Wildcats prepare to honor McKinney, take on Iowa
EVANSTON-As Northwestern sets out to bolster its tournament resume in the final three games of the season, they'll take a moment tomorrow night to recognize program history.
Billy McKinney, a star guard from 1973-77 who now calls the games on radio alongside Dave Eanet, will be the first player to have his jersey retired, in any sport, by Northwestern.
Before Boo Buie and John Shurna, McKinney held the program's scoring record for 35 seasons. His 1,900 career points, all before the introduction of the three-point line, rank fourth behind Buie, Shurna and Drew Crawford. Translating records across eras is an inexact science, but if you turn the made 3s for the trio in front of McKinney to 2s, the 6-foot guard from the 70s returns to his place as Northwestern's all-time leading scorer.
He is still the program's all-time leader in field goals made with 768, a record that likely will stand as Buie remains 71 behind him with three regular-season games to play.
McKinney was named to an All-Big Ten team all four of his seasons at Northwestern, including an All-American nod as a senior, when he averaged 20.6 points per game.
"It's something I've been pushing for really since I started coaching here," head coach Chris Collins said on retiring McKinney's jersey. "I'm a big believer in paying tribute to the history of the program. No matter where you are, I think it matters, those who have been before you and had excellent careers."
Collins first got to know McKinney back when his father, Doug Collins, was coaching the Bulls. McKinney had come out of retirement to join the team for his final NBA season in 1985-86, and he moved into the team's front office, becoming the first Black front-office executive in the history of the Bulls, the following season.
McKinney played seven seasons in the NBA and still holds the record for most consecutive field goals made by a rookie with 14. As a scout and executive, he was instrumental to the Bulls trading for Scottie Pippen and, decades later, to the Bucks drafting Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The younger Collins, barely a teenager, was around the Bulls as a ballboy and got to know the Northwestern legend for the first time there.
"We began a friendship when I was in middle school and we've been friends ever since," Collins said. "When he was working in the NBA he used to come down to Duke all the time because he was a scouter.
"So even before I became the Northwestern coach, I had a good relationship with Billy. Once I got here, it's grown that much more, especially since he's been our radio guy."
Buie has also built a close relationship with McKinney.
"With this game tomorrow celebrating him, he deserves every bit of it," Buie said. "I hope it's an awesome and amazing night for him and he's able to enjoy the environment and soak it in."
On top of McKinney's sterling playing career, he spent much of three decades in an NBA front office. All of that experience has been brought in-house for Northwestern, free-of-charge, since he joined the broadcast crew in 2019.
"His impact has been amazing, with his mentorship of our players," Collins said. "To me, there's no better person to be representative of our first jersey retirement than Billy...
He was the unquestionable No. 1 guy. I'm really happy for him and that he's going to be here and we get to celebrate him and his family."
Collins hopes Buie will join McKinney in the rafters: There is no one more deserving than McKinney of being Northwestern's first jersey, in any sport, to be retired. His work on the court and off the court make him a premier role model to past, present and future Northwestern fans and players.
Collins wants to give him some company up there, though, and continue to recognize legends within his program and across Northwestern athletics. The best candidate is right in front of him: potential All-American point guard, Buie.
"I'd hope so," Collins said about Buie joining McKinney. "I'm biased but I've seen what Boo has done, the impact he's made on our program, how he's represented himself. The things he's been able to accomplish have been awesome.
"Then you add the winning... To lead these last two teams to 23 wins and counting in the Big Ten. I think it's second only to Purdue."
Collins went on to proclaim that he was sure that Buie "will be recognized as an All-American" this season.
When asked about his own chances of being up there one day, Buie was appreciative but not prepared to think that far ahead with his career still ongoing.
"That would be really, really special," he said. "At the moment it's kind of hard to think about because I still feel so young. It is kind of a crazy thought to think about."
Langborg dressed for practice, listed as questionable: Collins continued to play his cards close to the vest when it comes to the health of starting shooting guard Ryan Langborg.
Langborg sprained his ankle against Michigan on Feb. 22 and sat out the game against Maryland two days ago. Collins said there has been no update on Langborg and he is designated questionable at this time.
"It could go either way [for Iowa] based on how he's feeling today," he said. "What he's able to do and then moving into the game [tomorrow night]."
Langborg came out of the locker room dressed to practice with a brace on his right ankle.
Collins frustrated with NET rankings: Northwestern has posted back-to-back 20+ win seasons and is on pace for a Top 4 seed in the Big Ten Tournament with the corresponding double-bye.
But they're still not quite analytics darlings, and Collins doesn’t understand why.
The NET (NCAA Evaluation Tool) rankings factor in quality of opponent and net efficiency into their metrics, factoring into the ubiquitous Quadrant system you'll see used as teams and their resumes are evaluated.
Despite a handful of high-profile wins, such as Purdue, Illinois and Dayton, the Wildcats are ranked just 48th by the NET. As the Wildcats have had to fight through injuries to Ty Berry and recently Langborg, Collins set the criteria he prefers to be judged by for March.
"I think by wins and losses," he said on how the committee should evaluate his team. "We're 5-1 since Ty and the one game we lost, Ryan gets ejected...
“I think it's different if you have injuries and lose. Then you can say 'oh, man, they're a different team.' We just had a Quad 1 win on the road without both of those guys."
Collins had answers for critics who don’t think the Wildcats pass the eye test.
"I do think we're missing the mark a little bit with [point] differential," Collins said about a key stat feeding into NET. "I don't think that's a great metric, I think it's winning and losing that should matter.
"I think someone showed me yesterday we have double-digit Quad 1 and 2 wins. I think there's only 15 teams in the country that have that. The other 14 are in the Top 20 in the NET, and we're at 48. I don't know how that works. When you just look at the teams we've beaten, the league we've played in, I think we're a good team."
Part of that discrepancy comes from a Quad 4 loss at home to Chicago State on Dec. 13, but Collins has legitimate gripes about the way his team is being evaluated in the current model.
NET ranks Wisconsin (18-10, 10-7 Big Ten) 22nd and Michigan State (17-11, 9-8 Big Ten) 24th. The Wildcats' first axe to grind is dulled by a loss at Madison in their only matchup with the Badgers, but sharpened once more by their 14-point victory over the Spartans on Jan. 7.
Collins, as he likes to say in these situations, is biased. But there's objective credence to reevaluating a metric when it ranks Michigan State — a team two games back in the conference standings and three games back on overall record, and a double-digit head-to-head loss to Northwestern — 24 spots higher.
The NET is just part of the evaluation process though, and Collins and the Wildcats are adamant they want to take any ambiguity out of the equation by finishing their season strong.
"To have 20 wins with the schedule we've played, to have 11 league wins with three more opportunities, our guys have put themselves in a great position," he said.