Northern Kentucky Basketball: 2017-18 season preview for the Norse
By Bryan Mauro
Key Reserves
Tate was a part of this team last year and opened the year as a starter before a hand injury ended his year prematurely. Having Tate come off the bench may be good for the Norse as quality depth off the bench is always a good thing for any team to have. It also remains to be seen how quickly Tate is going to get back into playing form after his hand injury. A healthy Tate gives the Norse six players they trust to start on any given night.
Faulkner played quality minutes for the Norse last year off the bench. Faulkner can score and he dropped 29 against Detroit in a win. The most impressive part of Faulkner’s 8 points per game last year was the fact that he averaged only 18 minutes of game time last year. Even if Faulkner does not improve on the total minutes played knowing that he can score in a multitude of ways will earn him time during crunch time.
This Northern Kentucky team does not have a lot of size as they play a lot of guards and like to spread teams out. The Norse shot 860 3-pointers last year, and they made threes at a 35% mark last year. The athleticism of the players on the floor and the speed of their guards is a problem for many teams. They are efficient when they get on the floor and if these players can score like they have shown in the past they will have a great season again.