Don't know anything about either player, but of more interest was the fact that the Cats enjoyed a visit from 6-11 Garrett Stutz from Kansas City. He sounds like an immediate starter because, well, he's tall.

Because I was renewing my season tickets.

We wish Coble's mom the best in her cancer treatment and admit our reaction was not how we wish it would have been. But it's a pretty tough break for a team that looked to be heading into a rebuilding season with decent young talent. But it was all talent led by Coble.

Yes, he's NU's best player. We expected him to improve. We expected him to help lead a team of young players like Mike Capocci and Michael Thompson. But without him this year, Northwestern is a bottom of the Big Ten team.

Adam Rittenberg's article in the Daily Herald discussed how Coble's mother was at all home games last year.

We admire Coble's dedication to family and are thankful that Bill Carmody allowed him the leave of absence without hesitation. After your initial thoughts, you do start to think about how long Coble will be out. It's possible that he could miss the non-conference schedule and be back for the Big Ten season.

Of course, then the cynical Northwestern fan comes out and asks if he'll come back at all. NU has a long history of devastating transfers and you can talk yourself into the possibility that Coble will elect to transfer to Arizona or Arizona State and be close to home. Your mind goes in that direction, but it doesn't seem that is his intent.

For now, we just wish Kevin and his family the best.

- Kevin Coble proved to be one of the best freshmen in the Big Ten.
- Jeff Ryan also looks like a great recruit out of Chicago.
- Vince Scott graduates
- Mike Capocci and Michael Thompson are two good recruits for next year that should play right away.
- Our two redshirt Croatian players -- Nikola Baran and Ivan Peljusic -- are both 6-8.

The problem, though, is that NU still lacks a big man and the Cats desperately need a player who can rebound consistently in the Big Ten. Could either Baran or Peljusic be that player? I tend to doubt it, but let me offer my theory on how the Cats need to recruit and form their team.

The Cats need to go the route of 2-4 6-8 forwards that can rebound, pass and shoot in the Princeton offense. A 7-foot center more suited to playing on the box will not fit this system. But several 6-8 players who can run and shoot will pose matchup problems for Northwestern's opponents.

If you have two 6-8 players in the starting lineup -- and they could eventually be Baran or Peljusic -- the Cats could have an offense of 2-3 guards, an athletic swingman and two versatile 6-8 forwards. Is it an ideal team compilation? No, but in this era of college basketball, it could work.

Northwestern is never going to have a classic team with a great point guard, scoring small forward and a monster center in the middle. That is not the personnel that coach Bill Carmody has, nor is it the type of player that they are currently after. Carmody seems to want a team made of five players who can all shoot, dribble, pass and move without the ball.

And he's not far from having it. The Cats have one more scholarship to give in the spring signing period and if they can sign a big forward, it'll be the best recruiting class Carmody has ever had.

If I had my way, this would be the starting lineup next year.
PG: Craig Moore - backup: Jason Okrzesik and Mike Thompson
SG: Jeff Ryan - backup: Jeremy Nash
SF: Mike Capocci - backup: Sterling Williams
PF: Kevin Coble - backup: Ivan Peljusic
C: Nikola Baran - backup: upcoming recruit if we can sign a big man

It's an extremely small lineup and is counting heavily on several players that have never played a minute of Big Ten basketball. (Thompson, Capocci, Peljusic and Baran) Coble is listed at power forward just to fill the space, but he is a classic example of a versatile 6-7 player that we are essentially forced to play with at this point. Since he's such an excellent player, and does so many things so well, we could live with him at the 4 spot. But Baran will need to be a monster on the boards.

The Cats are said to be in the running with several Chicago-area recruits, but they need to land a player with size as a necessity. It is a great opportunity for someone to play immediately at a Big Ten school. You have to think there's a possibility that this will appeal to a local player.

All in all, there was a lot of positive steps made this year, despite the record. The Cats need to take a step up next year to be a 17-18 win team. That would enable them to be an NIT team and would allow fans to start dreaming of the NCAAs in 2009.

It's really not such a longshot. It can be done.

However, the most striking thing for me tonight was the sense that Carmody was so worn down by the season. The loss Wednesday to Indiana was a tough one, a game the Cats played well and gave a great effort against a good team, but lost. And it had to be tough.

And Carmody isn't Norman Vincent Peale in general. He has a dry, self-deprecating sense of humor and he's not a rah-rah guy, but he seemed really down tonight. Let's hope it's nothing more than a long season and a long week. I sure hope so.

