Inside NU - Northwestern Basketball Season Preview 2015-16: FeaturesRoll Damn 'Catshttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/52532/insidenu_fav.png2015-11-02T11:44:08-06:00http://www.insidenu.com/rss/stream/93803752015-11-02T11:44:08-06:002015-11-02T11:44:08-06:00Nia Coffey hates to lose; that's why she never has
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<p>CHICAGO — Nia Coffey has excelled at every level of the game. In high school, she was a McDonald's All-American. She was twice named Associated Press First-Team All-State in Minnesota. At Northwestern, she earned First Team All-Big Ten honors as a freshman. The accolades have only continued from there.</p>
<p>Nia Coffey hates to lose. But frankly, she never has.</p>
<p>Heading into the 2015 season, high expectations have been heaped on Northwestern and Coffey. The Wildcats are ranked 24th in the preseason Coaches Poll, and were picked by media to finish third in the Big Ten. Coffey was a unanimous selection to the Coaches Preseason All-Big Ten Team, and the only Northwestern player to receive individual preseason honors.</p>
<p>That will put a lot of pressure on the 20-year-old junior. Coffey is the Wildcats' catalyst, and with two parts of Northwestern's seven-player rotation having graduated, Coffey will be even more of a focal point. How she handles that pressure will allow her to match up against her previous successes, and motivate herself to continue climbing the ladder of Northwestern women's basketball greats.</p>
<p>Despite having only played two seasons, Coffey already has a firm grasp on that ladder. She already ranks seventh in program history in blocks, and led the team in scoring each of her first two seasons. She earned a gold medal with USA basketball in 2013. And most importantly, Coffey led Northwestern to its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1997.</p>
<p>But while Coffey never shies away from success, she doesn't necessarily enjoy talking about it. A quiet, determined presence both on and off the court, she puts her head down to work rather than relishing in her accomplishments.</p>
<p>Her humble nature shines through when discussing her expectations for the coming season. "Our mentality right now is to not read into the hype," she says. "We are truly honored for our preseason awards, but it doesn't really matter. We're really focused on keeping our hard work and our chemistry together and focusing on being that nitty-gritty, hard-working team."</p>
<p>But Northwestern women's basketball has been different ever since Coffey set foot on campus. Even Northwestern's current senior class, featuring Maggie Lyon (who herself is a former Big Ten Freshman of the Year) and Lauren Douglas, experienced a losing season as freshmen. Their 14-17 campaign ended with just seven wins in their final 24 games.</p>
<p>"The people we have returning have paid their dues in the Big Ten," says Coach Joe McKeown. "They've gone through a lot of the ups and downs, snowstorms."</p>
<p>Coffey, though, refuses to succumb to the downs, the snowstorms.</p>
<p>"Everyone likes to win, but the great players hate to lose," says head coach Joe McKeown, one of the most respected coaches in the sport. "Those two players, [Lyon and Coffey], have that. They hate to lose. They'll show up the next day with a chip on their shoulder. Other people, it doesn't bother them as much."</p>
<p>Coffey is not a yeller or a screamer, McKeown says. "She came in as a freshman and [was] so humble," he continues. "But she hates to lose. That is kind of the electricity that goes through our team. Nia is not going to let you lose."</p>
<p>This attitude has manifested itself in obvious ways. There's no better example than February 14, 2015. Down one point at Michigan and needing a win, Coffey rebounded a missed Wolverine free throw, and and took control of the game. She <a href="http://www.insidenu.com/2015/2/14/8039719/northwestern-beats-michigan-on-a-coffey-buzzer-beater-63-62" target="_blank">dribbled coast to coast, and willed herself to the rim. Her layup gave NU the win</a>. After the final buzzer, she bounded towards her teammates, fist-pumping and yelling.</p>
<p>On that day, Coffey simply wouldn't let Northwestern lose. Why?</p>
<p>Because Nia Coffey hates to lose. And perhaps that's why she never has.</p>
https://www.insidenu.com/2015/11/2/9658232/nia-coffey-northwestern-profile-feature-winningLyndsey Armacost2015-10-30T14:07:32-05:002015-10-30T14:07:32-05:00Quiet, confident and married, Tre Demps grows up
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<p><b>The best game Tre Demps has probably ever played</b> happened in a small gym 50 miles north of Barcelona in a small municipality called Sant Julià de Vilatorta. Demps, a fifth-year senior, poured in 38 points on 15-18 shooting, leading Northwestern to a 85-62 victory over CB Tarragona, the fourth game on the Wildcats' five-game Spanish tour in August.</p>
