Reggie Hearn: From Walk-On to Northwestern's Leading Scorer

Reggie Hearn started college as a walk-on, and spent more time in the Allison pool room than getting off the bench during his freshman year.  In fact during his first two years, Reggie Hearn combined to play 72 minutes, making his time on the court less than half of the running time for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Yet here we are, three games into the 2012-2013 Northwestern season, and Reggie Hearn is Northwestern's leading scorer, has started 36 straight games (every game since his Junior started), and is undeniably one of the team leaders.  If he happens to lead Northwestern to its first NCAA tournament ever, Hollywood (or at least ESPN's 30 for 30) will have a recipe for a movie longer much longer than Hearn's 72 minutes of playing time during his first two seasons.

I had the chance to sit down with Reggie, the former Mr. Bobb winner (see picture) with the freshest of nicknames, Fresh Prince of NorthwestHearn, to discuss his goals for the upcoming season, the first person he met at Northwestern, and his goals for the upcoming season.  One of the sure to be many future interviews that discuss his unique underdog story.

1.  Talk about your journey on NU’s basketball team.  What was your lowest point during those first couple years while you were sitting on the bench?  Can you contrast those with your highest point of your basketball career so far?

“Well, where to start.  I guess my lowest point was trying to adjust to not playing for two years straight after being one of the top players in the city in high school.  Especially after I got a couple suggestions from the assistant coaches saying “be ready to play” and similar hints during my sophomore year that things might change. Not having those hopes to prove myself come true was definitely some of the most difficult moments.

Going into junior year, I just continued to improve get better, understand the offense, and really get to know the 1-3-1, so when ‘Shon (JerShon Cobb) and Al (Alex Marcotullio) got hurt, it gave me an opportunity to get into the starting lineup.  Since they didn’t necessarily recover quickly, it allowed me to gain confidence and I just stayed there [in the starting lineup].  I think this culminated in my highest point, when we had a very team-oriented victory against Michigan State.”

   2. What have you thought of the team’s results in the last couple years? Were the NIT appearances disappointments in the eyes of the players?

“I think when you take a step back and look at our accomplishments over the last four or five years, it has been impressive given our history as a program.  However, it has been disappointing not making it these the last couple years, and the NCAA tournament continues to remain a goal.  Something that continues to be a driving force of the work we do.”

   3. Three games into the year, what do you believe to be the team’s strengths and where are areas left to improve?

“Our team strengths are that we are a good shooting team. We have been the last few years and I think we still are. We definitely need to improve our defense and rebounding based on our last few years, but it is hard to say right now. I still think we need more time to identify ourselves in the non-conference and time to play against others that aren’t ourselves, since we get tired of playing against ourselves, to really evaluate.”

   4. What do you see your role being during your final year of college?

“I think as a senior my role is to provide leadership and to teach the 9 newcomers how the offense and 1-3-1 defense work, even to non-freshman like Swop (Jared Swopshire) and Niko (Nikola Cerina).

I also want to build off what I did last year. I shot a good percentage from 3 so I need to continue that, but I also see myself expanding my offense role, posting up on smaller guards and driving. On the defense end, my perimeter defense, even though it was a strength of mine last year, still has room to improve. I also want to focus on hitting the defensive boards, which is something we plan to do as a team this year.”

   5.  Question on everyone’s mind. Is Northwestern going to the NCAA tournament? Give us a reason to believe.

“I think we will definitely improve on defense and rebounding with the size we have coming in and the greater emphasis by the program in general on those two things. We also have a lot more depth, which is something that has people talking, but it is definitely true. We can go deeper than the 6 or 7 guys we had last year. 

Do we have you on record saying yes to the tournament?

“We’ll see.”

   6. Who was the first person you met at Northwestern?

“Obviously, one of the better bloggers I know, Mr. David Chase. First person I met at NU during a tour of campus our senior year of high school.”

   7.  Name one thing left on your college bucket list?

“Go to the NCAA tournament.”

Update: Syracuse 58 - UConn 55.

Great game. That is normal when these two teams are playing against each other, and today was no different. UConn has to be proud of its effort, while Syracuse has to be holding its head high about the comeback.  They both showed heart and effort until the final buzzer.

