Northeastern University’s basketball team, the Huskies, celebrated their 100th season of men’s basketball with their home opener in the first week of November. Coach Bill Coen launched his 14th season as coach of Northeastern men’s basketball team.
The Huskies won with 72-67 in their first game and that is all Coen could have wanted from their first game of the season. The four key returnees from 2018’s Colonial Athletic Association champion made impressive contributions, led by a career-best 39 points from guard Jordan Roland, and a tie-breaking 3-pointer by fellow senior Bolden Brace with 35 seconds left. Coen was also pleased with freshman point guard Tyson Walker, who contributed 11 points in his college debut. Walker has been a winner with Christ the King High School in New York, with his prep school last season in New Hampshire, and with his AAU program last summer.
Coen’s program ranks among the national leaders in efficiency when pushing the ball in transition. He hopes that Walker will help them run more often for easy baskets. “For a young kid, he has extreme confidence in himself. He’s a little undersized in terms of how we normally play with our point guard, but with his instincts and feel for the game and passing ability, he can make an impact right away for us”, Coen says about Walker.
According to Coen, they have been trying to be more dynamic. Walker can make passes with both hands and really can get into the lane with more ball speed than they typically get with their larger guards. He’s very quick and shifty, who can split ball screens and can create drop-offs and kick-outs. He thinks the guys really enjoy playing with Walker because he’s unselfish and has got great vision. The mainstays of Coen’s nine-man rotation include senior swingman Maxime Boursiquot, who was sidelined by injury last season, and 6-foot-8-inch junior forward Tomas Murphy, who was asked to line up against centers.
Shahjadi Jemim Rahman