Northern Illinois University tips off their basketball season on Monday, November 4. The men's team is on the road against Georgia Southern University and the women's team is at home, hosting Louisiana University.
Ahead of the women's home opener, WNIJ Morning Edition host Jason Cregier was able to chat with head coach Lisa Carlsen about the Huskies' upcoming season, the changes in how college basketball players go about their seasons, the continued trend of three-point shooting in the game of basketball and the growing popularity of the women's game.
Jason Cregier:
The last 4 seasons the Huskies have hovered around a .500 winning percentage.
What are some of the team's goals for the season ahead?
Lisa Carlsen:
We (NIU women's basketball team) have assembled some lofty goals for this season.
I really like our upperclassmen leadership, which will try and help us get to Cleveland this year (site of the Mid-American Conference Championship).
And how many returning upperclassmen do you have this season?
We have 4 seniors returning. We have one true senior, two fifth year seniors and one sixth year senior. All of them have played significant roles during their time here at NIU. That foundation is what we need to have to expect to have a great season.
The NCAA is now a little over 3 years into the player transfer portal and NIL (name, image and likeness) deals to pay players.
How does this affect a coach and their staff, and what advantages or disadvantages to a program come with from dealing with the player transfer portal?
I think when you look at this roster it really exemplifies some of the advantages, we've been able to tap into here at NIU. We had quite a large senior class that left last year due to graduation. We have 5 transfers for this season, all juniors, and we expect them to step in and make us deeper at a lot of positions.
If someone is coming out to watch their first NIU women's basketball game, what style of basketball should they expect to see?
We're a team that tries to play fast. We have versatile players who can play in space and stretch the floor for three-point shooting. This roster has all the pieces to do those things.
Do you think the prevalence of three-point shooting is here to stay for a while?
The three-point shot has changed the game of basketball at all levels, and I don't know if it will change away from it. You have bigger, faster and stronger players at all levels, with their versatility continuing to evolve. It's not often anymore that you have a back to the basket post player who is not also able to stretch the floor in their face up game. I think the three-point shot is here to stay.
Womens basketball seems to be experiencing a popularity boom of late, why do you think that is?
When you have opportunities to put the game in the public eye, whether it be television deals or other types of media exposure, the more people that watch women's basketball like it.
I think our game is in a great place right now.
NIU's women's basketball team opens their season on Monday, November 4, at 11 a.m. against Louisiana University at the Convocation Center in DeKalb.