The other interesting tidbits from the Chat were Carmody's admission that they need a big man (duh) and they are actively involved with some recruits. "We're working on it," Carmody said, which drew some laughs because it was such an obvious point.

He was asked about the inroads the Cats have made with Chicago-area recruits and he gave a sense that the Cats have another good recruiting class coming in. Mike Thompson, from Lincoln Park high school, is "tough as nails" and Carmody praised the athleticism of Mike Capocci from Glenbard East. Capocci is the key to the recruiting class and I'd be surprised if he didn't start right away.

Going back to the lack of a big man issue, I don't think NU will land a true, 7-footer type. That type of on-the-blocks player doesn't jive with the offense that Carmody runs. What the Cats really need, in my opinion, is a couple 6-8 players who can rebound, but are versatile enough to score and pass on the perimeter.

It's why Kevin Coble is the perfect recruit for NU. Sure, that's easy to say now that he's proven to be one of the best freshmen in the Big Ten, but it bears repeating. He couldn't be more perfect for the offense and he can help in the rebounding department. He's 6-8, but certainly could add more bulk in the future.

And speaking of 6-8 players, Carmody talked about the two Croatian freshmen, Ivan Peljusic and Nikola Baran. Both are redshirting, so we haven't seen them play and there is some curiousity about their ability. Carmody did say that their English was getting much better. Carmody had more praise for Peljusic and told a good story about how he was playing in a scrimmage at practice and was scoring quite frequently. He scored to win the scrimmage game and yelled something that Carmody didn't understand. He asked Ivan Tolic what he had said. Tolic said that he had yelled "8 a.m."

Apparently, Peljusic has been arriving at the gym in the morning every day of the season for extra workouts to work on his shooting and fundamentals. His scoring in the scrimmage was validation that his work had paid off.

It was a good story and you really hope that Peljusic or Baran will pan out for the Cats and be the versatile 6-8 guys that the Cats need to take that next step toward an NCAA tournament berth.

The last tidbit from the Chat that was interesting was a question from a student about whether Carmody still believed that the Princeton offense could be effective in the Big Ten. While I think this question is a moot point in a lot of ways, I think Carmody handled the question well.

Carmody said that the offense was dependent on the players. Basically, that the system was fine, but they need better players. And I honestly think he's on the right track with bringing in players like Coble and Jeff Ryan. No, he hasn't given NU an NCAA berth yet, but if Capocci is as good as advertised, the Cats aren't that far off, either.

As opposed to a few previous outings, that Cats hustled and played with a lot more emotion before an ESPN2 TV audience. The Cats shot 51 percent from the field and held Miami to 34 percent shooting in the win.

Of course, the win did not come without a few moments that made you pull your hair out. NU almost blew a 10-point lead late in the game with poor free throw shooting (a continual Achilles heel) and turnovers against the Miami press. But they held on for the win against an ACC opponent.

The Cats stayed clear of turnovers for much of the game and finished with only eight in the game. However, shooting the ball so well and not turning it over AND still only winning by two are a concern. The fact is that NU will need to play near flawless basketball to beat any good team in the Big Ten. It's not impossible because the Cats will knock off a few teams this year. However, there will be nights when the Cats chances at victory are too razor-thin.

But Tuesday was not one of those nights. The Cats now stand at 4-3 on the year and play at home on Saturday, Dec. 9 against Western Michigan at 7 p.m.

Yep, only 40 points against North Florida. Tim Doyle led Northwestern with eight points. Craig Moore was 2-of-11 from the field, 2-of-9 from three-point range. The Cats overall shot 4-for-25 from three-point land. All against a team in its second year of Division I.

I know. It's going to be a long year.

"I told our guys that every game we're going play will be close," NU coach Bill Carmody told the Associated Press. "So let's get good at being in close games. Let's get good at the end of game situations because we're going to be in them. We're not capable of blowing people out."

Was he talking about the non-conference schedule or the season in general? Because, I'm not sure the games in the conference season will be that close. Not if the Cats can't generate any offense against poor competition.

The Cats play Miami in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge on Tuesday at Welsh-Ryan. Game time will be 8:30 p.m. CST on ESPN2.

TIm Doyle led all scorers with 17 points on 8-of-12 shooting. He also dished eight assists. While he had an impressive game, the most exciting moments of the game came from the Northwestern freshmen.

