As we inch closer to the return of professional sports, we’ve been wondering about what the future of Northwestern sports might look like, especially for some of our more recently successful programs. NBN Sports' editors took one last look back at Evanston before the summer, wondering how the women’s basketball team could turn out to be next season.

Quotes have been edited and condensed for clarity

Coop Daley

I personally [don't think that the team is going to be as great], but I don't think they're gonna be a team to be ignored. They still have a lot of players returning. They have players who came off the bench a lot this year who are going to come out and be superstars. One thing that is of interest to me is Jordan Hamilton. I think in the Michigan game, she really showed how far she's come in terms of development. And I think she's got the prowess to be a starter [again]. So I have hope.

Jacob Munoz

It seemed really crazy to think about the lack of production that both Abby’s [Abi Scheid and Abbie Wolf] would be taking with them. Both of them filled very unique roles. And so it's very challenging to not only fill in those roles quickly, but to do so with such young talent. For Abi Scheid, and her three point ability, I could see someone like Pulliam trying to pick up the slack a little bit, but I think more importantly, though, is their presence in the paint, and they're gonna have to find their big. Thankfully though, they have a really great recruit: it's Anna Morris, she's six-foot-three, a power forward from New Jersey, number 11 in the nation at her position, and if there's one player that we needed this year to fill in the gap that Wolf leaves, it's going to be her.

Shreyas Iyer

If you look at Northwestern’s squad, what they're missing is size, and size you know, as the saying goes, is something that you cannot teach. I don't see Morris as an immediate plug-in for someone like Scheid; that would do a disservice to like the remarkable senior season that she did have. But in terms of serving as an interior presence, Morris is definitely going to compete for a starting job to serve the role that Abbie Wolf really, really took over this past season.

Coop Daley

I have to agree with all that. I think Anna Morris may not come in right away, but she will have the presence off the bench. I think the other thing that's always important to remember with basketball that I think has been evident through different things is it's never been a single player sport, it's a team sport. So I think when you lose pieces like Scheid and Wolf that they are hard to fill — however, I do think that Pulliam is more than capable of picking up the slack. In almost every situation when they turned to Pulliam and said, “Can you pick up the pace? Can you get these points?” she almost always responded. So I think this is going to be a culmination year for Pulliam, coming in senior year, got a little cheated out of a postseason [appearance] that she's going to be hungry for. And I think she's going to be ready to lead a team.

I think the other person that does need mentioning is Veronica Burton. She had a bit of a slow start this season and then as time picked up, she started finding her rhythm again. I think if she can find her shot early in the season next year, I think the Big Ten is gonna be watching out for her.

Jacob Munoz

Yeah, I was gonna mention, not only Pulliam being a senior now is a huge thing for Northwestern, but we now have Veronica Burton as a junior. And Veronica Burton, you know, was everywhere on the court: whether it was assists, getting the steals, coming up big when the points mattered, when Pulliam had a little bit of a rough patch from time to time in games, it was always Burton performing. So I think that even though we're definitely losing some key players in Scheid and Wolf, like just looking at the roster we have right now, we still have Pulliam, we still have Sydney Wood, we have Burton, and I think that Courtney Shaw could definitely come in as a starter for the team next year.

And I actually think that Anna Morris will start at least by the time Big Ten play comes around. I think that her talent, and her skill will be utilized very well by coach Joe McKeown. And I think that he'll feel much more comfortable putting her in on a team that already has a veteran presence. It's possible for sure that they might bring someone else in, but I think that her size is going to be sorely needed by the team.

Shreyas Iyer

I don't think there will be a question of whether or not we have the talent. But also, Jacob, if you care to recall, that our 2017-2018 men's basketball team also had quite a bit of returning talent from their first tournament team of all time, and proceeded to deliver a very forgettable season. Is there any potential, do you guys believe, for a letdown, given the fact that we've seen this story before, where tantalizing promise gives way to disappointment? Do you guys think that it can happen with this particular squad?

Jacob Munoz

I think it could definitely happen. I feel that the women's team though, if anything, is even more hungry this season, because this team not only has that drive that was not fulfilled in the NCAA Tournament, they also have an experienced head coach, who knows what it's like to need to return to form, to return to a good spot. And they have much better recruits coming in than that team that ended up missing the postseason altogether. I think that the players now coming into the women's basketball team, these first-years, they're in such a better position; they're going to be really helping the team out. The team could definitely falter at certain parts of the season, but I really would strongly believe that they're a lock for the NCAA Tournament.

Coop Daley

Maybe not hosting, and maybe not the regular season title. But I think the part also the other thing is that while the team has been getting recent attention ever since they won, they still, like Jacob said, did not get the chance to really prove themselves, and they're still hungry for that chance. I think the difference between the men's team in 2017-2018 and this team is the fact that this team is still being slept on. I think everyone came into 2017-2018 for the men's team, and thought, “Oh, this team will be good. Don't worry about it. Don't think about it.” I think this team is still being slept on. I think people aren't paying attention. They're gonna say “No, we want to make a splash.” And I think that'll have an impact on them coming up.

Shreyas Iyer

So with that in mind, why don’t we take a look at the rest of the conference. So in particular, you're going to have your typical standouts remain standouts most likely: Maryland is going to be good. You're going to have Indiana who are also going to be strong, perhaps a team like Rutgers is going to be strong. As far as I see it, Ohio State may be the one team that wasn't in that upper echelon that could make the leap.

