First, as I’ve mentioned on socials before the season, during the season, and in the pregame article, Saint Louis is not your typical “mid-major.” In fact, they’ve got a power conference roster this season and one of the top coaches in the game. Saint Louis has played three games, and sits at the No. 11 team in the country in season performance so far per Bart Torvik. They’re better than many power conference teams, including Texas A&M.

Second, NKU played four games within eight days to start the season. I realize that offseason conditioning occurs, and the staff does their best to get guys into shape, but until you’re playing the games, you’re just not going to have game conditioning early in the year. Playing four games in eight days gives the body minimal rest, and makes it difficult on the players, especially when the team likes to play as fast as the Norse do.

Justin Pagotto in the Norse Nation Facebook group had a comment that I thought was spot on, and I wanted to comment on it.

His comment was exactly the point I wanted to convey when writing this.

I honestly debated even addressing this one, but I will as I said I would address every comment.

“Anonymous Participant 797″ asked: “Likelihood Darrin Horn’s Contract gets Renewed?”

First, it is entirely too early in the season to get into this. Coach Horn is under contract through June 30, 2028, per NKU, and I do expect NKU to attempt to retain him at this moment. However, there is a significant investment in this program, and making sure the resources are there for coaches. If this roster fails to meet the standards the administration has, I’m sure they will have internal discussions.

NKU is honestly spoiled with how successful the program has been since transitioning to Division I. They have zero losing seasons overall, and while they haven’t been back to the NCAA tournament since 2022-23, the Norse are a force in the Horizon. At small schools like NKU, a coach who is 136-92 overall is someone you want to keep around.

Another comment said “Who cares. NKU gets paid, that’s a good thing”. That is a great attitude to have. NKU is a school that needs the extra revenue. These buy games generate a ton of money for the athletic department as a whole. There are still on-court evaluations and adjustments learned from those games as well.

Finally, we can get to some on-court questions:

Will Coach Horn ever leave the matchup zone?

Honest answer: I don’t know. It has been a signature of Horn and the way that his teams play. However, this coaching staff has some minds who are always evaluating things. If things are bad, they’re going to work to fix it ASAP.

“Ball Security is an issue. With all new players, what was the focus on in the preseason? 45 turnovers in 2 games”

The Norse have turned the ball over 73 times in four games, an average of 18.3 per game. However, as the comment mentions, 45 of those came in the two buy games. That means that against similar levels of competition, the Norse are averaging 14 turnovers per game. The last two years, the Norse have been closer to 11 per game.

Last year, NKU did better from a turnover standpoint to start the year, absolutely. However, they also had a backcourt that featured Ethan Elliott, Dan Gherezgher, and Donovan Oday. Ethan is an elite at handling the ball, turning it over just 1.4 times per game. Eric Acker is handling the ball a lot more than expected, and Willie Foster, as electric as he is, is handling it a lot more than expected. Those two account for 7.3 turnovers per game. When you add in BJ Davis-Ray, another guy who is being asked to handle the ball more than expected, that number shoots up to 9.8. Ten turnovers per game from those three is unacceptable, don’t get me wrong. However, when Ethan comes back, the ball security should improve.

If, for whatever reason that number doesn’t improve, or Ethan doesn’t come back soon, I’ll sound the alarms.

Regarding what they focused on in the preseason: yes, the coaching staff focused on making sure the Norse were able to take care of the ball, while also trying to establish an offensive and defensive identity. Playing games is the best way to figure out these things. That’s why you see a mixture of teams on the schedule, they can challenge themselves, get a big paycheck, and then play some easier competition to be able to iron all of the details out.

My thoughts on NKU right now lean toward not being worried. If I were grading the panic meter number on a scale of 1-10, I’m at a 2. This team is better than many expected in the preseason, and is going to be extremely fun to watch.