For the average American sports fan, Northwestern’s basketball history stretches back around two months. Decades of futility and losing had left the Wildcats completely off the national radar until late this past season. Despite playing in one of the country’s most prominent, rich conferences, Northwestern has never even managed a long-term NBA starter.
But we know better. Northwestern’s basketball history is not rich, but it is still history, and we must try to understand it and remember it as best we can. The Wildcats may have zero players who would crack the Top 50 at Kentucky or UCLA, but we have just enough players to be proud of to make an arbitrary and completely subjective ranking.