BOSTON – Injuries can be one of two things to a team when they strike early in the season and are mostly not of the season-ending variety. They can handcuff your team with losses and, following from that, a hit to the team’s confidence, or they can be a growth opportunity. In Northeastern’s case, it has been the latter.
“I think it’s given us a growth opportunity also, because we’ve had different lineups, you find different guys,” said head coach Bill Coen, who cited Shaquille Walters and Jason Strong as particular examples. “Those injuries have opened up opportunities for other guys, and they’ve stepped up and gained some valuable experience. Now you’re not afraid to put them in during tight situations, and they’re responding in a positive way.”
Don’t misunderstand: the Huskies would rather have their full team than not. Chances are, they will not at any point this season since forward Maxime Boursiquot has not played and may well miss the entire season. But injuries are part of the game, and how you deal with them says much more about a team than the mere existence of them. Done right, your team can become deeper, and the Huskies appear poised to emerge as just such a team.
Northeastern was picked as favorites in the CAA preseason poll for good reason. The Huskies return just about everyone from last season’s regular season co-champion and tournament runner-up, and as you watch them play you can see that they have a lot of pieces up and down the lineup. Bill Coen has many options at his disposal, which has come in handy as (and even been highlighted by) injuries that have cost key players games thus far.
One very good sign for the Huskies is that Vasa Pusica returned to action on Friday against St. Bonaventure. The senior, a CAA Player of the Year candidate, had missed the prior six games with a wrist injury, but he looked like his old self more and more as the game went on. It would have been enough for him to just play and get back to game speed, but for a stretch in the second half, he was basically performing surgery on the Bonnie defense.
“I thought he did a great job for being out as long as he’s been,” said Coen. “It’s hard to simulate the rhythm of a game and the intensity of a game, especially against a quick and athletic team like St. Bonaventure.”
But without Pusica, and for that matter, without reigning CAA Defensive Player of the Year Shawn Occeus for the first nine games (ankle injury) and against St. Bonaventure (he has taken a personal leave from the team but is expected to return before long), the Huskies have had other players emerge. While Pusica was out, Donnell Gresham Jr. was the primary player who emerged and whose stats took a jump. In the six games Pusica missed, Gresham averaged 16 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game, and has an assist-to-turnover ratio of nearly 2. George Washington transfer Jordan Roland also took on more ball handling while becoming the team’s top scorer and one of the top three-point shooters, as did Bolden Brace.
What emerges now is that the Huskies can put out a lineup with four solid ball handlers at a time, and most are good threats from long range. The fifth player might often be Anthony Green, who has grown into a solid presence inside. The senior from nearby North Quincy has shown his ability to score in close often, including on alley oops, and against St. Bonaventure he made all five of his shots to improve his season number to almost 71 percent from the field. Defensively, he can be a difference-maker; against the Bonnies, he led the team with six rebounds and blocked two shots.
“I believe he changes the way we play,” Pusica said of Green. “On offense, he’s giving us the ability to throw the ball up and he’s going to catch it, he’s a really good roller, obviously he’s athletic. On defense, he’s blocking a lot of shots, he’s changing other teams’ shots, so he’s a huge piece of this team.”
The Huskies can use Jeremy Miller there, and he can also stretch the defense, while the aforementioned Strong will get plenty of minutes up front as well. Tomas Murphy is more of a four than a five man, but he’s another who can put up a double-double on any given night and is fundamentally sound.
Coen likes using a number of lineups and said that he may not have a set lineup. The Huskies can go 11 deep – that’s how many Huskies average double-digit minutes – with everyone healthy. Considering the matchups across the CAA are not all alike, one can understand his desire to go with who’s playing well or who fits based on the opponent, and it’s a luxury few teams at this level have.
Having a number of lineup options is one more thing that has emerged through this non-conference run, between the injuries and a 6-6 record. The Huskies are not only well-prepared should another injury strike, but are set to be deeper than anyone else in the CAA. They grew not only through opponents on the court, but the challenge of having others to take place of those who missed games.