I may be completely off-base, but it seems like the offense moves faster and with more precision when Kevin Coble and Jeff Ryan are in the game. At times this season, and in previous seasons, you sense that the team stands around a bit too much on the perimeter in the offense. Coble, in particular, moves so well without the ball that the whole offense seems to pick up the pace a bit. Everything is a step quicker.

And, during the game Tuesday, there was a point where I thought, "Wow, Coble might be our best player."

And really, it's not that far-fetched. Coble has size and can create his own shot. He can beat you from the outside and on a backdoor cut. In this Princeton offense, he'll eventually be a real challenge for teams to guard.

Ryan is coming along as a player and is now firmly entrenched in the rotation. He'll get regular minutes (10-15) from here on out. He just needs to hit a couple outside shots to really start rolling.

Jason Okrzesik knocked down a couple threes and continued to impress. The only concern with Okrzesik is his playing time, mostly as to how it affects Craig Moore. He played 19 minutes to Moore's 16. Are they too similar in style? Is splitting time between the two really a good thing? Is Carmody sending a message to Moore? All questions that run through your mind, but shouldn't at this point in the season. It was a blowout win against Brown and we can't jump to any conclusions yet.

Sterling Williams led the team in minutes with 28, but managed only four points. He looks very comfortable on the floor this year, but he has to be more involved offensively. Maybe he's too unselfish, but he needs to look for his own shot.

Before we finish this post, just a few words about Ivan Tolic and Jeremy Nash. It was great to see Tolic back in uniform, not only because of his terrible injury problems, but also because he brings much-needed size to the team. I'm not sure how many minutes a game he can play, but let's hope it's 20+ because he can be a force inside with his size. In the Big Ten season, he'll be needed.

Jeremy Nash looked great in limited time. He blocked a couple shots, made a steal that resulted in a full-court layup and he even mixed it up with a Brown player resulting in a double foul. Frankly, he looked out of place ... when he was on the bench.

The two freshmen Croatians (Ivan Peljusic and Nikola Baran) did not play and it looks like they'll redshirt. Would really love to see them play, but we'll need to be more patient.

Again, as we've said before, NU is going to struggle a lot this year, but the potential starting lineup in 2007 has a lot of potential if incoming recruits like Mike Thompson and Mike Capocci are what they are cracked up to be.

Sterling Williams looks a lot more confident. Kevin Coble has a nice touch and is a really smart passer and overall player. Jason Okrzesik looks like he knows the offense better than the whole team and can knock down a three. The team is really young and the whole strategy in recruiting is starting to take shape if you can envision next year's recruiting class (Thompson, Capocci) fitting in with this team.

But then there are the negatives.

Man, the Cats are painfully small and unathletic.Also, the team doesn't have a lot of players who can create their own shot. This truth was painfully evident in the second half when the Cats had a couple shot-clock violations. And while we're on that topic, how does the ball always find Vince Scott's hands when the shot clock is under 10? Does the team not have a point guard that can make sure that Scott doesn't make the key decisions when the shot clock is running low. That just has to change.

And the final negative with the team is the lack of depth. But it may not be as much a lack of depth as it is Carmody not going deep on his bench. I can understand that in February when the playing rotation is set, but not in November. I would have liked to have seen Jeremy Nash or one of the two Croatian freshmen (Nikola Baran or Ivan Peljusic). These guys need to play. We need to find out if they can play.

Otherwise, this could be a very long season and all we'll have to write about is recruting.

The key note in the press release on the nusports.com site was this little nugget.

Hardy has spent the past three years as a head coach for the Illinois Defenders boy's basketball program. Among their many accomplishments, his under-16 team captured the championship of the 2005 Las Vegas Main Event tournament with a perfect 7-0 record.

Hardy will be counted on to not only work with young big men like Kevin Coble, but also to continue the Illinois recruiting pipeline that has just started to take hold with recruits like Jeff Ryan and Mike Capocci.

We're thrilled for Robinson, but it is a significant loss for the coaching staff. Robinson is well-suited to the Brown job as a former two-time Ivy League player of the year. He knows the league and he's proven to be a great assistant in the Big Ten. His recruiting efforts at NU over the last six years are a lasting legacy. We wish him the best.

We expect coach Bill Carmody will not take long to fill his open assistant coach position and we'll keep you posted as news happens.

Carmody's other problem is slightly more pertinent to the roster. Senior Bernard Coté has decided not to return to Northwestern for his final year of eligibility. Cote has graduated and is ready to pursue his career after NU.

Cote's loss will open up plenty of playing time for incoming freshman Kevin Coble and likely opens up a scholarship for Rice transfer Jason Okrzesik.

