Northwestern's Kevin Coble won't return to court

After Northwestern won a school-record 20 games last season without Kevin Coble, everyone was eager to discover how the Wildcats would benefit from his return.

Several NU boosters donated money so the Wildcats could travel to Italy next month to accelerate the team's progress toward its first NCAA Tournament berth.

But on Monday, the 2008-09 second-team all-Big Ten forward informed coach Bill Carmody he won't play this season and plans to graduate in December.

Coble finishes with career averages of 14.9 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. The Phoenix, Ariz., native ranks 14th on the school's scoring list with 1,203 points.

"We've had some talks for the last while," Carmody said Tuesday. "You just have to respect that and respect what's he's done."

The timing of Coble's decision, coming just a few weeks before NU begins to practice for its Italy exhibitions, suggests it was influenced by more than one factor.

The primary issue, though, appears to be the long-term health of Coble's left foot. He suffered a Lisfranc fracture in practice on Nov. 10, just three days before last season began.

Coble had the screws removed from his foot in late March and hoped to playing with his teammates at this point.

But Lisfranc fractures are unpredictable and Coble's rehab hasn't gone as quickly as hoped.

In a statement released by Northwestern, Coble thanked everyone affiliated with the school and indicated he'll miss playing this season.

"With that said, the recovery of my foot is most important and extends far beyond my basketball career," Coble said. "I will continue to follow my surgeon's rehabilitation schedule and have been told by my surgeon that I will have a full recovery.

"I will not be transferring to another school and with that, will be finishing the last of my classes at Northwestern this fall."

Coble's departure might not affect NU's projected starting lineup.

The Wildcats retain four starters from the league's highest-scoring team, including second-team all-Big Ten forward John Shurna and fourth-year starting point guard Juice Thompson.

Sophomore Alex Marcotullio, who just averaged 13.9 points for Great Britain's U20 team at the Eurobasket finals, and freshman JerShon Cobb are the leading candidates to replace graduated guard Jeremy Nash.