What’ve you done for me lately?
Somewhere in the last decade, the attitude around winning shifted. Present and past success, once reveled-in, is now frequently overlooked in favor of the future. Winning a championship is nice, but can you do it again next year? And the year after? And maybe the year after that?
Perhaps nowhere is that shift more evident than in Storrs, Connecticut. Within 48 hours of etching himself in college basketball legend by winning back-to-back NCAA titles, head coach Dan Hurley went viral for filming himself getting right back on the recruiting trail. Thanks for winning two, Coach, but how about you put down that champagne and make it three?
And, while Northeastern isn’t competing for NCAA championships, the same train of thought lurks around Huntington Avenue. Within minutes of Northeastern’s season-ending CAA tournament loss at the hands of Stony Brook, reporters (myself included) were already asking what plans coach Bill Coen might have for the roster ahead of the 2024-25 season. When one season ends, another begins, and the starting gun fired on the Huskies’ 24-25 campaign the very instant the buzzer drew the 23-24 edition to its anticlimactic conclusion.
In this case, focus on the immediate future was warranted. A tepid 12-20 record meant Northeastern finished with 20 or more losses for the third consecutive year, putting Coach Coen on somewhat of a hot seat for the first time in his illustrious career. Additionally, the roster seemed destined for an overhaul, with two stars out of eligibility (Chris Doherty and Luka Sakota) plus the looming possibility of several key players exiting via the transfer portal.
As of May 1, entries into the transfer portal are now closed, and the 2024-2025 roster is slowly coming into view. While Northeastern’s offseason isn’t over (they can still recruit transfers and/or freshmen) enough of the team is filled out for us to take our first look.
Graduates: F Chris Doherty, G Luka Sakota, F/C Alexander Nwagha
Northeastern’s graduating class isn’t huge, but what it lacks in size, it makes up for in production.
Star forward Chris Doherty and guard Luka Sakota are both now out of eligibility, leaving sizable holes in the starting lineup. The duo combined for nearly 27 points and nine rebounds per game in 2023, each starting in every contest in which they appeared. Doherty in particular will be missed; the Marlborough native blossomed into one of the Huskies’ best players after transferring from Notre Dame ahead of his redshirt sophomore season.
Doherty and Sakota are the only ones officially out of eligibility, but center Alexander Nwagha appeared likely to forgo his final year of eligibility after participating in Senior Day and reportedly walking the stage at graduation. Nwagha filled important minutes at backup center last season, often spelling Doherty and functioning as a steady defender and rebounder when given the opportunity.
Transfers Out: G Joe Pridgen, G Glen McClintock, F Bryce Johnson
None of these three is particularly surprising. Pridgen entered the portal midseason after leaving the team for undisclosed reasons, little-used guard McClintock’s transfer looked likely after a substantial minutes reduction, and forward Bryce Johnson seemed primed for an exit to pursue a heavier workload in his final year of eligibility. All of these players saw minutes at various points throughout the year, but none of them were able to keep their spots in the rotation by the end of the season. The trio combined to average 12 points a game, with the majority coming from Pridgen at 8.8. However, by the end of the season, none of the three were in the rotation.
Returners: G Masai Troutman, G Harold Woods, G Jared Turner, G Rashad King, G JB Frankel, F/C Collin Metcalf, G William Kermoury
The intrigue in Northeastern’s offseason mostly revolved around the fates of four guards: rising juniors Masai Troutman, Harold Woods, Rashad King, and Jared Turner. The first three were mainstays in the 2023-24 starting lineup, while Turner alternated between starting and coming off the bench, all while leading the team in three-pointers made.
Each of the four entered the offseason with legitimate transfer speculation. While it was unlikely any of them would garner interest from power schools, all four players have done enough in their Northeastern careers to theoretically draw interest from larger mid-major programs. Whether they garnered interest or not is unknown, but in today’s transfer-crazed landscape, it’s notable in itself that all four elected to stick around.
Troutman returns as a lead scoring guard; he paced all current Huskies in minutes last season, and made significant contributions scoring, assisting, and defending. At 6-foot-6, 200 lbs, he’s a tantalizing combination of size and skill that gives him the ability to play (and defend) three positions, making him one of the most valuable parts of the roster.
Woods will join Troutman in the starting lineup. Like Troutman, Woods is already an excellent two-way player; his size makes him a defensive pest (6-foot-5, 200 lbs), and he led all returning Huskies in scoring in 2023-24. Woods was able to do so without much of an outside shot (31% 3PT), so if his shooting stroke improves at all, he’s a prime breakout candidate and could easily establish himself as Northeastern’s best player.
King is the closest thing to a true point guard in the bunch after leading returners in assists and free throw percentage in 2023-24. He’s yet another big guard, at 6-foot-6, 198 lbs, and, like the other two, has every tool to impact games on both ends of the floor. The Huskies will need King to take another leap as a facilitator – Sakota mostly featured as last year’s primary playmaker – but King’s already shown the ability to do so, including a 12-point, 11-assist performance in last season’s CAA Tournament.
