Shoulder surgery ends season for NU’s Crawford

Northwestern forward Drew Crawford, a senior from Naperville, will undergo surgery on his right shoulder and miss the remainder of the men’s basketball season, head coach Bill Carmody announced Friday.

Crawford, a former Naperville Central star, has been diagnosed with having a torn labrum. He is eligible to seek a medical hardship waiver.

“Drew’s situation is similar to Tre Demps’ a year ago,” Carmody said. “Drew aggravated a previous injury in early September and attempted to play through it, but it just hasn’t responded as we all would have liked.

“While it obviously hurts to lose a player of Drew’s caliber, it provides an opportunity for his teammates to step up and contribute.”

Crawford has started all 10 of the team’s games to date and ranks second on the squad with an average of 13.5 points per game. A third-team All-Big Ten selection a year ago, he ranks 10th in school history with 1,418 career points.

Northwestern (7-3) returns to action at 6 p.m. Monday when it hosts Texas State at Welsh-Ryan Arena.