Northwestern’s Kevin Coble to forgo his senior season

  • 07/27/2010 9:43 pm in

INDIANAPOLIS - MARCH 12: Kevin Coble #44 of the Northwestern Wildcats handles the ball against the Minnesota Golden Gophers during the first round of the Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament at Conseco Fieldhouse on March 12, 2009 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)… And not for the NBA Draft.

According to a release on Tuesday evening from Northwestern, Kevin Coble, who missed last season after suffering a foot injury in preseason practice, has decided to skip his final season in Evanston.

Coble will earn his degree from Northwestern in December.

“I would like to thank Northwestern University and the administration for all that they have done for me,” Coble said. “In addition, the fans have my sincere gratitude for their support of Wildcat Basketball. I will miss seeing them at the games. Most importantly, I want to thank my teammates for the opportunity to play with them and I wish them nothing but the best in the upcoming season. There is not a better group of guys than those found on this team and I will miss being on the court with them.”

“With that said, the recovery of my foot is most important and extends far beyond my basketball career. I will continue to follow my surgeon’s rehabilitation schedule and have been told by my surgeon that I will have a full recovery. I will not be transferring to another school and with that, will be finishing the last of my classes at Northwestern this fall.”

Coble appeared in 81 career games, including 78 starts, and averaged 14.9 points and 5.1 rebounds. He’s 14th on the school’s all-time scoring list.

From an IU perspective, the loss of Coble weakens a Northwestern team that figured to have a good shot to finish above the Hoosiers in the Big Ten standings. They’ll still be a tough club with John Shurna, Michael Thompson and Drew Crawford all returning, but their chances of breaking into the NCAA Tournament undoubtedly took a hit with this loss.

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