Northwestern star hoops player hangs it up

While Blago's trial continues downtown, an interesting story is taking place at Northwestern, as Kevin Coble, the Wildcats best basketball player, tells coach Bill Carmody that he will not return to the team and has opted to graduate in December instead.

Coble sat out this past season after sustaining a left foot injury.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/college/ct-spt-0729-northwestern-kevin-coble-20100727,0,4003384.story

 

Have always respected the way Carmody runs that program. Always.

Not sure how much time he has left at NU, however.

 

Carmody is a class act who learned under Pete Carril at Princeton then succeeded Petey in '96 before moving on after 4 real good years.

 

Carmody can't buy a break. He finally appears poised for the big breakout season with the best returing core he's had, and then his best player abruptly decides to skip his senior year.

Strange decision. He has to come back for the fall semester anyways, so it's not like playing would set him back on other plans for a year. The kid had a rare chance to establish a lasting legacy by leading them in scoring and rebounding all four years and taking the school to its first NCAA tourney. But I guess it's his life.

 

It's absolutely his life. Better to quit than go through the motions.

 

There have been murmurs this summer that the foot isn't right and might not be in time for the season so the NU folks shouldn't be shocked.

Now for the speculation on my part:

The kid/family might have one idea of how healthy he needs to be able to play and NU might have another view.

 

A neighbor of mine, 15 years ago, when I was at a Big Ten school actually made the team as a walk-on, through an open tryout. The guy beat long odds.

In his second season (his 4th on campus), he actually played some decent minutes because of injuries and transfers.

Coming back for his fifth - and final year - he said, "no, I'll just graduate in December."

I asked him why he'd give up a final year of playing Big Ten basketball. I'll never forget his words. "For the last two years, I have come home exhausted every night between October and March." He told me that, for his first two years, all he did was play pick up ball - 3 hours a day after class - to get to the point where he COULD make the team.

Said he just wanted one semester where he could be a college student...even as he was in position to be a sixth man on a Big Ten team after not being recruited in high school.

 

I am absolutely shocked by this. Someone needs to buy Bill Carmody a round of beers.

He finally had a chance last year and Coble gets injured, then he has a better shot this year and Coble quits.