After a losing season for Northwestern men’s basketball (15-19, 5-15 BIG), a massive roster overhaul was expected.
The team had nine players leave through the transfer portal and eight players came in, with only three players returning. This is all without mentioning the departure of the team’s superstar, Nick Martinelli, who was drafted in the second round of the 2026 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Clippers.
Head coach Chris Collins will be tested like never before, as the roster isn’t constructed for his formula of having tenured players being the engine of the team. There is no doubt that this upcoming season will look almost nothing like previous seasons, for better or for worse.
What’s lost can always be found
It is no secret the ’Cats lost many contributors this offseason. Among them, two standout: fourth-year guard Jayden Reid and second-year forward Tre Singleton.
Reid served as the team’s primary point guard, conducting the offense. His replacement is set to be second-year guard Jake West. While Reid and West often started games together, they weren’t a great fit in the backcourt, as both players needed the ball in their hands to be effective. This was highlighted by an 18-point performance by West against Indiana in the Big Ten Tournament, while Reid only scored seven points on 2-for-11 shooting. He has proven he has the ability to be a premier floor general, as well as a strong three-point shooter, although he needs to up his volume up from 2.3 attempts per game. What is uncertain, however, is if West can prove to be a larger scoring factor. If he is able to do that, the point guard position is something that should not concern the Northwestern faithful all that much.
Singleton was one of the team’s best defenders, being able to play strong on and off ball defense. He provided a great deal of rim pressure on offense, but was not a threat from deep, only shooting 16.7% from three. Despite being listed as a forward, Singleton often played the center position due to the team’s lack of size. This was certainly a limitation for the team, as Singleton was not the strongest rim protector, and something the ‘Cats hope to improve on.
Taking over for him will more than likely be Drake transfer Okku Federiko. The third-year forward is listed at 6-foot-9, but he plays much bigger than that. He will be a strong rim protector, as he averaged one block per game at Drake last year. He is a versatile offensive player, being able to put the ball on the floor and playmake out the post. He even tried his hand with three-pointers, shooting 27.8% on 1.6 attempts per game. His role will change on a night to night basis, but he is more than capable of adapting to whatever coach Collins asks of him.
Who’s on rollcall
Along with West starting at the one guard and Federiko at the five, they’ll be joined by third-year guard Angelo Ciaravino and graduate forwards Jack Karasinski and Colin Smith.
Ciaravino, who will start at the shooting guard position, is the only returning upperclassmen and will help bring continuity to a roster that is going to experience growing pains. His strong point is the defensive end where he hustles consistently and will help get the most out of his teammates with his knowledge of the system.
Offense is a bigger question mark. While he is a great scorer around the rim, shooting 60.3% on two-point attempts, he struggles from beyond the arc, shooting 25.6% on 1.3 attempts per game. Both of those numbers need to go up, as spacing the floor is something that will be expected out of him.
Karasinski and Smith will be the team’s two forwards, and should be some of the team’s most impactful transfers.
Karasinski is an absolute bucket-getter. Last year at Bellarmine University, he averaged 21.7 points per game on an absurd 69.3% true shooting. He can score from all three levels, with a variety of moves. The big concerns for him are how he will adjust to Big Ten competition and how he will fair on defense. He struggled immensely on that end and it’s hard to see how it will improve against tougher competition.
Smith is an immensely talented player. He was a four-star recruit coming out of high school, and has proven to be a strong offensive player, particularly as a three-point shooter. He shot 40.4% from downtown last season, and coach Collins is only going to ask him to shoot more. The main concern for him, like much of the team, is on the defensive end. If he and Karasinski are weak on the wing, they are going to be hunted relentlessly by teams.
The starting lineup will be incredibly versatile on offense with every player being able to put the ball on the floor, get out in transition and space the floor. The thing that will hold this team back is the defense. The starting lineup is small and not very switchable. Teams will be looking to matchup hunt and force Federiko into tough positions in the pick and roll. However, while these might be the guys starting games, they might not be closing them, as coach Collins might turn to the bench for that.
The cavalry
Northwestern is relying on a myriad of unproven talent to transform a historically weak bench into an incredibly deep one.
