Before this past basketball season tipped off, all NIU draft hype was for a men’s basketball player.

Six months later, it’s women’s basketball player Stephanie Raymond who is all set to make the leap into the pros.

It’s amazing how much changes in one season.

In the case of the women’s basketball team, it’s been all for the better.

Three seasons ago, opposing teams saw NIU on the schedule and circled it as a win. The team finished 7-20 and then-coach Carol Hammerle promptly resigned after the season.

After a short search, NIU athletics director announced a replacement: current coach Carol Owens.

Since then, the team has improved every season. In Owens’ first season, NIU went 12-17. Her second – how about 19-12 season, a showing in the semifinals of the MAC Tournament and now Raymond more than likely to be drafted today.

Wait. . . seven wins? Sounds eerily familiar to the men’s basketball team’s past season. The same season that ended with head coach Rob Judson being fired right afterward.

And almost carbon copy to women’s basketball, a short search later and Phillips hired Ricardo Patton.

Now just because everything has worked out well for Owens doesn’t mean it’s going to be smooth sailing for Patton. But, Phillips has only hired winners thus far. Owens speaks for herself and women’s soccer coach Marci Miller took the team in her second season to the MAC Championship game.

Patton has a tough road ahead of him, but it looks like two seasons is the magic number.

Will he follow the trend of Phillips’ hires? Only time will tell. And who knows, the Star may be reporting about a men’s basketball player with NBA hopes.