Turner comes back as one of the most intriguing players on the roster. Since his arrival, the 6-foot-8 guard has been the best pure shooter on the roster, leading the Huskies in three-point percentage and makes in both his freshman and sophomore years. However, Turner showed signs of development in other areas down the stretch of his sophomore season, blossoming into a gritty defender and willing rebounder. If he can maintain those improvements while continuing to shoot a high clip from the outside, Turner has real potential to swing games for the Huskies all season long.
As for Frankel and Metcalf, their returns are less surprising. Both players began the year playing sparingly, but began to see increased minutes as the season went on. Metcalf in particular showed promise, showcasing his jaw-dropping athleticism whenever he touched the court; he was solid down the stretch, playing arguably his best collegiate game against Stony Brook in the CAA tournament. Frankel similarly earned more trust from Coen with improved play in the waning weeks of the season, filling in for Sakota when the star missed key games through injury. Metcalf is expected to play a large role as the only returning big man, while Frankel will once again fill in at the end of the rotation.
Kermoury played sparingly as a freshman, and looked relatively overmatched when he saw action. He’ll have to take some major offseason strides to see the floor in 2024-25, and the Huskies will hope he can channel some of his overseas success into the CAA.
Transfers In: G LA Pratt, F Youri Fritz, F Sam Thomson
With six spots (and a lot of minutes) opening up, Northeastern was expected to attack the transfer portal. They did so with gusto, securing three commitments by May 1, with more potentially in the pipeline. None of the three project as stars, and none were statistical marvels at their old schools, but each player comes to Boston with a real chance to play meaningful minutes for the 2024-25 team.
Northeastern coveting LA Pratt is not new; Coen recruited him out of high school, only for him to end up with conference foe Elon. After two seasons with the Phoenix, Pratt comes to Boston as a typical Northeastern guard – at 6-foot-5, he’s big enough to guard twos and threes, but is also quick and intelligent enough to run the offense. He carved out a consistent role with Elon, starting seven games in 2023-24, averaging 6.9 points alongside 2.1 assists, and had a 16 point performance in a January home loss to Northeastern. While he won’t walk into a starting spot, he’ll join the legion of junior guards on Huntington Ave, and should play an impactful role.
Previous ties to Fritz are lesser-known, but he’ll have the same opportunity to carve out a role for himself. The 6-foot-9 Dutchman arrives from Canisius as a proven forward option, providing some much-needed frontcourt depth. Fritz started 23 games last year, averaging 5.3 points and 4.0 rebounds a game. However, the forward didn’t make a single three and only shot 57% from the free throw line, and his defense is a bit of a question mark; he’s had struggles against bigger, stronger opposition and hasn’t been enough of a rim deterrent (0.6 blocks per game) to make up for his deficiencies. Barring a step forward, Fritz will likely sit behind Metcalf, but his size alone makes him valuable.
Thomson checks in as the oldest member of the Huskies’ early recruiting class. The 6-foot-9 forward will use his last year of eligibility to play for Coach Coen, and he’ll join Metcalf and Fritz in the frontcourt. He never fully broke through in four years at Colgate, earning just two career starts over 115 games, but Thomson provided decent bench minutes in every season of his career. At 230 lbs, he’ll be a more useful option against bigger centers, but he isn’t an inspiring rebounder or scorer, and tends to turn the ball over more than you’d like. However, there’s something to be said for four years at an excellent program like Colgate; the Canadian appeared in every game en route to three straight NCAA Tournament appearances, and the Huskies will hope some of that winning DNA comes with him to Boston.
Freshman Commits: G Ryan Williams
There’s still time for Northeastern to sign additional freshmen, especially with additional roster spots opening up, but only one has officially committed thus far.
As of now, Williams stands alone as Northeastern’s only freshman commit for the incoming class of 2024. Originally from Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, Williams was a 1,000 point scorer at Malvern Preparatory School, and at 6-foot-4, he’ll be the latest in a long line of big guards playing for Coen. Williams is a shifty, two-way guard who can create his own shot, and he committed to Northeastern over schools such as Iona, Binghamton, and Columbia. How much he’ll impact games as a freshman is unclear, but a role similar to JB Frankel’s this past season seems likely.
Rundown
Get ready for the new-look Huskies.
Three months ago, it seemed quite unlikely that Woods, Troutman, King, and Turner would all stick around. It’d be easy for any, or all, of those four uber-talented guards to jump ship and relocate to greener pastures.
But, it’s May, and not a single one left. Instead, Coach Coen brought in some promising pieces, and officially handed the reins to a junior class that looks ready to lead Northeastern into the future. When you factor in the transfers and the continued development of Metcalf and Frankel, the 2024-25 Huskies ooze promise from every area of the floor.
Promise can go south, though, and Northeastern is more a team to watch than it is a team of destiny. However, there’s no arguing the level of talent the Huskies have assembled, and it’ll be fun to watch.
Look for at least one more transfer commit to come in at some point this summer – I’d guess a big wing or a center, even though Coen does love his guards. WRBB Sports will be back with a full primer before the 2024-25 season gets underway.