The disappearance on offense was concerning for UConn, but it shows how hard it is to continually break the best and most famous zone defense in the country.  Syracuse got huge contributions from Dion Waiters and James Southerland off the bench, as they scored nearly half of Syracuse's points.  More importantly were the shots Southerland hit in the second half.  Without his two threes and clutch free throws, Syracuse loses this game.  His 10 points don't look flashy in a box score, but they were huge in this game.

Overall, I would guess UConn gets a 9 or 10 seed.  If they are a 9, I can't imagine any 1 seed wanting to see them in their bracket. Despite their underachieving and lack of cohesion for most of the season, these last two games have shown that they have the potential to live up to some of the expectations prematurely put on them in the preseason. As for Syracuse, anything less than a Final Four is a failure. Losing one game in the Big East all season, especially given that Fab Melo didn't even play in that particular loss, is nothing short of spectacular.  Interested to see if they go into the tournament without another loss.

Note:
Really intriguing side story was the raw skill sets but endless potential of both Fab Melo and Andre Drummond.  Drummond's Dunk. Wow. There are seriously points where you wonder how any college freshman is that athletic, strong, and tall. Some of his rebounds looked effortless due to his wingspan. Even in glimpses, you can see why he has been pegged for going in the top 2 in the NBA Draft.  As for Fab Melo, watching him battle inside with Drummond made you realize why he was a 5 * recruit out of college.  Honestly, they both showed flashes of briliance and I loved Fab Melo getting in his teammates faces about yelling at him. Awful shot, but let the coaches handle that. As a player, he is the one battling for rebounds and second chance points for his team, so it had to be frustrating to be yelled at by his own teammates.

UConn vs. Syracuse: New Classic?

My WiFi could not have been fixed at a better time.

Big East Tournament: UConn vs. Syracuse. A classic that will never happen after this season, thanks to Syracuse's departure to the ACC for the 2012 season. So glad I can get to watch the last one.

Overall Observations: 


UConn:

1. I really liked how Jeremy Lamb has started this game. He is playing with energy (even though he never looks like it), is all over the glass, and his second three came at a key moment for UConn.
2. Tyler Olander: Doing some very key things for the Huskies. Dana O'Neill is right, he must continue to take his time with that high post shot and make it. That opens up the entire perimeter and gives them a great chance to score more effectively.
3. Energy. You can feel it. Even on turnovers, like Ryan Boatright's baseline drive, they are attacking the zone and taking chances. To beat a consensus top 2 team like Syracuse, you must keep doing that.
4. My only criticism of UConn was, during a 5 minute stretch in the middle of the half, UConn fell outside of their comfort zone, taking quick and bad shots and letting Syracuse almost get away.

Syracuse:

1. They looked great when they Dion Waiters and Fab Melo were in together.  When Waiters comes back off the bench, you have to assume that UConn will need to adjust their gameplan to better defend Waiters.
2. Even though they are not playing that well they are still beating an energized UConn team.  That says a lot about how balanced and talented this team is. They will be no-less than an elite 8 team with a fair draw in the NCAA tournament.

Prediction: UConn wants this slightly more. OT win: 65-62.

Life without College Basketball

"If only I was back in the States."

I have only uttered those words a couple times over these last 2 months, but they came when I desperately searched for the Michigan @ Northwestern game.  Forty-five minutes into the fruitless search, I screamed the words over the radio broadcast at 2 AM. 

As I desperately tried to watch the Missouri/Kansas game, I finally gave up on having college basketball this season.  The excitement of seeing the game on firstrowsports.com quickly died when the stream wouldn't stop buffering.  Even when working, the quality looked like it was composed of a single pixel.  So, I went to bed, disappointed yet content with what I thought was a game firmly in Missouri's control. The next morning, upon finding out the result of the Mizzou/Kansas game, a 17-point Kansas comeback for the ages, I said a version of that fateful line one last time: "I wish I could have watched that game at Buff Joes (wings place in Evanston, IL).  The minute I said it though, I knew it wasn't completely true.

La falta de baloncesto has been rough. Despite going to a Real Madrid game with my friends Matt and Mitchell (and having Kyle Singler respond to my tweet after the game), college basketball is officially vacant in my life. I live it vicariously through others who watch the games both on TV and in person.  I live it vicariously through the box scores, the ESPN chats, and the bubble watch articles. I live it through writers like Jay Bilas, Jeff Goodman, Dana O'Neil, Eamonn Brennan, Myron Medcalf, and Andy Katz and through the profile pictures of my friends in the Northwestern crowds. I live it through checking Bracketology every week, and through browsing the message boards. I live it through comparing Ken Pomeroy and the Top 25 rankings.

