Northwestern University Athletics
Fast Breaks With Skip Myslenski
11/17/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 17, 2009
The face of the 2009-10 Northwestern men's basketball team has changed greatly over the course of the past week. NUsports.com special contributor Skip Myslenski checks in with Jeremy Nash following his career-best 20-point game against Northern Illinois last Friday, as well as Kevin Coble who along with fellow senior Jeff Ryan suffered a season-ending injury within the last seven days.
* The reality is stark. The 'Cats will play this year without leading scorer and rebounder Kevin Coble, who will have season-ending surgery to repair the foot he hurt in practice last Tuesday. But there is also this reality as they await their Wednesday evening exam against highly-regarded Butler. Those 'Cats left standing still believe they can reach their stated goal of an NCAA Tournament bid.
"We know every guy in the locker room can play. That's why coach recruited them," senior guard Jeremy Nash says, explaining that attitude. "Every day we're in there talking, 'Guys, c'mon, let's have a good practice. We can do this.' Our goals haven't changed. It means the next guy's gotta step up. You're gonna play more minutes, so we need you to step up and put the ball in the basket or play defense or get blocks or rebound. Guys are doing more for their team now than they usually would do."
* Nash, in fact, could well symbolize the possibilities still extant in those 'Cats left standing. He, through his first three seasons, averaged a mere 3.1 ppg while building a reputation as an Energizer bunny and defensive disrupter off the bench. But last Friday, in his team's season opener against Northern Illinois, he started, exploded for 20 points and later declared it was now time for him to be more aggressive both on the court and as a leader.
"I don't think I'm forcing myself because I was a leader for my team in high school," he will say when asked about the latter assertion. "I think I was a more behind-the-scene's leader last year. But this year I've got to be more vocal on the court and with the guys in the locker room. So it's not out of my nature. It's more coming out of the shell of last year."
How else will his role change with Coble out?
"It'll mean playing more minutes probably, or just doing the little things. Diving on the floor for rebounds. Talking guys up. Even talking with Kevin and Jeff (Ryan, who is also out for the year after tearing his ACL against Northern) off the court, asking them what they think about things and relaying that to the team."
And scoring?
"They always tell me I'm too unselfish. Now I've got to look more to be aggressive. That's what I'm trying to do, both in practice and in the games."
Was he a scorer in high school?
"I was a pretty good scorer, but it was the same thing. My coaches used to always tell me, 'Stop being so unselfish, look for yourself more.' That's what I'm trying to do this year."
Can he expend energy on offense and still be the same effective defender he was a season ago?
"I think so. I think it showed a little bit in the NIU game. I was causing, we were all causing guys to throw balls over the top, throwing them away, getting deflections."
Is the Butler game some kind of measuring stick for those 'Cats left standing?
"I don't think it's so much proving ourselves. It's more thinking about last year (when the 'Cats led by as much as 12 before falling by four). We had the game and we knew how bad we played and we end up losing by five or something. I think guys are more excited about the chance of getting them back on our home court. And then, at the same time, it would be a good win for us."
Deep in their heart of hearts, do they want to show folks all is not lost even with Coble sidelined?
"I think it would show people some things. But in the inside, what really matters is what the coaches and the guys in the locker room are thinking. That's the way it's been since day one."
* Coble may be sidelined physically, but he is still an observer as acute as any of those talking heads who so officiously orate. "I think Johnny's (sophomore forward John Shurna) got to be more assertive...(and) be more vocal wanting the ball," he says, proving this, when asked what must happen for the 'Cats to be successful in his absence. "Mike's (point Michael Thompson) going to have to create some stuff that he ordinarily might have passed on. But I think if they just stick with the stuff it's going to be fine. It's not the end of the world with one guy. You can slide guys in there who can play all the different positions. I think it'll be fine once they develop a little chemistry because I think it throws them off a little bit. We've had three years of me over at a forward spot and you get used to that. This shakes it up a little bit, but in the long run I think we'll be fine."
Has he seen a more-confident Shurna after his time with the USA's Under-19 team that won the world championship last summer?
"I think it was great for him, having that experience going there. They had 18 and kept 12, to make that team and have the experience of playing against the best in the world, I think that will come back and help him as he develops a little bit more through the year."
Has Shurna been more aggressive after that experience?
"I think it's going to become a necessity. It's going to be him maybe not making the conscious decision to do it. It's just going to be something that happens and has to happen for us to be successful."
Was he surprised by Nash's offensive outburst?
"He's done a lot of work on his shot. He's been getting a lot of shots up. Teams, in the past, just haven't guarded him. Last year at Indiana we played four-on-five. They just didn't guard him in the corner and he hit some big shots. Now he's going to be a focus for them and that will help too. They can't just sag off of him since he's been working so hard and being more assertive. He's going to have to be known for more than just defense."
* From the lips of 'Cat coach Bill Carmody: "People say, 'Well, there's an opportunity for people now.' I say there's an opportunity everyday in practice. There has been every year, every day in practice. If you outplay Kevin Coble when he isn't hurt, you're playing. I don't really care who plays. So I think there's too much made of this opportunity, it might be a blessing in disguise, and all that happy stuff. It's just, 'Let 'em play.' I've been saying all along, I think we have nine or 10 guys. (Junior forward Mike) Capocci gave us some good minutes (against Northern). (Junior forward Ivan) Peljusic gave us some good minutes. I was sort of happy with it. Now you have a better team coming in tomorrow. But I still think we have enough guys that we're going to be in good shape."
* More from Coble, who along with fellow seniors Nash and Ryan and Matt Steger had set the tourney as their goal: "It's hard. A lot has changed. It was my birthday on the ninth and this happened on the tenth. Just the mindset that I went through from how I envisioned the season, seeing how the games were going to go, getting off to a good start, beating Butler, just this progression that I had laid out, I was kind of thrown into turmoil. It really shook things up. The NCAA tournament was really the end game for me this year. It's our last year as seniors and we really wanted to do something special. To watch them doing it without me is going to be tough. But I'm looking forward to seeing us do it despite that. I think it's going to be really, really special for us."
And he can come back next year and the 'Cats can do it again?
"To go back-to-back years would be great, certainly at this point after going what, seventy-plus years (without a tourney bid). That's the way I'm looking at it. What's a few more months for me personally to do it? I certainly think we have the ability and talent to get it done this year."
* And finally, Coble, who once more proves his perspicacity when asked how he will be served by his experience two years ago when he took time off to be with his mom while she underwent treatment for breast cancer: "It keeps things in perspective, certainly. What she had was more concerning than a foot injury. I know with some certainty what it's going to be, the process I'm going to go through, the timing and how I'm going to react to things. So in the big picture this is something that's very, very small. Just a drop in the ocean, I guess."