Thompson is a quick 5-10 point guard with good shooting ability. He should fit in well with a team now built on the fundamentals of passing and shooting. Thompson joins swingman Mike Capocci in a recruiting class that is looking stellar by the moment.

Northwestern is still thin on the frontline, but you have to admire Carmody's strategy in recruiting of late. NU is building a small, agile team of shooters. The team looks versatile. And Northwestern has really developed a pipeline to Chicago's kids. This development is almost as stunning as anything in Carmody's tenure. Northwestern has six recruits or scholarship players on the current roster. (Sterling Williams, Jason Okrzesik, Jeremy Nash, Jeff Ryan, Mike Capocci and Michael Thompson)

Next year will be a rebuilding year with the graduation of Vedran Vukusic. However, things are definitely looking up.;

The 6-6 Capocci averaged 19.5 points per game and nine rebounds per game for Glenbard East last season.

One of the questions I have is, are NU fans still calling for coach Bill Carmody's head? The signing of Capocci represents further indication that Carmody has completely made in-roads with the Chicago recruiting market. He signed Sterling Williams from Whitney Young (soon to be a redshirt sophomore) three years ago, Marist's Jeremy Nash and Glenbrook South's Jeff Ryan for next year's freshman class and now adds Capocci to the 2008 class. We're not even mentioning transfer Jason Okrzesik from Fenwick High School who is eligible to play this year after transferring from Rice.

But, wait, there's more. The Tribune story mentions how Capocci hopes to help bring Lincoln Park High's Michael Thompson with him.

""[Capocci] informed me—his No. 1 job is to get me to go there and play with him in the backcourt," Thompson told the Tribune.

"They're one of my top choices," Thompson also said. "They have a really good academic structure, and they're on the rise in the Big Ten. With Capocci committing there, that's a plus. That could impact my decision."

With the announcement earlier in the week that recruit Casey Crawford had chosen Wake Forest, things were not looking up until Capocci's decision. The Cats lack frontcourt players, scorers and rebounders. But so what? Carmody has shifted his recruiting strategy to what he knows best -- players who can shoot, pass and move without the ball. Northwestern is building a team of deadly shooters and swingmen that will prove to be an extremely difficult matchup for any Big Ten team. Yes, there won't be the bangers inside, but if NU can bring an NCAA berth to Evanston in the next 3-4 years, even that will start happening.

The 2007 incoming freshman class of Kevin Coble, Jeff Ryan, Jeremy Nash has been fairly impressive, but the 2008 class could be even better.

Crawford has received interest in the past from a number of schools, but Wake Forest appears to be the front-runner currently. The spring signing period begins April 12.

From the looks of the posts on message boards and comments to this site, not a lot of fans have any patience with Bill Carmody. But it would be hard not to admit that this year's recruiting class could be one of the best in recent memory if NU lands Crawford to go with Kevin Coble, Jeremy Nash, Jeff Ryan and Nikola Boban.

One thing Carmody can offer with the loss of Vedran Vukusic is immediate playing time on the front line.

Another great thing I've found on a web search is a report from Rivals that Crawford scored a 25 on his ACT and 1580 on his SAT (remember when that was an almost perfect score?).

What can you really expect of a team that didn't finish .500 and lost three times to Penn State (who is going to the NIT)? Yes, wins over Seton Hall, Iowa and Wisconsin were nice, but you can't ignore that the team wasn't good enough.

And where does it leave Bill Carmody? That could fill 10 separate posts, but consider NUHoops.com solidly in Carmody's corner. Does anybody really think there's anyone else better out there? And the recruiting class for 2007 does look slightly promising.

Senior Evan Seacat hit six three-pointers and finally showed that much-ballyhooed shooting stroke fans have been talking about for four years now, but the Cats didn't have a double-figure scorer besides Vedran Vukusic and his 15 points. Mohammed Hachad, who scored 25 against Wisconsin, managed only six Saturday. Fifth-year senior Michael Jenkins, junior Vince Scott and freshman Craig Moore all went scoreless in the game.

Moore looks like he's hit a wall in his freshman year. He'll need to fight through it, but missing six shots total and five from three-point range is a concern.

The losses to Penn State this year have been very hurtful to NU's postseason chances and now a win in one of the final two conference games (both at home) is a must. Wednesday night's game against Ohio State is looking extremely important. A big crowd and energy from the Cats like the team had Thursday against Wisconsin is hugely important.

Otherwise, the NIT hopes will fall by the wayside.