<p>As Northwestern left the court, freshman guard Jordan Ash bounded up to Demps. Ash, who roomed with Demps on the trip after meeting him just a month or so earlier, was still high off the victory and pumped about his teammate's performance. "Tre!" he chirped. "Everything was cooking for you out there tonight, huh?"</p>
<p>Demps barely looked up at the 19-year-old.</p>
<p>"Yeah," he said in a voice comparable to that of a shy third-grader giving a class presentation for which he is unprepared.</p>
<p>End of conversation.</p>
<p>Something has always been a little different about Demps. He's almost an enigma. At 6-foot-3, he plays at a frantic pace. He always seems to be moving, but not in that smooth, athletic glide that makes some guards so graceful. Demps' movement is choppy. He uses hesitations to get by quicker, stronger and taller defenders. His favorite move, for example, starts with a hard power dribble toward the lane. His body looks like it's pushing with all its might to get forward, but his face, in contrast, remains calm. Then, as he gets to a point around the free throw line, with his defender not quite beaten, he stops on a dime and leaps at an angle backwards, opening himself up for an easy jumper. He used it in the final seconds of regulation and then in overtime in back-to-back games during his junior year to beat <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RskhCBIwHiE">North Florida</a> and <a target="_blank" href="http://zippy.gfycat.com/UnconsciousOldfashionedChick.webm">Elon</a>. He modifies the move, too. In that famed game <a target="_blank" href="http://www.insidenu.com/2015/3/3/8146495/the-tre-demps-clutch-gene">against Michigan</a>, Demps stopped at the top of the key before jumping to his left to create space, and hit a three to tie the game at 59 with three seconds left. Then with 12 seconds left in the first overtime, Demps brought the ball down to the baseline and stepped back for a corner three. He then sent the game into double OT just a few seconds later with another bomb. </p>
<div class="pullquote">"He's just one of the guys. But when he goes home to his wife, that's when you kind of laugh a little bit. Man, this dude really is married."<span>-Jordan Ash on Tre Demps</span>
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<p>But for all the variations, for all those clutch shots over his career, Demps has only one celebration.</p>
<p>Nothing.</p>
<p>"Tre is <i>really</i> laid back," Ash said at Northwestern basketball media day. "Like, <i>really</i> laid back."</p>
<p>For someone with such a loud game — as a redshirt freshman, he ranked 65<sup>th</sup> in the nation in usage rate, a number that hasn't fallen by much since — Demps is awfully quiet. "Tre was a very introverted guy," Northwestern head coach Chris Collins says. "He was to himself, he wasn't very vocal. And a lot of times that gets misconstrued as being a selfish guy."</p>
<p>Demps doesn't go out, he explains. He says he's not "the typical college kid." He's right. He got married this summer to his wife Heather John in June.</p>
<p>"Now, that's actually different man," Ash says. "Like, when I heard he was getting married, man, it was a big surprise. Like, when we're out and you look and he's got his ring on, that's when it's, like, real.</p>
<p>"You don't really think about it, though," Ash continues. "He's just one of the guys. But when he goes home to his wife, that's when you kind of laugh a little bit. Man, this dude really is married."</p>
<p>Demps met John through a Northwestern basketball connection. John knew former players Juice Thompson and Reggie Hearn, who had mentored her little brother. When Hearn left the Chicago area to play for the NBA D-League's Idaho Stampede, John was looking for someone to continue to mentor her brother, and Hearn called up Demps. "I just love giving back to youth," Demps says. "Throughout my time here, there's been a couple kids around the Evanston neighborhood that I've worked out and spent some time with. I think it's so important for male figures and men to be a part of somebody's life, and enrich them and encourage them, because I think we all need that."</p>
<p>One thing led to another, and Demps proposed to John on March 22, 2015.</p>
<p>"I think for the most part, I haven't really changed much [since getting married]," Demps says. "The guys know I don't really go out much, and I'm more of a low-key guy. I still hang out with my teammates, try to go out to eat with them. Not much has changed. When I go to practice and go to the court, I kind of just separate the two between that and my marriage. I think it's been working out so far."</p>
<p>It's not just his marriage Demps separates from when he hits the floor. It's pretty much everything. "He's like a big brother to me," Ash says, "In my first couple days here, I came to the gym with Tre. We got shots up. And it's nonstop. He's not gonna come in here and talk and waste time. He's gonna come in here and he's gonna get better. That's one of the biggest things I've learned from Tre. No matter if he's in the weight room or whatever, it's just work. He wants to be the hardest worker."</p>
