the athletic donations are going to football - there isn’t enough money left over to retain guys like Singleton and Page.
This year's team wins by being a frustrating to play defense that drags games down to a crawl. There's just enough outside shooting to be optimistic, but not nearly enough to be confident with.
The post is going to get bullied by several Big Ten front courts and the rebounding disadvantage may be catastrophic to the Wildcats all year long. My advice: gamble for turnovers. You don't need a defensive rebound if you get a steal.
