Coble injury will test Northwestern's depth

Posted November 11, 2009 10:00 pm

By Lindsey Willhite

Bill Carmody keeps saying his 10th Northwestern team features unprecedented depth, one reason some have predicted the Wildcats will earn the school's first NCAA Tournament berth.

"I think in years before this, there was a big dropoff between (our fifth guy) and 8 and 9," Carmody said. "I don't think that's the case this year. I think we can go a little deeper than that - and so I'm looking forward to that."

But he wasn't planning to test his team's depth this early or in this manner:

On the eve of Friday's opener with Northern Illinois, Northwestern learned it must play without senior forward Kevin Coble for an undetermined (but lengthy) amount of time.

Coble, the 2009 second-team all-Big Ten pick who projected to become NU's No. 3 all-time leading scorer, injured his left foot when he landed awkwardly after grabbing a rebound during Tuesday's practice.

Depending on what Coble learns from a foot specialist, he could be out of action until the Dec. 30 Big Ten opener at Illinois or beyond.

Considering all of the effort Coble put into preparing for his final season, it's a karmic kick in the purple shorts for him as well as the Wildcats.

Rather than spend his entire summer at home in Phoenix, as he did in years past, Coble devoted six weeks to training alongside NBA all-stars at Tim Grover's Attack Athletics gym on Chicago's west side.

"I sought him out," Coble said. "Being in Chicago, that's really who you should be working with if you're serious about playing like that."

Coble added 10 pounds of muscle, primarily in his upper body, during the midday lifting sessions. He added invaluable confidence during the fabled "afternoon run" with regulars like Gilbert Arenas, Devin Harris, O.J. Mayo and Will Bynum.

"There was usually only one other college guy that would play in the afternoons," Coble said. "I just liked being out there and playing my game and facilitating their games."

Coble guessed that, on a scale of 1 to 10, the pro guys' effort level during the afternoon run was a 6. While he went harder than that, he believes he became a match for their intensity and skill.

"I feel more confident knowing that I'm stronger and getting to the basket is hopefully going to be easier for me," Coble said. "I'm still going to have some of those acrobatic shots. Those are go-to for me because they're always there - it's still new to me playing with that strength and that feeling, but as time goes on it'll be something I adapt to."

Now those acrobatic shots and the increased strength are shelved for the time being - and it's an inconvenient time for Northwestern's NCAA hopes.

Early games with Butler, Notre Dame and North Carolina State looked like opportunities to build a strong RPI.

Now seniors Jeremy Nash (3.5 ppg) and Jeff Ryan (2.1 ppg), as well as juniors Ivan Peljusic and Mike Capocci, must team up to fill Coble's minutes and approximate his productivity.

At the same time, Coble's injury accelerates the timetable for sophomore forward John Shurna (7.3 ppg) and freshman guard Drew Crawford - two talented underclassmen who figured to work off Coble rather than being the team's top wing threats.

Oh, for the recent days when Carmody's biggest concern was sophomore 7-footer Kyle Rowley's recovery from a broken foot - and how the Wildcats' rebounding and interior defense might fare until his return.

"We have veteran guys, so we should be able to get going here," Carmody said. "I think we're going to be able to score. Are we going to be able to rebound? We're big. We're long. Now you have to go out and do it on the court."

Northwestern coach Bill Carmody will be focusing on how to move forward without second team all-Big Ten forward Kevin Coble, who will miss extensive time with a foot injury. Bob Chwedyk | Staff Photographer

Wildcats at a glance Coach: Bill Carmody (120-149, 10th year at Northwestern; 212-174, 14th year overall) 2008-09 record: 17-14 (8-10 Big Ten, 9th); Lost at Tulsa in an NIT first-round game. Starters returning/lost: 4/1 Projected starters F John Shurna* 6-8 208 So. Glenbard West grad more assertive and multi-faceted after playing with USA Basketball's U-19 gold-medal team F Kevin Coble* 6-8 215 Sr. Stronger NBA hopeful was in position to lead Northwestern in scoring and rebounding four years in a row C Luka Mirkovic 6-11 243 So. Prototypical Princeton-style center came on strong as last season wore on PG Michael Thompson* 5-10 190 Jr. Did you know? Third-year starter is Big Ten's top returner in 3-point percentage (.417) SG Drew Crawford 6-5 195 Fr. Carmody views this long-armed Naperville Central product as versatile stat-sheet stuffer * denotes returning starter Reserves G Jeremy Nash 6-4 191 Sr. Masterful defender and improving scorer essentially a starter with all the minutes he'll play C Kyle Rowley* 7-0 285 So. Still getting back into shape after breaking his foot in August, but could appear in the opener G Jeff Ryan 6-6 201 Sr. A Ph.D in running the Princeton offense, a valuable trait for key reserve G Alex Marcotullio 6-3 176 Fr. Lefty gunner boasts range well beyond 3-point arc; also boasts solid handle G Nick Fruendt 6-5 195 So. Batavia grad might be team's best shooter; his playing time will rise with his defensive proficiency C Davide Curletti 6-9 228 So. Carmody intrigued to see how much post defense this athlete can contribute in Rowley's absence F Ivan Peljusic 6-8 215 Jr. Energetic Croatian's playing time dwindled down the stretch last year, but has a chance to recapture it this year F Mike Capocci 6-6 195 Jr. This muscular Glenbard East product is a super leaper who could click in with a few positive outings G Reggie Hearn 6-4 195 Fr. Walk-on starred for Indiana HS Class 4A runnerup Fort Wayne Snider G Matt Steger 6-5 190 Sr. Fourth-year walk-on needs to get after it: No points since freshman year 2009-10 schedule Fri. NORTHERN ILLINOIS 7 p.m. Nov. 18 BUTLER 7 p.m. Nov. 22 TENNESSEE STATE* 1 p.m. *Nov. 24 LIBERTY 5:30 p.m. *Nov. 27 vs. Notre Dame (at UIC) 7:30 p.m. *Nov. 28 vs. SLU/Iowa St. (at UIC) TBA **Dec. 1 at North Carolina State 6 p.m. Dec. 13 NORTH CAROLINA A&T 4 p.m. Dec. 16 NORTH FLORIDA 8 p.m. Dec. 19 STANFORD 1 p.m. Dec. 22 CENTRAL CONN. STATE 7 p.m. Dec. 30 at Illinois 8 p.m. Jan. 2 MICHIGAN STATE 5:30 p.m. Jan. 7 TEXAS-PAN AMERICAN 6 p.m. Jan. 10 at Michigan 1 p.m. Jan. 13 WISCONSIN 7:30 p.m. Jan. 16 PURDUE 4:30 p.m. Jan. 19 at Ohio State 6 p.m. Jan. 23 ILLINOIS 7 p.m. Jan. 26 at Minnesota 8 p.m. Jan. 30 at Michigan State 6 p.m. Feb. 2 MICHIGAN 6 p.m. Feb. 7 INDIANA 1:30 p.m. Feb. 10 at Iowa 7:30 p.m. Feb. 14 MINNESOTA 4 p.m. Feb. 17 PENN STATE 7:30 p.m. Feb. 21 at Wisconsin 1 p.m. Feb. 25 IOWA 6 p.m. Feb. 28 at Penn State 11 a.m. March 3 CHICAGO STATE 7 p.m. March 6 at Indiana 11 a.m. March 11-14 Big Ten tournament (at Indianapolis) *Chicago Invitational Challenge **ACC/Big Ten Challenge

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