<div class="pullquote">For all the variations, for all those clutch shots over his career, Demps has only one celebration. Nothing.</div>
<p>Basketball, as it has been well documented, has always been a part of Demps's life. His father, Dell, played three seasons in the NBA, and is now the New Orleans Pelicans' general manager. So growing up, basketball was an ever-present in Tre's life. But with the NBA pedigree came obsessive work habits that, while bringing a cleaner jump shot and higher vertical, also brought intense pressure.</p>
<p>During his true freshman year, that pressure finally got to Tre. "I had to mature a lot, a lot of immaturity on my end," he says. "I was somebody who put a lot of pressure on myself to succeed. And I guess I didn't really recognize the talent that was around me. I think I just put unrealistic expectations on myself, and it kind of hurt me. I didn't respond well when I didn't get to play as much, and I kind of distanced myself from the guys. I think that's a lot of freshmen's story. You grow from it. You mature from it."</p>
<p>So Demps began to express himself more. He began to write. He writes poetry, specifically, in a free-form style. He does not publish his work, he says, because it's therapeutic for him, a way to reflect about his life and deal with emotional struggles he faces on a day-to-day basis. "That was something that I did a lot when I was kind of struggling with things," he says. "Just writing it down. Just writing down some of the experiences I had and things that I felt. It was helpful for me during that time.</p>
<p>"I always enjoyed writing my whole life," he continues. "I'm a big thinker. A lot of thoughts go in my mind. Whenever I have the opportunity, I like to just write what I'm thinking down. I think that's kinda how the hobby of it developed. A lot of it is just about evolving as a man, transforming and seeing things in a different light, just kind of as a man of faith and somebody who believes in God. Just seeing how God has worked in my life. And just seeing the different trials he's taken me through to make me a more mature person."</p>
<p>That's another thing about Demps. During his freshman year, he developed into a devout man of faith. He did not grow up faithful, but as he struggled early on in college, he had nowhere else to turn. Now, Demps leads a team Bible study every Monday.</p>
<p>"Just from the pressures of basketball and the things that I went through and the pressures I put on myself, I really desired a sense of freedom," Demps says. "I feel like, in Christ, I have that freedom. It really just came from a need to find my identity outside of basketball.</p>
<p>"I just wanted something constant." </p>
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<p>But while he has found different ways to cope with his self-imposed pressure, it has not left. "It's not like a pressure urgency," he says, "it's more fun." That pressure and desire, though, still pushed him to rent apartments far from campus and across the street from Welsh-Ryan Arena for the past four years. Whenever he wants, he can go over to the basketball facility and get shots up.</p>
<p>When Chris Collins first got the job, he says, he spent about 20 hours a day in his office high above Northwestern's practice court. Often he would hear a ball bouncing below him late at night, or early in the morning. And it was always Demps. Alone.</p>
<p>"Tre was the one guy, when I got here, who was the gym rat, he was the one guy who was so passionate about being a great player," Collins says. "And others wanted it, but no one like he was.</p>
<p>"Tre and I have a great bond," he continues. "As I was coming in, he was trying to make his mark. He'd been hurt and played sparingly as a freshman. We both are wired the same way. We've always kind of bonded the same way. To me, to see him in such a great place as a person, on all levels, because he's gone through his ups and downs as a person. He's had some tough times. To see where he's at now is really gratifying to me."</p>
<p>That bond stems from a similar attitude, growing out of a similar pedigree. Demps always refers to himself as an underdog. It's puzzling in a sense, because growing up with a dad who played and worked in the NBA would seem to give a basketball-playing kid all the great advantages. Demps, for example, grew up in San Antonio around the Spurs. He was a ball boy for Tim Duncan as he shot late at night or early in the morning. Collins was the same way. His father, Doug, was a four-time NBA All-Star with the Philadelphia 76ers who played alongside the late Darryl Dawkins (who, according to Collins, lived with his family during his rookie season) and Hall-of-Famer Julius Erving. But they both maintain that as many advantages as that lifestyle seems to hold from an outside perspective, it was often difficult at times to escape that basketball family stereotype.</p>
