Lax star Patrick Spencer a low-risk, high-reward addition for NU hoop

There are a couple ways to interpret the news that Northwestern’s basketball team landed lacrosse star Patrick Spencer of Loyola-Maryland as a graduate transfer. One is that it is an act of desperation. The other is that it is a stroke of genius.

In reality, it may be a little bit of both.

The Wildcats are somewhat desperate, with only 11 scholarship players on the roster for next season – and one of them, Chase Audige, has to sit out for a year as a transfer. Even after reeling in Spencer, the Wildcats still have two scholarship slots to fill for next season in mid-June.

But it’s also a low-risk, high-reward scenario that could pay big dividends if Spencer fulfills his potential as a basketball player.

After all, this isn’t just any lacrosse player we’re talking about. This is the winner of the 2019 Tewaaraton Trophy, the equivalent of the Heisman Trophy for lacrosse. He’s the best player in the country and has been described by a coach as the LeBron James of college lacrosse. Northwestern wants to find out if some of those skills will transfer to the hardwood.

The sources WildcatReport spoke to think that they very well might and that Spencer could be a solid contributor for Northwestern next season.

And, even if he isn’t, it will be a fascinating storyline to follow all year.

Whatever you think of Spencer’s addition to the roster, Northwestern didn’t go into this blindly. The Wildcats didn’t just take a flyer on a kid who hasn’t played on a basketball team since high school because they simply needed a body. They did their homework on him.

According to a program source with knowledge of the situation, Northwestern vetted Spencer by talking to several different contacts in both lacrosse and basketball. They talked to Loyola head basketball coach Tavaras Hardy, a former Northwestern player and assistant. They talked to Northwestern head lacrosse coach Kelly Amonte-Hiller and her husband, assistant coach Scott Hiller. NU head coach Chris Collins talked to some of his lacrosse connections at Duke. They used Jeff Goodman’s story about Spencer for Stadium as background information.

More importantly, they had Spencer in for an official visit on June 12-13, when they watched him play with NU’s current players and assessed his skills first-hand. They found out that the 6-foot-3, 205-pounder is an elite, “above-the-rim athlete” who could play either point or shooting guard for the Wildcats, according to the source.

“He looked good (in the scrimmages),” said the source, who watched Spencer play during his visit and said that Spencer’s shooting was better than he expected it to be. “He is very tough, strong and athletic… (He) will need to get into basketball shape, which we know…but he finished a bunch of drills above the rim with strong one- and two-handed dunks.”

Spencer last played basketball in high school at Baltimore (Md.) Boys’ Latin School, where he averaged 14.3 points, 8.1 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 2.3 steals per game as a senior in 2014-15. He was named to The Baltimore Sun’s All-Metro second team.

Hardy, who just finished his first year as the head man at Loyola, told WildcatReport that he thinks Spencer can be rotation player for the Wildcats next season.

“Legit toughness and competiveness, legit passion for the game,” said Hardy, a three-time MVP at Northwestern who spent 2007-13 as an assistant on Bill Carmody’s staff in Evanston. “Spent as much time playing hoops as he did working on (his) lacrosse game.”

Goodman’s story supports Hardy’s last assertion. According to Goodman, Spencer often played pickup basketball against pros at the UA Center in Baltimore during his time at Loyola. He won the MVP award in the Annapolis Summer Basketball League and averaged 19 points per game in the Brunson League last summer.

“(I) can’t say for sure the extent of his impact because he hasn’t competed in a normal hoops setting in a while,” said Hardy. “But (he) has the skill as far as shooting, ball handling and athleticism.”

Hardy helped guide Spencer through the graduate transfer process. He also has Cameron Spencer, Patrick’s 6-foot-4 younger brother, coming in to play for the Greyhounds as a freshman next season.

Looking at the situation as a whole, Hardy doesn’t see much of a downside for the Wildcats in taking a chance on Spencer.

“(It’s) low risk from NU’s standpoint because he adds great intangibles and won’t pout if he’s not in the rotation,” he said. “(My) gut says he will be, though.”