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ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 25, ISSUE 2 53 f fense, but he'll need to show he's matured enough to be able to carry the offense consistently. He should be a double-double player. Maybe it'll help with the piec- es around him like newcomer Jon Octeus, who can score but feed from the point, and a freshmen class that provides some savvy, passing skills and talent. MINNESOTA 25-13 OVERALL, 8-10 BIG TEN T he Gophers didn't reach the NCAA Tournament in Richard Pitino's first season, but it did finish strong, surging to win the NIT. In Year 2, Richard Pitino hopes a trip to the other post- season tournament will materialize as the team is truly able to run his preferred styles, getting even more upt- empo on offensive and wrecking havoc on the perimeter. "My first year at FIU, we were top-10 in the country in steals. We certainly were not that last year," he said. "I think that number will go up, and hopefully we can create more offense for our defense." He's building a culture with a large group of returning players: Eight of Minnesota's players are upperclassmen, though only a couple have significant playing experience. Andre Hollins does, and he's a senior who has pro- duced. He averaged 13.6 points and 3.5 rebounds in 36 starts last season. Point guard DeAndre Mathieu (12.0 ppg) needs to turn the ball over less, but he still dished out 160 assists to 102 turnovers. NORTHWESTERN 14-19 OVERALL, 6-12 BIG TEN C hris Collins feels good about the culture and iden- tity he's been able to establish at Northwestern: A hard-working, blue-collar group that competes. Now, he needs the group to evolve more in terms of production. The Wildcats were last in the league in scoring (59.5 ppg), field goal percentage (.396) and three-point per- centage (.306). "We have to be more efficient," Collins said. "We have to be able to put it in the basket. We have to find a way to get easier points. We have to get out in transition a little bit more. We have to get on the offensive boards, and we have to score in the paint. "Those are going to be the things, as we evolve from last year, that we have to add to being a great defensive team. Our defense saved us last year. Now we've got to take some pressure off our defense. We've got to be able to score the ball better." Northwestern was third in the league in point allowed, holding opponents to only 63.4 points. It'll be up to returners JerShon Cobb (12.2 ppg), Tre Demps (11.0 ppg) and Alex Olah (9.1 ppg) to boost their offensive production and get some help from what Col- lins thinks is a talented freshmen class. PENN STATE 16-18 OVERALL, 6-12 BIG TEN P atrick Chambers feels like Penn State is finally heading in the right direction, though it's been a struggle to rebuild in University Park, Pa. "The process has been long, it's been windy, it's been difficult, but you have to cherish it sometimes because you're really building something special, building some- thing from the ground up," Chambers said. "For me, I would like to see us take that next step this year." It'd help if the Nittany Lions can develop an ability to pull out close games. They lost six games decided by five points or fewer last season. But at least there still are some good pieces to give Penn State a chance. Guard D.J. Newbill may need to handle the ball more as the team's point without Tim Frazier, though Cham- bers said he'd like for Newbill to be able to play off the ball some, too, where he can focus on scoring. The latter is definitely something Newbill can do — he averaged 17.8 points last season and has 1,108 points in just two seasons for the Nittany Lions. Chambers is happy to have some experience, finally, too, with multi-year starters Brandon Taylor (9.2 ppg, 4.2 rpg) and senior Ross Travis (8.4 ppg, 7.0 rpg) back. "We're a little bit older now, which is exciting," Cham- bers said.