<p>"It's funny that people say [that I'm not an underdog] all the time, because I feel like it's actually harder when you have an NBA pedigree," Demps says. "Everybody assumes that you're entitled and that your dad got you that position. People don't give you the respect that you're really a good player and you got there on your own. You ironically become an underdog in the eyes of other people. I didn't get any big offers until close to the end of going into my senior year. A lot of guys get offered in their sophomore year. I use that as motivation to keep proving people wrong and to prove that I can be a good player. It happened all the time when I was young. Guys and even coaches sometimes would treat me like that."</p>
<p>Collins says he immediately recognized that trait in Demps. It was something he has also felt throughout his time in basketball.</p>
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<p>"I was always very proud of who my dad was," Collins says. "But it gave me a huge chip on my shoulder, because I wanted to make my own name. My biggest goal was to get to a point where every time I was mentioned, it didn't say ‘Chris Collins, son of Doug Collins.' That was something that fueled me. Look, I love everything my dad did and has done, but I wanted my own thing. It helped me kind of get that edge, get that chip to be my own guy. I think Tre carries that same chip."</p>
<p>At no time since he got to Northwestern has Demps felt more of this underdog mentality than when he first arrived at the elite Nike Basketball Academy this summer. One of 20 players invited, Demps says, "Guys didn't really know who I was or where I came from." Demps, though, stayed quiet, put his head down and continued to work. It's his default setting now.</p>
<p>But with that quietness, he displays a confidence. At one point during Big Ten Media Day in October, a reporter from a publication that presumably covers Indiana basketball sat next to Demps. The reporter asked him what is was like "knowing you're going to go up against a guy like Yogi Ferrell every year."</p>
<p>Demps stared at him blankly for six excruciating seconds.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>That was it. End of conversation.</p>
https://www.insidenu.com/2015/10/30/9643936/tre-demps-northwestern-basketball-feature-marriage-chris-collinsJosh Rosenblat2015-10-26T11:26:01-05:002015-10-26T11:26:01-05:00Alex Olah is out to make his final season great
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<p>CHICAGO — Alex Olah hadn't seen his parents in a year and a half. His entire junior year, nothing. Just Skype and Facebook.</p>
<p>"Not seeing them for so long — you could feel it," Olah said. "You miss it."</p>
<p>It was a feeling Olah knew well. During his junior year in high school, the seven-foot center moved 5,000 miles from Timisoara, Romania to Zionsville, Indiana, in an effort to further his basketball career at Traders Point Christian Academy.</p>
<p>"There's not a better continent to be on to play basketball than this," Olah said. "But it was really tough. You leave everything behind, you go somewhere you've never been and you don't know anybody...I knew English coming in, but it wasn't perfect."</p>
<p>Olah has been back and forth, to and from Timisoara since he emigrated to the U.S., but the time period starting with the beginning of his junior year was tough on him and his family. So when Northwestern announced it was going to take a trip to Spain this past summer, Olah started to put a plan in place. When the team flew back to Chicago, Olah would take a separate plane flying eastward to Romania, where he would stay for two weeks, surprising his parents.</p>
<p>"My parents had no idea," Olah said. "A couple of my friends and my uncle were the only people who knew I was coming home. I literally just walked in the yard, and my mom saw me. She couldn't believe it. My dad was about to go to work for a night shift, but he saw me there and he canceled his work. We just had a nice barbecue and celebrated me being home."</p>
<p>Although he hadn't been back in a while, the support from Olah's hometown remains forceful. His most loyal supporter is his grandmother, who has not missed a single one of her grandson's games on TV in spite of the time difference, often having to stay up until 4 a.m. to watch.</p>
<p>"She's my number-one fan," Olah said with a laugh.</p>
<p>That was 44 days ago.</p>
<p>Now, Alex Olah navigates his way through the ballroom at the Chicago Marriott O'Hare. In a sea of Big Ten basketball players and coaches mingling with hundreds of media members, he finds the Northwestern delegation in the back left corner of the expansive room.</p>
<p>He stops right in front of the gathered media and flips his light-gray sport jacket in a model-esque manner.</p>
<p>"GQ!" one reporter remarks.</p>
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<p>It is October 15 — Olah's 22nd birthday. But being Big Ten Basketball Media Day, it is already a special day for the big man, whose bubbly personality allows him to thrive in front of reporters.</p>
