NIU coach plans 2 a.m. season opener

Matt Majkrzak has spent the past eight months rebuilding the Northwestern Illinois basketball program from the ground up. Since taking the head coaching job in March, he has hired a new staff and constructed a schedule for the team’s move to the Horizon League. He now faces the challenge of preparing his players for a season opener that begins in the middle of the night.

The Huskies will play Grambling at 2 a.m. Central Daylight Time on Monday. The game is part of the Field of 68 Opening Day Marathon in Rock Hill, South Carolina. Majkrzak said he believes the team will be ready despite the unusual timing.

"I think part of it is you don’t," Majkrzak said about preparing for the hour. "It’s weird and all that stuff. But to me, I love basketball and I love coaching basketball. And if the first game of the year, regardless of what time it is, is not something you can get up for, then something’s wrong with you."

Majkrzak is stepping in for Rashon Burno, who coached the team for five seasons. Burno’s record at NIU was 48 wins and 106 losses. The Huskies finished the previous season 9-21, a mark that matched the record from Burno’s first year. The program has not had a winning season since 2019-20, when they went 18-13 under Mark Montgomery.

The current roster features no returning players from the last squad. Majkrzak has filled the lineup with several former Division II athletes. Four players on the team played for him at Northern Michigan last year. Max Weisbrod transferred from Northern Iowa to NIU after spending his first two college seasons at Northern Michigan.

Weisbrod said the players are accustomed to late hours. He noted that they often wake up at 4 a.m. the day before games to prepare their bodies and minds. He described the 2 a.m. start as a fun change of pace that will require only a slightly later energy drink.

Majkrzak identified Weisbrod as the central figure of the team. Weisbrod averaged 6.2 points per game over two seasons at UNI, playing 32 minutes per game. The coach also pointed to David Douglas Jr. as an elite scorer. Douglas played in 18 games at Fresno State during his last two seasons, starting eight of them and averaging 7.2 points.

The Huskies are ranked 10th in the Horizon League preseason poll. They have no former Mid-American Conference rivals on their regular-season schedule. Their next games are road trips to Tulsa and Dayton. They will host their home opener against Division III Clarke on Nov. 11. Majkrzak said the local support he has seen has exceeded his expectations, noting that many fans remain loyal even during the team's long stretch of losing seasons.