NIU men’s and women’s basketball: 5 things making coaches optimistic about the season

DeKALB – With the Northern Illinois University men’s and women’s basketball teams scheduled to start their seasons early next month, the school held its media day Tuesday for its winter sports.

The men tip off Nov. 6 at Marquette, while the women’s season begins Nov. 9 at Arkansas State. Both have high expectations.

Here are some of the reasons third-year men’s coach Rashon Burno and ninth-year women’s coach Lisa Carlsen are optimistic about the upcoming season.

Both: Healthy and looking to stay that way

The men went 13-19 last season, while the women were 16-17 and reached a postseason tournament for the first time since 2017. Both teams made the MAC tournament, which was the first time in three years the men qualified. And both did it with significant injuries.

The women were much healthier last year than they were in 2021-22, but the men were without Keshawn Williams, Zion Russell and Xavier Amos. They also were without All-MAC selection David Coit for a three-game stretch toward the end of the season.

Carlsen said the Huskies continue to evolve how they train, how they eat and how they work with the training staff to try to minimize injuries, but basketball is a physical game, and injuries are just part of playing.

Burno said things have changed dramatically with how coaches approach health and nutrition. He said they not only focus on nutrition, but make sure the players know about the importance of recovery and sleep.

He said there’s been an increase in technology that helps as well.

“We monitor our guys’ heart rates, we monitor duration of practices and [the] physicality of it,” Burno said. “That gives me a scientific approach to practice versus when it’s just the eye test. ‘Hey, that guy’s not working hard enough.’ Yeah, that’s doesn’t work anymore, just because the level of competition.”

Women: Flying around the court

Carlsen said she wants to pick up the pace of play this year, and this team is built for it. Last season, the Huskies averaged 70.7 points per game. The three returning full-time starters from that squad – Chelby Koker, Jayden Marable and Laura Nickel – all made at least a third of their 3-point attempts.

Carlsen said she hopes the team will be able to run up and down the floor, shoot the 3 and be effective from outside the arc.

“They’ve gotten bigger, they’ve gotten stronger, they’ve gotten faster,” Carlsen said. “It’s going to be a big part of what we do going forward in our style of play, getting back to playing with great pace.”

Men: Transfers adding depth

Burno said the Huskies brought in some high-character, high-level players to complement the pieces they return from last season. He pointed to a trio of Power 5 transfers.

Sophomore Ethan Butler is a 6-7 sophomore forward from Oregon, Philmon Gebrewhit is a 6-8 senior guard from DePaul, and Quaran McPherson is a 6-4 sophomore guard from Nebraska.

“They’re all guys that could vie for playing time,” Burno said. “They are all guys that could help us add depth. It’s vital, especially with unforeseen injuries, etc., etc.”

Women: Capitalizing off program culture

Carslen said the Huskies didn’t hit the transfer market hard, although she did speak highly of Arizona State grad transfer Jayde Van Hyfte.

Instead, she said players who have been in the program in smaller roles will step up this season, pointing to 6-3 senior forward Brooke Stonebreaker and 5-9 senior guard Kortney Drake. Stonebreaker has played in 43 games over three seasons, including 19 last year. Drake, a JUCO transfer, played in seven games last season.

“One thing we talk about is player development, and I think this year more than ever you’ll see that really kind of come to fruition,” Carlsen said. “We have players that have been in our program for a number of years who maybe haven’t seen a ton of playing time that will now be in positions they haven’t been in before.”

Men: Getting tested in nonconference play

The men open at Marquette, ranked No. 5 in the country. They also make trips to Power 5 schools DePaul, Northwestern and Iowa.

Not to mention mid-major teams like Indiana State, Northern Iowa and Appalachian State make trips to DeKalb and should provide a stiff test for the Huskies, Burno said.

“Our goal every year is to make sure we are measuring ourselves with the very, very best to align ourselves in conference,” Burno said. “The last couple years we’ve been a one-bid league, so we want to give ourselves the best opportunity to cut down the nets at the end of the season.”