So what I noticed is that I don’t think there will be a juggernaut. In terms of recruiting, Iowa’s going to get the number three overall prospect in Caitlin Clark, and there are a handful of others like Angel Reese for Maryland and Diamond Johnson at Rutgers, top-15 recruits who can definitely make a day one impact. But as far as I can see it, I just don't think there is a potential juggernaut that can completely run away with this thing. What do you guys think?

Jacob Munoz

I don't think there's any one team that's in the prime position to win. You know Maryland is going to be a threat, but so [are] a lot of other teams. And I think that even though it ended up being the number one overall seed winning the Big Ten tournament, I think that a few upsets along the way in the Big Ten did show that there is volatility. And I also think that for Northwestern’s perspective, they only lost to Maryland, Iowa, and then Michigan in the tournament. So I think that they know they had a few upsets along the way on the road to becoming like a top-10, top-15 team. And I think that every team in the conference should be worried about some other team coming up and doing that.

Coop Daley

I think you talk a lot about talent and how Iowa got the number three recruit, those people got the other recruit, they’re returning talent. I don't think it's about what talent you have; I think it's about how you use it. You think about the example with Abi Scheid, and how she was this year's leading three point shooter, and in high school, she took I think 15 three-point shots. It's just one of those examples where I think Joe McKeown knows what talent he's getting, and I think he'll be able to use it in such an effective way that you may never see it coming. This team is not going to be ignored. They're not going to sink to the basement.

There is one more thing I thought would be interesting to think about. One of the interesting things that you think about that comes in terms of basketball is home court advantage. And you think about this year, teams like Michigan, teams like Ohio State, they all have pretty good home turnouts for basketball and different things. When the ’Cats won the Big Ten regular season, Welsh-Ryan was packed. Do you think that sent a message that said “We're here, we're going to stay,” and now fans might start coming to more games?

Shreyas Iyer

We're pretty fickle. We're pretty good, the fans will show. If we're not good, fans will not show.

Jacob Munoz

Even putting all this COVID-19 and social distancing stuff to the side, maybe in the first few games people will be really interested, but you really have to keep people's attention. A sport like women's basketball just needs that extra motivation. And I know that the athletes and the players and the coaches have the right charisma and the right attitude to really tap into that fan energy, but it's going to be on the part of the fans. And hopefully, a little bit more advertising from the athletics department, and a little bit more grassroots activism.

I have a question for both of you. I talked about briefly who I believe is going to be the starting five. Obviously this may change at some point, but by the end of next season, right before the Big Ten tournament, who do you think will be the team's five starters? For me, I'm putting my bets on Lindsey Pulliam, Sydney Wood, Veronica Burton, Courtney Shaw, and then first-year Anna Morris. I wanted to know if your predictions or your thoughts kind of differ a bit on that.

Coop Daley

Yeah, I definitely think Wood and Pulliam. I would not sleep on Jordan Hamilton. She came off the bench and she was a great role bench player this year but I think she's I think she's gonna earn a starting spot. I would not ignore Anna Morris, I do think she's got a very good chance of making it, but at the end of the season. I feel like Burton’s a shoo-in though for sure. Pulliam, Burton, Wood, Hamilton and then I think Shaw or Morris, that's the toggle for me.

Jacob Munoz

That's a good point right there especially because Shaw definitely had limited minutes compared to Wolf, but she was still out there on the court a lot. It's really gonna be a matter of, does McKeown go with experience? Or does he go with the hyped talent? I don't know necessarily where his mind’s at, I'm sure that most coaches will tell you [to] just stick with what you know and gradually bring people in, but it's very possible that Anna Morris could turn out to be a superstar.

Shreyas Iyer

I think that you're gonna need Morris’ size. Without a doubt, the world is over if Burton or Pulliam are not starting — like something has gone drastically wrong if we enter March and neither of those two are starting for Northwestern. Those two I would say are definitely shoo-ins. I would also put Sydney Wood in there as well. It's the last two spots that are going to be interesting. I think a bigger lineup, you're going to have to toggle Shaw and Morris together. If you want to go smaller, I can definitely see Hamilton in there as another guard. I think the only question is going to be is how Morris develops as a player. Three of the spots are set, and then it's down to three players for the other two spots. It's just a question of tactics. Do you want to go smaller? Do you want to go bigger?

Coop Daley

I think at least for the first couple games, it will be Shaw in there just because based on experience and height, and we'll see how that offense revolves around her, especially her presence in the paint. But you could experiment a lot. I think one of the things that you learn is that this team is flexible and that they can swap around positions and it is very available. So I think if we see Shaw and Morris out there working together, it would not be a surprise to me. And I don't know if it's a question of who's starting. I think it's just a matter of who's going to be a superstar regardless of the bench or not.

Jacob Munoz

So overall, what would you give the team heading into the regular season? Would you give them like a grade from like an A+ plus to an F?

Coop Daley  

I think I'm going to take a page of what Medill has been doing this quarter and give them a B, but the opportunity to improve their grade, because it's very much good and has potential. It could just be better though, and then we'll see how they work on that. And then if they do better, it'll be good.

Shreyas Iyer

If you want to split it up by inside and outside, their guard play is going to be at an A. Inside, we're a B–. Let's see how last year's second unit in Sydney Wood and Courtney Shaw are able to rise to the challenge. But right now that's such an unknown, I wouldn't give it higher than a B–.

Jacob Munoz

I'm actually gonna go a little bit farther, I'm gonna say B+, just because a lot of the players on this team have shown themselves to be high achievers, even at such young ages compared to a lot of other players in the country. I think now that Pulliam’s a senior, and I think that a lot of the juniors around the team, even Hamilton is a senior, I think that there's gonna be a lot of framework to fit in the first-years who have a lot of potential.