Northwestern made some recruiting noise this week by adding two players who will bolster the roster next season.
On Sunday, unranked 2022 wing Nick Martinelli, a former Elon commitment from nearby Glenbrook South High School, announced his commitment to the Wildcats. Then, on Thursday, the Wildcats landed grad transfer forward Tydus Verhoeven from UTEP.
Those two additions won't strike fear into Big Ten opponents or instantly make the Wildcats an NCAA Tournament team, but they addressed a couple of needs and, at the very least, added some depth.
The two new Cats also gave the program some much-needed positive news after the high-profile decommitment of four-star guard Rowan Brumbaugh in December, a disappointing 2021-22 season and the surprise transfer of starting-center-to-be Ryan Young in March.
Selling the program to prospects and transfers can't be easy for head coach Chris Collins right now, especially after he was "tasked" with "making necessary changes" to turn the basketball program around this upcoming year by athletic director Dr. Derrick Gragg. Many interpreted that as meaning that Collins has one more year to improve the team's record after five straight losing seasons, or risk getting fired.
Martinelli and Verhoeven likely won't change the Wildcats' fortunes by themselves, so Collins and his staff still have some work to do. The good news is that they have two more open scholarships remaining to improve the lineup.
Martinelli, a 6-foot-7 wing, sort of fell into Northwestern's lap after a coaching change. He was released from his letter of intent after Elon head coach Mike Schrage left to take an assistant job at Duke under new coach John Scheyer -- who ironically played his high school ball at Glenbrook North, the alma mater of Collins and Martinelli's arch-rival.
The left-handed Martinelli put up some big numbers while leading GBS to a 33-3 record this season, averaging 22.8 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. He picked up 12 offers in all during his recruitment, but it's notable that Northwestern was the only Power Six conference program on his list.
Part of that was the result of his early commitment last July to Elon, as other schools backed off of him. But even after his decommitment earlier this month, nine of his 10 offers came from lower-conference schools. That definitely raises some red flags.
Martinelli was an explosive scorer in high school who could score outside or inside, but there are some questions about his athleticism as he prepares to jump to the next level, particularly on the defensive end, where he may not have the lateral quickness to guard some of the dynamic small forwards in the Big Ten.
The long and rangy Martinelli may be more of a development project and could redshirt next season. He will likely slot in behind Casey Simmons and Brooks Barnhizer, two similar wing types of players, in terms of minutes.
Verhoeven is a proven commodity but is most likely to be more of a role player than a true difference maker. His value will come on the defensive end, as well as the energy he will bring when he is on the floor.
At 6-foot-9 and 235 pounds, the rugged Verhoeven is a strong rebounder and rim protector. He didn't put up any eye-catching numbers in 28 starts for UTEP last season -- he averaged 6.6 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game -- but he led the team in blocks and was second in rebounds.
Verhoeven will play either the 4 or 5 spots for the Wildcats. His skill set should complement starting power forward Robbie Beran, who is a stretch-4 type of player who can play on the perimeter. Verhoeven will certainly be an upgrade defensively from the departed Young, but he doesn't have the low-post presence or scoring ability of the 6-foot-11 former Wildcat.
The Wildcats right now have Verhoeven, Beran, Matt Nicholson and Luke Hunger at the 4 and 5 spots. Nicholson, a 7-foot rising junior, played a very limited role last season and was usually in foul trouble when he got extended minutes. Hunger, who was just named the MVP of the prestigious New England prep school league, is a talented 6-foot-9 incoming freshman who looks promising but has yet to play a college game.
Will that be enough to hold up in the rough-and-tumble Big Ten? Northwestern lost a lot in Young, leading scorer and rebounder Pete Nance, and the dependable Elyjah Williams off the bench. The staff will be be putting a lot on the shoulders of a fifth-year senior learning a new system, an unproven junior and a rookie.
The good news is that the Wildcats can still add a couple more pieces with their two open scholarships. One comes from the graduation of Ryan Greer, while the other wasn't used last season as Northwestern played with 12, rather than the full allotment of 13 scholarships.
The Wildcats have yet to replace Greer, so one of the remaining scholarships will surely go to a guard who can handle the ball and take some pressure off of point guard Boo Buie. Northwestern is pretty solid at guard and will probably once again go with a three-guard starting lineup featuring Buie, Chase Audige and Julian Roper, with shooting specialist Ty Berry coming off the bench. They could still use another point guard who can run the offense and distribute the ball, however.
The last scholarship will likely go to another big or a best-available type who can provide the lineup with some much-needed offense. Points could be hard to come by without Nance, the focal point of the offense, and Young, the go-to post scorer when Nance was on the bench. Those two accounted for nearly 24 points per game last season.
At this point in the recruiting cycle, with the vast majority of 2022 prospects committed to other programs, the Wildcats will more likely fill their remaining needs through the transfer portal.
