Can’t you feel it in the air?
Let me be the one to officially welcome you to the best time of year, when October gives way to November, Halloween spirit cedes to Thanksgiving fervor, and most importantly — college basketball returns.
Here on Huntington Avenue, there’s a palpable buzz surrounding the 2024-25 Northeastern Huskies. It’s a buzz stoked by belief in the young, toolsy roster, but hampered somewhat by three straight losing seasons. Last year’s Huskies flashed talent, but inconsistency and youth plagued them repeatedly en route to a frustrating 12-20 finish and a maddening first-round CAA Tournament loss at the hands of Stony Brook.
The good news? That talent is still around, and might’ve even grown up a bit. A majority of a six-man class of 2026 remains on the roster, and is poised to serve as the focal point for Northeastern this season. When you factor in a promising transfer class and two potential-laden freshmen, this is a team which has a real chance to challenge for its first winning season since 2020, and could dare to dream further than that.
The Huskies aren’t without their losses, though, recently adding key forward Jared Turner to a list which already included star graduates Chris Doherty and Luka Sakota. The loss of three instrumental members of last year’s team will certainly add a couple pieces to the jigsaw that is any college basketball season.
But, if every season is a puzzle, who else would you want fitting the pieces together than someone doing it for the 19th time? Someone with four CAA Regular Season and two CAA Tournament titles? Someone who certainly wants to break a five-year postseason drought even more than we do?
That someone would be head coach Bill Coen, a man who’s had this season circled in red ink since the moment the class of 2026 put pen to paper. Junior year is the year for a lot of mid-major basketball players; a standout campaign could get you a ticket to a big-name program, while a poor one could make you an afterthought heading into the twilight of your college career.
This year’s Huskies roster features six juniors. Every single one is expected to play an important role, and at least three figure to slot into most starting lineups. Six hungry, talented juniors seems like a handy ingredient in any recipe for basketball success…
At its core, though, college basketball is rife with uncertainty and constant change. Every season is a blank canvas, and as much as I’d love to pen exactly how it’ll go, I can’t; as the popular adage goes, that’s why they play the games.
With that said, let’s take a deep dive into the 2024-25 Northeastern Huskies.
Guards
Undoubtedly the strength of this roster, Northeastern enters the season with nine guards, four of whom belong to the vaunted junior class. Five were on the team last year; two incoming freshmen, one transfer, and a walk-on round out the group.
No preview would be complete without mentioning junior guard Masai Troutman, who earned Northeastern’s lone selection to the all-CAA Preseason Teams as a second-teamer. As a sophomore, the 6-foot-4 Troutman started all 32 games, scoring ten points per on respectable 43/36/75 splits, often matching up against the opponent’s toughest guard defender.
Troutman’s shooting stroke came on down the stretch, ticking above 40% in conference play, and his combination of athleticism and feel for the game should be complemented by an offseason where he reportedly made three-point shooting his focus, as he said on CAA Media Day. Look for Troutman to act as the primary offensive option, and serve as somewhat of a barometer for the offense as a whole.
Speaking of barometers, I’d be remiss not to bring up fellow junior guard Rashad King, who will slide into the point guard role this season after a sophomore campaign that saw him lead the team in both assists and steals. At 6-foot-6, King fits the Coen mold of bigger point guards, and flashed real table-setting ability a season ago, including a dynamic 11-assist performance in the season-ending loss to Stony Brook. Arguably the team’s best ball-handler, King will look to improve upon a 34% three-point average last season, and if his 85% free throw percentage is any indication, he could certainly do so.
Shooting is paramount in today’s basketball world, and nobody knows that more than junior guard Harold Woods. Despite logging a superb 54% from the field, his 31% three-point shot often made him a one-dimensional cover on the offensive end, and his meager playmaking and affinity for turning the ball over furthered that notion. There’s real talent here, and Woods showed flashes last season, including a 25-point explosion at Towson. However, he’ll either have to add a reliable jumpshot or slash his turnovers to harness it fully. Look for the 6-foot-5 man to spend a lot of time at wing, where his defensive abilities will be used on some of the CAA’s finest big guards.
Big guards have become calling cards for Coen teams over the years, and junior transfer LA Pratt is no exception. The 6-foot-5 former Elon man finally ends up on Huntington Avenue three years after Coen couldn’t quite secure his signature as a high schooler, and he enters as a combo guard with some real potential for volatility.
