So Where Does Northwestern Go From Here?

As you've no doubt heard by now, Northwestern fired Bill Carmody on Saturday morning. It seems that a 192-220 record, with a mark of 70-150 in the Big Ten and no NCAA tournament berths just isn't enough to get a guy a fourteenth season.

And while I certainly don't blame Carmody for how bad this season was for Northwestern -- every single one of his players died -- I also can't blame Northwestern for finally deciding to move on. I don't think Carmody is a bad coach, but I also think that Northwestern has gone as far as it's going to go under Carmody.

What will be interesting to watch over the next few weeks is where Northwestern goes from here. Can the Wildcats get a coach to replace Carmody that actually injects some life into the program? I mean, Northwestern certainly has it's disadvantages as a basketball school with its academic requirements and high school facilities, but bringing in an exciting coach can help overcome that a bit.

The name that's getting tossed around quite a bit is Duke assistant Chris Collins, because if you're one of those smart kid schools that has a basketball program, you have to hire somebody from Duke. Personally I don't think Collins is going to leave Duke for Northwestern, though he's a lot likelier than Iowa's Fran McCaffery -- it appears Teddy G started celebrating St. Patty's Day early on Saturday.

But that's the problem Northwestern faces right now. It's looking for the basketball answer to Pat Fitzgerald, but I'm not sure that man exists. Not for Northwestern, anyway.

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