These are all great and normal parts of my days during every college basketball season.  However, reading other's insight is not grounds for creating your own. It is for this reason that my blog has been empty these past couple months. I thought due to my increased free time, I would be able to watch more games, but due to both the time difference and internet capabilities, that has proved untrue.

So, instead of regurgitating someone else's information, I will be honest and say I have practically none of my own opinions about all the 360+ D1 teams. My statistical knowledge of Matthew Delladova, Drew Gordon, or Isaiah Canaan doesn't translate to blog posts.  However, I will do my best to continue this blog in other capacities (interviews/player profile may be in the works). 

All this being said, I only have to live one year of my life without college basketball.  In return, I am getting to travel around Spain, have the time of my life, and meet new and amazing people every day.  So do I miss college basketball? Hell yes.  Do I think my blog has suffered? Also, yes.  However, one thing is for sure: I don't wish I was back in the states, no matter how good the wings or the basketball is.

Stay tuned.

P.S. The less one knows about basketball, the better he/she seems to do with my bracket. Stay tuned. I  am about to have my best bracket of all time.

Sports Outside the Vacuum

I realized something about my obsession with sports a couple of years ago. It was my outlet.  Too often, I have neglected my responsibility as world-citizen to consume political, economic, and international news to consume SportsCenter. I know that I am not the only to type in ESPN.com before CNN.com.  I know I am not the only one to watch a 30 for 30 before watching a documentary with social implications.  However, I never felt overly guilty about this because I knew it is was my getaway from the real world.  Nobody can be survive the constant pressure of our countless obligations.  Hell, I am ignoring a problem set to write this blog post that will probably be read by 30 people.  For me, the opportunity to go to the gym and shoot hoops, to watch a college basketball game, or see the Seattle Mariners inevitably lose, was too tempting of a social escape. Luckily it was justifiable because as I would look into the crowd of that Mariner game, I could see 20,000 others doing exactly as I was doing.

Maybe that is why these last two weeks have been so hard for me as a sports fan.  The alleged sexual abuse by Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky and the subsequent removal of Joe Paterno has become one of the biggest scandals of the last ten years.  Following this news, came an abuse scandal at The Citadel that was eerily similar to the Penn State scandal.  Then came the resurfacing of abuse case Syracuse Associate Head Coach Bernie Fine.  After watching this gut-wrenching video, I realized that line between the real world and my outlet had thinned greatly.  By no means am I victim, and I am obviously unprepared to know what is the truth in many of these cases.  What I do know is that I am no longer to view sports as a pure entity.  Lawyers and an anti-trust law are now the two things dictating whether we will see an NBA season.  Football got in the way of the real goal of an academic institution to nurture young adults and help them succeed.  Tiger Woods' sex life got bigger than the entire sport of golf.

Maybe I was living naively. For so long, I was able to ignore the stories of tragedy, crime, and gossip and instead focused on the highlight reels, games, and statistics.  Yesterday, it hit me. I can no longer view sports in a vacuum. Every college football game is stained by scandal, every NBA game is stained by greed, every Big East basketball game will be stained by the conference realignment and this scandal.  My love of sports is stained.

Quick Thoughts: Northwestern vs. LSU

1. Don't be fooled, Northwestern has a balanced offensive attack.

John Shurna lit it up today with a career high 37 points on 10-21 shooting and 13-14 from the FT line.  He is a bona fide star even if he doesn't look the part and will be one of the top players in the Big Ten. However, he is not the only player who can score on this Northwestern team. Drew Crawford looked healthy and played aggressive defensive in the 1-3-1 and that led to many of his 17 points on the break.  Former #103 ranked recruit and Sophomore JerShon Cobb looked solid in his mid-range game and scored 8 crucial points in his first game back from offseason surgery.  Backcourt players, Alex Marcotullio, Reggie Hearn, and Dave Sobolewski all hit big 3's and all should have a legitimate offensive role the rest of the season.

2.  LSU's Johnny O'Bryant is going to be a star.

The former top 50 recruit is athletic, agressive, and hard-working. Oh, and he can shoot free-throws. 21 point, 8 rebound games might not come as easily in games against better frontcourts, but come the end of this year, and next season, Johnny O'Bryant will be a household name for any college basketball fan.