Pratt will have to shoot to earn his minutes amongst a multitude of big guards; his 36% three-point stroke from a season ago looks good, but his 55% free-throw percentage raises eyebrows about how sustainable that really is. If it is indeed real, he’ll be an invaluable piece to a team that needs shooting, and his secondary playmaking (2.1 AST/g) will be a boon as well. If his shooting regresses, it wouldn’t be a shock to see him out of the rotation by January, as Northeastern has a lot of young, hungry guards ready to go.
If young and hungry doesn’t describe JB Frankel and William Kermoury, I don’t know what would. Both players played sparingly in their freshman campaigns, each appearing in 24 games, and they’ll each have to show improvement to wrest minutes away from an experienced group of guards.
Frankel made his name as a defensive pest generally averse to turning the ball over, gaining some trust in the back half of last season, including 30 hard-nosed minutes in the season finale at Drexel. Kermoury started slow, falling out of the rotation by January, but if his four-year professional career in Sweden is any indication, he’ll figure it out in year two. Either way, these two aren’t expected to play a big role this season, and they’ll have to battle it out with the freshmen for backup minutes.
Freshmen rarely play important roles for Coen teams, and although that trend will likely continue this year, there’s reason to be excited about Ryan Williams and Luca Soroa. The 6-foot-4 (big guard!) Williams hails from Phoenixville, PA, entering as a 1000-point high-school scorer who reportedly generated buzz in Philadelphia basketball circles.
The 6-foot-6 Soroa (that’s right, another big guard) comes over from Valencia, Spain. A relative unknown until recently, Soroa averaged a near triple-double this summer in the Puma Pro Circuit. He also briefly played professionally in Spain, averaging nearly 10 points a game on just under 35% from three. All in all, both players enter with significant intrigue, and for good reason – how much they contribute this season remains to be seen, but they’re well worth keeping an eye on moving forward.
Rounding out the guards is another first-year player, but this isn’t your typical first-year player. Senior walk-on Nate Francois joins the Huskies after three years on Northeastern’s club team, which consistently ranks among the best in the country. The 6-foot-1 Francois is a former manager who led the entire country in scoring and three-pointers at the club level last season, averaging 34 points per game.
Whether that translates to the Division I level or not is to be determined, but Coen described him as an “elite teammate, and a great addition to our team.” His on-court impact remains to be seen, but the Huskies are adding what certainly appears to be a Division 1-level talent with great intangibles, which no coach would ever turn down.
Forwards
What is a forward, anyway?
To me, growing up, we had small forwards, power forwards, and centers. Sometime in the mid-2010s, that changed to centers and “wings”, before shifting to forwards as something of an all-encompassing term for anyone who wasn’t a guard.
For the purposes of this preview, any non-guard is considered a forward, so what might be a traditional center will be included in this section. And, while Northeastern’s options at forward are certainly thinner than those at guard, there’s some tantalizing potential among this group, which includes two returners and two transfer additions.
Kicking things off is 6-foot-7 graduate student Alex Nwagha, who plays taller than he actually is – a ringing endorsement that earned him some preseason CAA All-Defense speculation. It’s certainly easy to see how one could come to that conclusion. Despite playing only nine minutes per game last season, the forward recorded 35 stocks (steals & blocks), and defended the rim superbly when called upon to do so.
Nwagha’s offensive game leaves something to be desired – his lack of a jumper and his 50% free throw clip are issues – but he’s developed a really nice touch around the rim and has the vertical ability to finish lobs. They won’t run the offense through him, but look for Nwagha to act as a veteran leader for this group and play a key role as a defensive stalwart.
You can’t list defensive stalwarts without mentioning forward/center Collin Metcalf; the 6-foot-9 junior is the tallest player on the team, and uses every inch of his frame to disrupt opposing offenses. Metcalf had 13 stocks last season in just 96 minutes played, which comes out to nearly four per game if he played thirty minutes a night. Offensively, while he is somewhat raw, his massive frame and ridiculous bounce make him a dynamic lob threat, and if he can establish himself as a capable free throw shooter, there’s no reason why his breakout performance in the season-ender against Stony Brook (14 points, nine rebounds, 6-for-6 from the field) can’t become more commonplace.
Sam Thomson knows a thing or two about conference titles; the graduate forward won four of them during his tenure at Colgate. While he did play minor roles throughout his entire spell as a Raider, he played (115 games over four years), and he comes to Northeastern as a veteran leader as well as the only player on the team to have played in the NCAA Tournament.
Thomson will likely act as a backup big for the Huskies, and should immediately become one of the better rebounders and most important locker room voices on the roster from day one. If he can defend, there’s a real chance he becomes the preferred option – that’s how wide-open this group is.
