On the night of Jan. 14, as Northwestern prepared to face its in-state rivals, Chris Collins threw Northwestern basketball fans a curveball.
He handed the keys of the ‘Cats offense to Jake West, slotting him into the starting lineup.
Collins, a 12th-year head coach, is known for his preference for experience over the years. The successes of NU during his tenure have been off the backs of its most polished products.
The last two freshmen to run a Collins-led offense?
Boo Buie, Northwestern’s all-time
leading scorer and the engine behind two NCAA Tournament trips.
Bryant McIntosh, one of the program’s all-time greats who guided the Wildcats to their first NCAA Tournament win.
So yes, the bar for Jake West was sky-high.
After two quiet starts, it looked like he might come up short. But over the next 10 games, he has steadily flipped that script. West hasn’t just handled the responsibility, he has embraced it, and he’s done it faster than ‘Cats fans could have expected.
Vision & Ball Security
When West took over as the starting point guard, the ‘Cats boasted an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.18, which was at the time, the best ratio recorded since at least 1993. Since then, West has contributed four assists per game, which would rank him third amongst all Big Ten freshmen.
Speaking of assist-to-turnover numbers, West’s current ratio of 3.16 is the highest ever recorded in program history.
As a facilitator, he’s commanded the offense superbly against defensively sound squads in Michigan, USC and Iowa, where he’s shown the ability to draw attention inside the perimeter and find his forwards for easy scores. However, the pinnacle of his growth as a passer came in the ‘Cats blowout of Penn State, when West became only the fourth Wildcat (and first freshman) to record 13 or more assists in a game.
What immediately jumps off the screen when looking at the film is intelligence: knowing where his teammates are at all times and anticipating the defense extremely well.
Of course, it hasn’t been smooth sailing for the Pennsylvania native since joining the first unit. It took him two games to get comfortable with the new role, and he’s had blips on the radar against ranked opponents, but from a macrocosmic lens, it’s difficult not to be impressed by the vision he’s displayed for the ‘Cats.
With Tre Singleton continuing to polish his game as Nick Martinelli’s successor at forward, and perimeter shooters like Max Green and K.J. Windham still refining their shots, West’s ability to put teammates in position to succeed will be fun to watch over the next three years.
Three Ball Efficiency
West’s 36.8% three-point shooting provides Northwestern, a team who sits in the bottom half of the conference in that category, some much needed help from distance. His versatility in being able to shoot off the dribble and off the pass is simply awesome for a freshman to have in today’s era of college basketball.
Many of Northwestern’s opponents get locked in on Martinelli’s scoring and forget that West can create for himself, too. When he starts hunting his own looks, the problems pile up quickly for defenses. With West rolling, Northwestern’s options multiply: he can keep it and score, feed Martinelli on the block, swing it to Singleton on the perimeter and open a driving lane, or clear out for Jayden Reid, who can generate his own shot in isolation.
The math is simple: stretch the defense, open the playbook.
The Limiting Factor
At six-foot-three, 180 pounds, there’s only so much West can do with the tools he has for now. Big Ten coaches have taken advantage of the size disparity at NU’s guard position, most notably in the pick-and-roll game against West.
However, with time to add muscle to his frame, other solid areas of West’s game, namely his defense, will start to surface and show its positives more frequently.
In short, West’s development parallel’s Angelo Ciaravino’s to a degree.
When Ciaravino was dealt his opportunities to join the starting lineup a season ago, his defense was immediately exposed — not for a lack of ability, but for a lack of size. Fast foward to this fall, and his extra 15 pounds of muscle has helped him exponentially improve as a perimeter defender, especially against slashing guards.
West’s offseason will most likely be a foil’s of the Chicago native, as his competitive attitude and hustle that Collins has raved about this season is only missing a larger frame for him to start reaping the benefits of being a naturally pesky defender.
Along with more muscle comes a more expansive offensive game for West as well, as it’ll open up the low post game for him a bit more. He finds himself in an odd “middle ground” of sorts that prevents him from getting to the rim often: he’s not as crafty as Reid just yet to finesse his way around defenders, nor is he as strong as a Brooks Barnhizer to grind his way to the basket, draw contact, and get to the line.
That’s not to say West isn’t capable of hitting those benchmarks either. A couple months of lab work where he develops unique ways of attacking the rim is more than enough.
At the end of the day, Jake West is a talented point guard with a bright future and a head coach who believes in him.
Evaluation consensus: West is the future for the ‘Cats at the point guard spot.
