Feb. 22--Vic Law is embracing the journey while gradually maturing into a major contributor as a freshman for Northwestern.
The spindly 6-foot-7 forward from South Holland chose Northwestern as a highly decorated recruit out of St. Rita. And he boldly proclaimed that he wanted to become the key player to help make history in Evanston by leading the Wildcats to their first-ever NCAA tournament berth.
After scoring in double figures in five non-conference games, Law failed to reach double digits in his first eight Big Ten games. But he has played as advertised in his last two games, capped by Saturday's performance against Penn State in which he came off the bench to score 17 points and grab 11 rebounds in a 60-39 victory. Law also was credited with two steals and a blocked shot.
The Wildcats (13-14 overall, 4-10 in the Big Ten) have won three in a row after suffering through a 10-game losing streak.
"I am taking things a lot more seriously now," Law said. "Like the shots I take before a game ... I make sure they are game-speed shots when I take them. I know that each practice and each game in the Big Ten, you have to go as hard as you can because there is no bad team in the Big Ten."
Northwestern has beaten Iowa, Minnesota and Penn State in advance of Wednesday night's home game against Indiana.
"All of these games have been team wins for us. Everybody contributed," coach Chris Collins said. "We don't really have starters and bench now. Certainly, this was a breakout for Vic Law. I am really proud of Vic.
"When he came in (as a highly touted recruit), there was a lot of what I thought were unwarranted expectations on him for a young kid, obviously. But he wanted that. That's why he came here. He wanted to be the first guy to come here and help us turn it around. He has gone through some ups and downs. Everybody wants to know: 'What's wrong?' He just kept working.
"He's been in the gym tirelessly with the coaches working on his skills. He hit a couple of huge shots (against Penn State) when we needed them ... 17 points. But his nine defensive rebounds I thought were huge."
Collins and his assistant coaches have noticed the more serious approach to Law's pregame and practice preparation in recent weeks. There is less joking around. He works up a good sweat while warming up and he appears more focused.
"My mindset was always to try and play as hard as I could and help my team win any way that I could," Law said. "Now my mindset is more of when I come in a game, whether I am starting or not starting, to give as much energy as I can ... to be an outlet for guys like Bryant (McIntosh), Tre (Demps) and (Alex) Olah. I just help my team offensively and defensively, and try to be more consistent on a daily basis. Not just for coach Collins but for my teammates so they can rely on me."
Collins has had his conversations with Law throughout the season.
"He knows that no one believes in him like I do," Collins said. "And he believes in me, believes in our program. He believes in what we are trying to do. In times of struggle you get to work. If you get knocked to the mat, you do one of two things: You quit or you get up swinging. You've got two choices. And that's basically what I told him. 'You've been knocked back a little bit. This is big-time college basketball. And you're learning that in order to be successful, you've got to work. And you've got to put in the time and you've got to prepare and you've got to be strong.' To his credit, he's done that."
After the win over Penn State, Collins had more succinct words for Law. "I just said: 'Welcome to the Big Ten.'
"He's going to be a really good player in this league for his whole career. We'll put some meat on those bones. ... He gets a little stronger and keeps continuing to add to his skill set. ... I just grabbed him and gave him a hug and told him I was proud of him."
Layups: Freshman Scottie Lindsey injured his hip against Penn State and had to leave the game.
"Hopefully, nothing will be too serious with him," Collins said. "We've just got to get that checked out. He was in a lot of pain after the game."
fmitchell@tribpub.com