Defense figures to be less of a problem for Youri Fritz, who worked his way towards becoming an impactful defender during his two years at Canisius. The 6-foot-8 junior transfer alternated between the starting lineup and the bench throughout his sophomore campaign with the Golden Griffins, showing rebounding and defensive ability as well as the occasional scoring outburst.
Like every other forward, Fritz is a non-shooter, but hopefully a move to Huntington Ave can help him recapture a 70% free throw clip from freshman year instead of a measly 56% a season ago. There’s a lot of potential here, though – Fritz began playing basketball later in life, and made real strides between his freshman and sophomore year. If he can make another stride, or even take a leap, look out.
Other
While the departures of Doherty, Sakota, and others were either forced or widely expected, the Huskies suffered an unexpected departure within the past few weeks in junior guard/forward Jared Turner, who withdrew from the university for unknown reasons. The 6-foot-8 Turner played an instrumental role for Northeastern on both sides of the ball last season, and was expected to slot into a starting role this year. His exit creates a massive void in both three-point shooting (38%, led the team) and defense (31 stocks), as well as a variety of other areas.
Roundup
These are not yesterday’s Northeastern Huskies.
No longer is this a team playing through a big man; this team will exclusively play through guards, and there’s a real scenario where the four (or five) best players on the team are just that. Gone are the days of Doherty or Jahmyl Telfort post-ups. In are the days of Masai Troutman dribble-drives and Rashad King running the break. Get ready to play fast.
It’s notable, too, to examine how Coen fleshed out this year’s roster. Look at the schools from which the transfers arrived: Colgate, Elon, and Canisius, three solid mid-major programs with standards akin to or higher than Northeastern’s. There seems to be a no-nonsense attitude surrounding these Huskies. Coen wants reliable, heady, talented players, instead of flashy, inconsistent ones, a mantra that would appear to fit a developing core primed for success today.
With that being said, there’s a lot of room for error. Losing your starting center, point guard, and best reserve in the same offseason is difficult for any program, much less one of Northeastern’s size. Guys will have to step up and meet expectations for this train to leave the station, and they’ll need to exceed those expectations if it is to get to its ultimate destination.
From a pure basketball standpoint, there are some concerns. Turner’s departure makes it difficult to play four shooters at once without giving up a size mismatch somewhere, although that weakness should be offset by what appears to be a relatively small CAA. Rebounding will have to be a team effort, especially with no forwards above 6-foot-9, and the team doesn’t project as a particularly good one from the free throw line. Bigger teams will test their size, or lack of it, and without any reliable interior scoring, this is a team that’ll likely be reliant on their jump-shooting. It’s not hard to envision a world where a lack of size and tangible internal development consigns this team to another underwhelming finish.
It’s just as easy, though, to picture everything going right. The junior guards take leaps, a well-oiled, pacy offense steamrolls through CAA defenses, and Collin Metcalf tosses his hat into the ring for CAA All-Defense honors. Northeastern competes for an NCAA Tournament berth, and basketball becomes a primary subject of conversation around Matthews Arena once again.
The likelihood of either outcome is narrow; the infinite range of scenarios somewhere between the two feels more apt. What I can promise, however, is this: these Huskies will play fast, they’ll play hard, and they’ll shoot more threes. Anything outside of that is open to interpretation.
Predictions
When I said open to interpretation, I meant open; here’s mine, which will almost certainly be dead wrong by December. Such is the nature of college basketball.
Northeastern opens the year at BU, before hosting Princeton, Harvard, and Colgate and visiting FGCU, Vermont, and UMass in non-conference play, a tough but doable slate which will likely include at least one NCAA Tournament team. CAA play starts tough with four consecutive road games at Towson, Stony Brook, UNCW, and Charleston in January before cooling down.
All of which is to say, don’t get too low on the lows or too high on the highs. This is a new team, playing a new style. Judge them in February, give them time to jell in November.
Record: 19-14 (11-7)
CAA regular-season finish: 4th
CAA Tournament finish: Semifinalists
Team MVP: Masai Troutman
Team Defensive Player of the Year: Harold Woods (or Collin Metcalf)
Most Impactful Transfer: Youri Fritz
It sure is good to be back.
Northeastern will open the 2024-25 campaign on the road on Monday against Boston University. Max Schwartzberg and Aiden Barker will have the call live on WRBB 104.9 FM from Case Gym, with tip-off scheduled for 7:30 p.m.