3.  Northwestern's 1-3-1 looked good.
Never been a fan of the 1-3-1, especially when former PG Juice Thompson would be on the bottom and get posted up and abused by opposing big men.  However, today the switch was positive, and the active hands and energy led to many of the 16 turnovers.

4.  Northwestern's defensive rebounding looked awful.
While they only lost the rebounding battle 29-26, LSU had 11 offensive rebounds and whether a result of the 1-3-1 or just inability to box out, that is unacceptable.  Luka Mirkovic is much too good for only 1 rebound and 0 points and other big man Davide Curletti had only 4 points and 2 rebounds to go along with 4 TOs.  They were also beat on a lot of put backs including a huge put back slam by Malcolm White.  Northwestern will probably not make their first tournament unless Mirkovic and Curletti show more aggressiveness on the boards.

Time for Ben Howland to go?

How much are 3 straight final fours worth when you lose to Middle Tennessee State by 20 points? That is the question many UCLA fans are asking right now.  The formally #17 ranked Bruins are in full-blown crisis mode two games into the season, and some of the blame has to be placed on head coach, Ben Howland.  First let's take a look on why UCLA fans should be genuinely worried about this season.

1.  They lost two straight games to mid-majors.  


Losing to Loyola Marymout by 11 in their first game, the Bruins, with arguably  one of the best frontcourts in the nation, outrebounded LMU by 1.  "That was a very disappointing way to start our season off," said coach Ben Howland.  "It's a bad loss for us. I've been saying it, we have a long way to go."  Still, these things happen in the beginning of the season, and you had to assume it was a bit of an aberration. LMU shot 10-15 on 3 pointers vs. UCLA's 2-15.  C Josh Smith's tweet "Just lost to some straight bums lol." did not help matters.  


However, after the 86-66 loss against Middle Tennessee State, Bruin fans have to be worried.  After 58 combined minutes, the Wear twins combined for 6 rebounds, the team was outrebounded by 5, got poor play from PG Lazeric Jones for the second game, and look to have absolutely no real threats from 3 point range by shooting an abysmal 4-20.  Let's just say Reeves Nelson's tweet sums it up: "Wow."

2.  Speaking of Reeves Nelson, he seems to really be unhappy at UCLA.  


The hard-working, undersized forward had some dominant games last year, and plays some of the most inspired basketball when in the right mindset.  He was suspended from the game vs. Mid. Tennessee State after not showing up at practice, and his prep coach is suggesting counseling for the big man.  He seemed to ignore the coaches in the LMU game.  Josh Smith let on that Nelson may be thinking of quitting the team. Asked whether he had spoken to Nelson about his status, [Joshua] Smith appeared to indicate that Nelson was thinking of quitting the team. "I’ve talked to him, but there’s not really any information to tell me where he’s leaning," Smith said. "I want him to stay."  Given this and his talk with Coach Howland, it is obvious he is pretty unhappy with his role on the loaded frontcourt.

3. Lack of any semblance of a backcourt. 


Remember how good Villanova was with a four guard set? Well, that doesn't work with four big men.  Honestly, at this point none of UCLA's guards look cut out for Pac-12 play, and it is not like they have Kevin Love in the front court. Josh Smith is still out of shape, the Wear twins can't rebound, and Nelson is suspended.

Now that leaves us with the Ben Howland question: 

Should he be fired?

While the 3 straight final fours definitely gives him some wiggle room, the fact the lost to Middle Tennessee State is not even a headline on ESPN's college basketball page is a huge issue. This is UCLA, a blueblood program, and there is not even enough surprise at the lost to warrant a front page story on the college basketball page.  UCLA should, based on name alone, be in the top 3 every year in the PAC-12, and be at least a sweet 16 team. It is also clear that Howland is not a players coach (although either is Jim Calhoun). 

Despite all this, I would say that Howland is still in decent position to keep his job, but securing a commitment from 2012 #1 recruit Shabazz Muhammad would pretty much lock things up for him to get at least one more year.  That would give him a top 5 recruiting class (with Kyle Anderson already in the fold), and although it is possible to save a great recruiting class when hiring another coach (see Arkansas), I would really doubt any AD would fire him after locking up that type of class. So while this is looking like a rough year for Bruin fans, I am going to guess that nothing comes out of the many Bruin fans' pleas to fire Howland.