The ‘Cats have reached a point where one thing matters above all: they need to go dancing, just like our football team needs to win a bowl game. Both programs have made huge improvements in recent years – yesterday’s victory over Chicago State cemented this year as the first 19-win season in Northwestern history. However, the ‘Cats can’t move to the next level until they make the NCAA Tournament. Now that our tourney hopes are basically over, prepare for an off-season filled with talks about how next year will finally be our year.

The major thing the ‘Cats have done to prepare for next year is to sign Jershon Cobb. The shooting guard from Atlanta is one of the most highly rated recruits in recent Northwestern history. Another possible recruit for next year is Jon Loyd, the 43rd ranked point guard in the nation. The Las Vegas native, who was also offered a football scholarship to UNLV, may be undersized, but with Juice Thompson approaching his final year as a ‘Cat, Loyd would be a great point guard for the future.

Michael Thompson breaks away from the play and tears down court. Photo by Taylor Soppe / North by Northwestern

The future of the Bulls, another team that has yet to prove itself in the postseason, has quite a lot more room for speculation, thanks to the Summer 2010 Free Agent Bonanza. But don’t get your hopes up for LeBron James to come to Chicago. There’s a 95% chance he’ll return next season in a Cavs uniform, though his jersey number won’t be the same. He probably wouldn’t come to Chicago, where he’d always be in the shadow of Michael Jordan and could never be the greatest Bulls player. Furthermore, Cavs’ GM Danny Ferry has shown he’ll do whatever it takes to put together a solid supporting cast for LeBron.

Dwyane Wade as a Bull is also a long shot, but we definitely have a better chance of landing him than BronBron. The Heat has such a shallow roster, but would D-Wade really leave the warm weather of the Sunshine State, which also has no state income tax? There are a few incentives for him to come back home to the Windy City — he recently divorced his wife, who lives in Chicago with his kids. Furthermore, his potential supporting cast of Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah is way more appealing than the lowly duo of Michael Beasley and Mario Chalmers.

The Bulls have long needed a low-post scorer, and the best fit for them would be Chris Bosh. There’s a decent chance he’ll leave Toronto – like Miami, the Raptors are an awful team apart from Bosh. Another intriguing option is Joe Johnson. Unlike the other big names, he’s likely to leave the Hawks, who are in the bottom 3rd of the league in attendance. What better basketball city than Chicago, which currently leads the league in attendance? Johnson and D-Rose would be explosive together, but his production is likely to decrease and he’s not getting any younger. However, if the Bulls can’t land one of the big-name free agents, there are other low-post players available, most notably David Lee, Amar’e Stoudemire and Carlos Boozer.

With both seasons wrapping up, it’s time to look to the future. Northwestern will focus on bringing in a great recruiting class to fill holes and the Bulls look to land a big fish. While the ‘Cats try to reach glory for the first time, Chicagoans can hold on to the glimmer of hope that the Bulls will strike gold this off-season and get back to winning championships.