In the final weeks of preseason when most paid observers are sloughing out their banal, predictable top ten lists (UNC and UCLA are locks for San Antonio!) and bandwagon storylines (Eric Gordon is the new Kevin Durant!), there are some Big Ten stories that deserve more than the passing interest they’ve received thus far.
One involves a budding conference superstar who himself has flown well under the national radar, but is well on his way to becoming an all-time great at Northwestern and has a more than reasonable chance to join those who have represented Wildcat basketball at the next level.
For those already skeptical of high school player rankings, Kevin Coble, who wasn’t even considered among the top 300 seniors in his class and whose highest profile suitors were Pepperdine and Northwestern, is a strong case in point. En route to landing on the Big Ten All Freshman team, Coble led the Wildcats in scoring (13.4) and rebounding (5.2) while shooting an impressive 49% from the field. Along with last year’s senior jack-of-all trades, Tim Doyle, Coble confidently shared the leadership role from minute one.
Hoopraker witnessed him in his first collegiate game last November and was quick to recognize what a coup he was going to be for Carmody. And Coble’s growth curve as the season progressed was steep. To wit, he averaged 15.6 ppg over the final eleven games.
With the graduation of Doyle to the insurance game and the Big Ten Network’s anchor desk, this year’s Wildcat team was going to need Coble to shoulder an even larger production load. And there was every reason to believe he was poised for the kind of sophomore breakout that would finally have the national media catching up to his game. With another relatively young roster, represented by only one senior, guard Jason Okrzesik, Hoopraker and no doubt Carmody had Coble pencilled in as a near twenty-ten producer this year.
The news last week of Coble’s decision to take a hiatus from the team to be with his mother Carlys who is undergoing treatment for breast cancer will make Northwestern’s already thin margin even more fragile. But it is a tremendous statement about his and the program’s priorities that there has been no talk about either the duration or negative impact of his leave. If it comes to it, there will be a special waiver redshirt waiting for him. In the meantime Hoopraker wishes the best for Kevin, his number one fan Carlys and family.
With Coble Northwestern’s postseason ambitions were going to be defined by how much support he was going to get. It is clear to anyone who has watched Carmody’s offense in person, it is a system that yields wide open jumpshots every trip and countless layups during the course of a game. If Carmody’s guys can knock down a few more of the open looks and finish a couple more at the rack Northwestern is going to be more than a tough out.
On the offensive side if junior Craig Moore can relocate his touch after an inconsistent sophomore campaign he is a capable deep ball threat and should be a double figure scorer. Wildcat faithful hope junior Sterling Williams and promising sophomore Jeff Ryan have added some strength and increased jumpshot range in the offseason. Both have the athleticism to find seams in the defense and get clear shots at the rack. If they convert a few more opportunities they also should be big factors in the offensive mix.
Rounding out the key returnees, Okrzesik is a turnover free guard but needs to expand his offensive game. Sophomore Jeremy Nash is one of the more physical Wildcats and with more night to night consistency can be the kind of lock down defender and intangibles guy that recalls Jitim Young.
Coble’s absence is going to put even more pressure on Carmody’s incoming frosh duo of Michael Thompson and Mike Capocci, both well regarded Illinois schoolboys. All reports suggest Michael Thompson could be ready to assume the point guard role from day one. He is a team first, cat quick floor general who also has the jumpshot to keep defenses honest. Capocci will likely fill the Coble spot in the starting lineup and is the one of the best athletes and leapers the program has ever seen.
The two redshirt freshman Croatians, Ivan Puljusic and Nikola Baran, are said to be versatile, Euro style big men who can shoot and pass. With a solid year of learning Carmody’s system under their belts, they will need to log productive minutes and help the Cats deal with what has been a major achilles heal, team rebounding and overall toughness.
The margin of error is always razor thin in Evanston and the Coble absence will require exponential learning curves from several unproven newcomers, but once again, this is a program that is very close to a breakthrough. For lovers of smart, team basketball that is almost entirely about true student-athletes, coaching, and execution rather than top ten recruiting classes this is a program whose full fruition will be worth celebrating. And for those interested in purist basketball, the games against Lickliter’s Iowa and Beilein’s Michigan will be veritable clinics.
still likely to be in the basement of the b10
Left by rotavarp on October 30th, 2007