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The Northwestern basketball team will have two captains for the 2016-2017 season, the program announced today.
The co-captains will be redshirt senior forward Sanjay Lumpkin and junior guard Bryant McIntosh. Collins announced the captains in a speech to the team.
The Captains. #PoundTheRock | #B1GCats https://t.co/L0n5mJIXH4
— NU Men's Basketball (@NUMensBball) August 5, 2016
"This is a new year, this is a new team, this is a new journey," Collins said. "And if you're named the captain that is something incredibly special. That means a lot to me."
Lumpkin is back for his fifth year with Northwestern, and this will be his second year as a captain. Although his offensive numbers were down last year, Lumpkin remains a clear leader and is arguably Northwestern's best defender. He started all 32 games last season.
McIntosh was an easy choice for Collins. The junior was a consensus honorable mention All-Big Ten selection last season and set the school season record with 213 assists. His 6.7 assists per game were good for second in the conference and ninth nationally, which he did while averaging 13.8 points per game. For the second straight year, he attended Stephen Curry's select camp this offseason.
It's also worth noting that both Lumpkin and McIntosh were Academic All-Big Ten honorees.
Northwestern is a young team. Lumpkin is one of just two seniors (Nathan Taphorn is the other), and with Vic Law redshirting, McIntosh is one of just three juniors.