Starting with graduate guard LA Pratt, he’ll hopefully be the player running the second unit while West is taking a break. He is transferring from Northeastern, where his previous season was derailed early on due to a foot injury. In the two games he played prior, he showed a great deal of promise, averaging 19.5 points and 4.5 assists. Pratt won’t provide much as a shooter, but he will attack the rim ferociously, causing the defense to collapse, and he will find open shooters as a result of that. There will also be plenty of times when he and West will share the court, which should be a seamless fit, as either can play off the ball. The only real concern for Pratt is how he will perform after the injury.
Another player to look out for is second-year guard Aleksej Kostic. Kostic is transferring from Brigham Young University, where he did not see much playing time due to how talented the team was. However, he was able to carve out around 12 minutes per game, and that was for one specific reason: he is a knock down shooter. Kostic shot 36.7% from behind the arc last season, on pretty solid volume. If coach Collins ever wants to turn to a lineup that has immense floor spacing, Kostic will be on the court alongside West, Smith and Karasinski.
The biggest question mark off the bench for me is redshirt third-year Luke McEldon. McEldon transferred from Mount St. Mary’s University, and will bring the most size to this roster, standing at 6-foot-10 and 255 pounds. He will likely be the best rim protector on the roster, but his limitations on offense, primarily scoring and impact beyond the rim, make it hard to find the right lineups to slot him in. If he can adjust to Big Ten competition and develop his offensive bag, he could elevate himself into the starting lineup.
Finally, two players I believe are worth keeping an eye on are first-year Jayden Hodge and second-year Phoenix Gill. Hodge was the highest ranked recruit in modern Northwestern history according to 247Sports, which had him listed at No. 79. However, he tore his ACL in his senior year of high school, causing speculation on his Northwestern debut. When Hodge is healthy, he will be one of the most talented players on the roster, providing a great deal of athleticism, allowing him to attack the rim and play strong defense.
Gill played sparringly in his first season, and that might continue this year. He could be inserted into lineups needing defense, but a lack of an offensive game makes it hard to justify having him out on the court. If he does end up taking a step forward on that side of the ball, expect Gill to be a key rotational player.
New look, new results?
With all the new moving parts, it won’t be a surprise if the Wildcats take some time before things really get going. They’ll have time to iron things out in two exhibition matches in October against Illinois State University and Iowa State University. Northwestern will then go on to play four games that should be relatively easy against Binghamton University, Stony Brook University, Boston University and Columbia University. In between all of that will be a game against DePaul University, a matchup that gave the team fits last year. If the ’Cats are able to get some continuity through these matchups, in late November, they should be able to put up a fight against serious competition in the Charleston Classic.
The ’Cats should be able to figure out the offense in this period. Players like West, Karasinski and Pratt are going to be the team’s primary ball handlers: they’ll have the ability to go downhill and attack the basket, and find the open man if the defense collapses. Smith and Kostic will be the shooters on the perimeter and will have to continue to shoot efficiently, and at a higher volume.
But even if the offense is firing on all cylinders after the first couple of games, the defense will probably still be lacking and will prove to be a major thorn in the team’s side against stiffer competition in the Big Ten.
The team does not have one standout perimeter defender that can guard an opposing team’s best player on a night to night basis. Furthermore, there are more than likely going to be multiple weak to poor defenders out on the floor for the ’Cats at any given moment, and as a result teams are constantly going to try to force switches and cause confusion for Northwestern.
Coach Collins is going to need defensive growth out of players like West and Smith, while hoping that players like Ciaravino, Gill or Hodge will be able to grow their games offensively to then play them consistently. Overall, if Northwestern is spacing the floor how they want and hustling on defense, they’ll be competitive in most games. But, if the shots aren’t going down, things may be rough.
Northwestern is playing in arguably the best conference in college basketball. Not a single in-conference game will be an easy one, and playing teams like BYU out of conference won’t be any easier. With March Madness expanding to 76 teams, the ’Cats have as good a shot at making it as anyone. It really comes down to how the team plays together and, most importantly, how badly they want it.
With Northwestern’s recent athletic rise, expectations are higher than ever. But the team isn’t backing down from those expectations, as coach Collins said at Big Ten media day that his squad carries “a little bit of a chip on their shoulder.”
The team isn’t scared by the noise, it’s embracing it, wanting to reset the standard. As West said,“We’re trying to take Northwestern back where it belongs.”
