It Feels Good to WIN AGAIN
Not only did the Norse get back in the win column, they did so in a BIG way by delivering a 2-game "Welcome to the Horizon League" sweep to our newest conference rival, the Robert Morris Colonials.
Whew. That felt great. As we opened the show Saturday night, I couldn’t think of any other way to start the program than by issuing a huge sigh of relief accompanied by a huge smile. Losing sucks. Winning is so much better.
The Norse did so many things differently this past weekend. They drove the ball more. They moved better. Collectively, they played better defense. They got key contributions Friday night from David Bohm and Saturday night from Adham Eleeda and Paul Djoko. The Norse have THIRTEEN PLAYERS averaging 6 or more minutes per game in conference play, including two walk-ons! What is this team??? Well, we don’t know, but they’re 5-5 and I’m okay with that for now. Let’s relive the week together and look forward to the next, shall we?
Weekly Recap:
The Norse Report Show (TNRS):
The NKU Men's Basketball team beat Robert Morris twice last weekend and we could NOT wait to talk about it. We hope you join us as Michael Ruscher and Kyle Craven discuss the biggest takeaways from the weekend series.
This episode will be available for a LIVE BROADCAST on Facebook at 3pm ET, today! We hope you’ll join us - we are very excited and worked very hard to edit this show together!
Norse welcome Robert Morris with 2-game sweep while the rotation remains fluid
Coach Horn and the Norse, led by FOtW (for a fifth time) Marques Warrick, sent a timely welcome to the Robert Morris Colonials as they defeated them twice in their home gym. But there are still questions that need to be answered with this team.
Led by Two Dominant Big Men, Here Come the Raider (Wolves)
But let’s be real, did they ever really go anywhere?
The Week Ahead:
UIC Preview
NKU takes on the UIC Flames in a 2021 version of this Horizon League Championship Rematch, but don’t expect this to look anything like it did last March.
For starters, Steve McClain, the UIC Head Coach last year, is no longer there. Joining his predecessor Darrin Horn in the Horizon League, new UIC Head Coach Luke Yaklich becomes a second coach coming from Shaka Smart’s Texas Longhorns to take the path from Austin to the Horizon League.
Unfortunately we were not able to schedule a preview call with the UIC reporter from Horizone Roundtable, but here are some quick hitters on the Flames:
Record: 8-5, 5-3 in Horizon, 3rd
Per Game Leaders:
Points: 14.8, Teyvion Kirk
Rebounds: 7.3, Teyvion Kirk
Assists: 6.9, Teyvion Kirk
Steals: 1.1, Teyvion Kirk (seriously, how is this guy not in the POY discussion??)
Blocks: 0.8, Michael Duggins
Turnovers: 4.9, Teyvion Kirk (oh okay, I see it now…)
Other players to watch: Rob Howard (F), Maurice Commander (G), RayQuawndis Mitchell (G), Michael Diggins (F), Jmaie Ahale (G), Zion Griffin (F)
You heard it here first, I think this team is alot better than many are expecting them to be… This is a big series for us!
What’s on Social Media?:
Tweet of the Week:
Every week we’re out there looking for the best tweet around the Horizon League. Luckily OU MBB made our job VERY easy this week, posting the best video I’ve ever seen on day one of the week!
Guess Who’s Back….. Back again…..
The Norse Women’s basketball team is finally back in action this weekend! Check ESPN+ for the game times. They play on Friday, 1/29 and Saturday, 1/30. They have not played a conference game in 6 weeks, but they are still undefeated at 4-0 in conference play. Let’s watch and root the Norse on against the Milwaukee Panthers!
Condolences to a Norse Coach:
Coach Stu Riddle, who we are HUGE fans of, lost his Father in Law due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. We are deeply saddened by the news of his passing and wish Stu and his wife the best. Norse Report stands in solidarity with anyone who has lost a friend, family member or loved one of any kind due to this virus.
We’d like to remind everyone to please continue wearing masks, social distancing, and avoinding crowded locations as much as possible until we can turn this thing around in the coming year. We got this, please do your part!
That’s it for this week, folks! Be sure to share this newsletter and leave a comment if you have something to say.. We love hearing from you guys, too!