John Shurna has hit plenty of threes before. And his 249th three-pointer wasn’t all that different from any of his other shots. He spotted up from a few feet behind the arc, noticed a gap between him and the defender and quickly released a shot. When that shot went in the hoop, it wasn’t surprising for the result, only stunning in its effect. With that simple shot, John Shurna broke Billy McKinney’s mark and established his own place in the record books as Northwestern’s all-time leading scorer.
And after Shurna broke the record, a frenetic crowd at Welsh-Ryan Arena broke into alternating chants of “Shurna,” “Johnny Shurna” and “MVP.” It was fitting that just days after the Big Ten Network commentators blasted Shurna for appearing tired toward the end of Northwestern’s loss to Indiana, a home crowd, a crowd that has watched him grow for four years, delivered the final verdict: MVP. There are few players that do more for their team than Johnny Shurna does. He is the Wildcats’ leading scorer, creating his own shots, when the rest of the team is unable to manufacture any. He is the team’s most consistent driver, its best shooter and probably its best defender as well. He is Northwestern’s top shot blocker and its top threat on the glass, and now the do-it-all forward is right where he belongs, in the record books as the leading scorer in program history.
It was fitting the way in which Shurna broke the record, with a total focus on team, and seemingly little focus on breaking the record. He barely touched the ball for the first ten minutes of the game, electing instead to watch Drew Crawford and David Sobolewski toss up three-pointer after three-pointer. Then, when the offense lagged, when the early lead had slipped away and his team needed him the most, Shurna did what he does best: He took over the game. Basketball is a sport in which players generally take turns occupying the spotlight. First, one guy dunks it. Then, another guy hits a three. Then, someone else drives in for a layup. For three minutes on Saturday, the game belonged to John Shurna. With Minnesota down 24-21, and driving with a chance to tie the game, John Shurna anticipated a cross-court pass, made a bold stab for the ball, gracefully intercepted the ball with his long arms and then sprinted down court for a jackhammer dunk. With the crowd already electrified, Shurna followed with a three-pointer from the top of the arc. That was followed by an impressive drive, where Shurna saw a little room to the right of his defender, drove toward the baseline, and finished with a powerful swoop to the hoop, capped off by a layup. That was followed by a three-pointer, taken from well behind the three-point line. When all was said and done, and Shurna’s personal barrage was over, the Wildcats held onto a comfortable nine-point lead.
Shurna was the game-changer and the most valuable player for Northwestern once again. As good as Crawford has been at times this season, there is no doubt who the Wildcats’ best and most important player is at this point. This past week, including games against Purdue, Indiana and Minnesota, has shown that when the Wildcats need a basket, Shurna is their man. His 59 combined points against Purdue and Indiana were impressive, but on Saturday, Shurna was back in his element, dishing the ball around and passing up shots. He is truly one of the most unselfish players I have ever had the joy of witnessing, and it didn’t surprise me, when with the record just a basket or two away, Shurna refused to force shots, instead opting to pass it to open teammates, like Alex Marcotullio, who couldn’t buy an open three. After the game, watching Shurna sign countless autographs for fans simply cemented my positive feelings, perhaps adoration, for one of the greatest players the purple and white has ever known.
Another positive from Saturday’s game was JerShon Cobb’s presence in the starting lineup. Although he was essentially invisible when it came to the stats sheet, scoring only on a pair of free throws, his contributions on the defensive end were invaluable. He finished with four rebounds and four steals, and most important, provided the Wildcats with some sorely needed depth. Next year, Northwestern will need Cobb to emerge as the scorer we all know he is capable of becoming, but for now, if Cobb can simply step up as a consistent role player, that will be more than enough. His 24 minutes meant that Shurna went down from 40 minutes to 37 minutes and no other Wildcats player saw more than 35 minutes of action. Still too much, but an improvement to be sure.
On this most positive of days at Welsh-Ryan Arena, there are certainly negatives that must be corrected before Michigan comes to town. For one, a program that is historically bad on the glass reached a new low, as Northwestern grabbed just 20 rebounds to Minnesota’s 41. The Golden Gophers also snagged 17 offensive rebounds, and while the effort was there for the Wildcats, the execution was not, including several deeply frustrating sets, in which the ball got tipped in the air over and over again, with no Northwestern player able to get the ball securely in his grasp. When Davide Curletti finally won one of these tip wars, and firmly held onto the ball, it might have been the finest moment of the night. At -6.6, Northwestern, by now, is far and away, the worst rebounding school in the Big Ten, which could prove problematic, even against a fellow cellar-dweller like Michigan, which is still far better at -4.0 in conference play. Last time these two teams played, the Wolverines snared 14 offensive rebounds, compared to just three for the Wildcats. The other issue is, lo and behold, Northwestern’s three-point defense. Time after time, Saturday night, Julian Welch was left wide open behind the three-point line. Why Minnesota’s best three-point shooter was repeatedly left open will always remain a mystery to me? Between all of Robbie Hummel’s open threes and Julian Welch’s open threes, the Wildcats could use some work before facing a Wolverines team that is second in the conference in made three-pointers.
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