Northwestern in position to increase win total
When Northwestern junior Kevin Coble gazes at freshman John Shurna, he sees something awfully familiar in the Glenbard West graduate's boyish face and mature game.
He sees himself.
"Shurna's crafty around the basket," Coble said. "He knows the game. He's got a good basketball IQ and has picked up our stuff well. That has helped a lot. I think we're a great tandem, the two of us as forwards. It could create some matchup problems."
Considering Coble ranks the Big Ten's No. 2 returning scorer (15.9 ppg) and No. 6 returning rebounder (5.4 rpg), that inspires lofty expectations for the 6-foot-8, 220-pound Shurna.
But another Northwestern veteran, senior guard Craig Moore, doesn't necessarily equate Shurna with Coble.
"He's a very different player," Moore said. "Coble's like more of a finesse find-ways-to-score guy. Shurna's more of an athletic find-ways-to-score guy.
"John can jump way better than anyone I've seen in a long time off one foot. They're both a little quirky, but they find ways to score."
The point of this anecdote, aside from inciting Coble to playfully punch Moore after reading that he's not as athletic as Shurna? To note how it has been eons since Northwestern had reason to be excited about several good veterans and good rookies simultaneously.
With four starters back and four freshmen ready to play immediately, the Wildcats plan to be miles ahead of last year's 8-win team that earned just 1 Big Ten victory.
"I expect some really good things," said Moore, who averaged 13.4 points and led the Big Ten with 97 3-pointers last year. "I expect us to be the best team we've had since I've been here. The sky's the limit with these guys."
Moore's previous best NU crew would be the 2005-06 team - led by Vedran Vukusic and Mohamed Hachad - that posted a 14-15 record and finished with a 102 RPI ranking.
If this year's team intends to exceed that year's team, the freshmen are going to have to be as good or better than advertised.
Northwestern knows what it has on the perimeter in Moore, Coble and sophomore point guard Michael "Juice" Thompson, who averaged 11.6 points and 4.3 assists last year.
Ninth-year coach Bill Carmody thinks he knows what he has in Shurna, who racked up 15 points and a game-high 10 rebounds in the Wildcats' 7-point exhibition loss to Robert Morris last week.
That leaves 6-9 leaper Davide Curletti, who has the inside track on the starting center job, 7-foot, 280-pound Kyle Rowley, 6-11 Luka Mirkovic and swingman Nick Fruendt (Batavia).
The freshmen, all of whom played but Fruendt, learned a hard lesson during the 7-point Robert Morris loss.
Carmody asked his veterans to force-feed the young post players - and the ones not named Shurna combined to shoot 2-for-17 as the Wildcats rushed up an uncustomary 72 shots.
Carmody also taxed the freshmen heavily during a private scrimmage with Valparaiso. "Our younger guys found out, hey, whoa," he said. "I wanted those guys to go through it, to see what happens when you get the ball."
After focusing on offense during early drills, Carmody has spent the last week teaching nothing but defense and rebounding.
That's where the Wildcats must make the biggest strides. Without anyone bigger than the 6-8, 210-pound Ivan Peljusic last year, NU finished last in the nation in rebounding margin (minus-10.8 rpg) and allowed Big Ten opponents to shoot 51 percent from the floor.