<p>"You see him smiling, bopping around the lobby today," head coach Chris Collins says of his center on Media Day. "Alex is an emotional guy — he wears his emotions on his sleeve."</p>
<p>"I don't know much about the Romanian culture," adds senior guard Tre Demps as he sits across from Olah, "but Alex is one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet. He always has this big smile on his face and it's just fun to be around him. He has such a sincere heart."</p>
<p>It is clear Olah is comfortable with the media attention he's receiving as a senior. He relishes it, really. But it wasn't always that way.</p>
<p>"I like talking to media," Olah says. "I kind of hated it at the beginning because my English was not that good, and I was shy. But now I'm a senior, and I just got so comfortable with it."</p>
<p>His growing comfort level reflects his improvement on the court too. A few years ago, it would have seemed crazy to think Alex Olah would be one of the most impactful players in the Big Ten.</p>
<p>That year, Olah averaged just six points and four rebounds per game. Granted, he was playing just 22 minutes per game, but that still works out to a point just under every four minutes and a board every five-and-a-half minutes. For a seven-footer playing Big Ten basketball, those numbers didn't jump out. He seemed to lack a presence — a command — on the court. For the first time, Olah was going up against players who could consistently challenge him.</p>
<p>"He was not a confident guy," Collins says at Media Day. "There was not a strong belief in himself."</p>
<p>Soon after he arrived at Northwestern following the conclusion of Olah's freshman season, Collins assigned Olah to assistant coach Brian James as James's "project." And now there's no doubt around the conference that Olah has improved. He has nearly doubled his points and blocks per game and was fifth in the Big Ten in rebounding last year.</p>
<p>"The thing I admire most about him is where he started versus where he is now," Illinois head coach John Groce says. "You can tell he's really worked. His body has changed, conditioning has changed, game has changed. I think he's really improved."</p>
<p>Olah has trimmed down. He's added more muscle. He's more assertive and physical in the post, playing much more effectively on the defensive end. His footwork has improved and he's even added some range to his offensive game. Olah, once a developmental project whose English was shaky, is turning into one of the Big Ten's best centers.</p>
<p>While James was in charge of refining Olah's skill level and getting him to improve his physical attributes, Collins emphasized the mental part of the game.</p>
<p>"I saw that the talent was there," Collins says. "A lot of people laughed at me when I first got the job. I saw great footwork. I saw good skill level.</p>
<p>"I'll never forget when I first met him," he continues, "he sat down in my office and said, ‘Coach, help me become a player. Help me be good.' And he almost had tears in his eyes. He said, ‘Just work with me. I want to be a good player. I'll do whatever.'"</p>
<p>First, it started with Collins repeatedly calling him "Beast." No matter where the coach saw his center, he called him Beast. Then, once Olah took that to heart and became the anchor of Northwestern's defense and a major part of the Wildcats' offense, his role changed to one of a motivator.</p>
<p>Olah was named a team captain this summer alongside Tre Demps and Sanjay Lumpkin, and he considers himself more than ready for the responsibility, especially after reading a variety of books on leadership over the summer.</p>
<p>"[Coach Collins] expects me to be a leader in practice and on the floor," Olah says. "Being the best man on the floor every time I can...I have to make sure everyone is ready to go."</p>
<p>But for Olah, the question will always come back to his physical play. Even heading into his final year of college basketball, his tendency to allow his emotions to overwhelm his performance is troubling. Last season, he drifted in and out of some games, starting slow and finishing strong or vice versa. In order for Northwestern to have the type of season those inside the program think it can have, it has to start with Olah.</p>
<p>"When he plays with that chip, when he plays with that emotion," Collins says, "I think he's a top-tier center in our conference and someone that can be a real force in our league."</p>
<p>After three seasons in the Big Ten, Olah is now a different man. Refined and confident, he jokes about his status as an elder statesman now. He constantly repeats how this is his last chance to do something special in college and that the notion makes him feel pressure, but also excitement.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"I feel old," Olah says. "Everyone is calling me grandpa...But year 22, number 22. I think it's going to be a good year."</p>
https://www.insidenu.com/2015/10/26/9615090/alex-olah-northwestern-basketball-senior-featureSam Brief