Northwestern may be without its two top scorers against Iowa on Wednesday.
The statuses of suspended center Mike Thompson and forward Vedran Vukusic are unknown.
Vukusic, the Wildcats’ leading scorer, sat out the closing minutes of a 65-62 loss to Penn State on Saturday after injuring his left shoulder diving for a loose ball late in the second half.
Vukusic came back onto the floor for a few possessions following the injury, but the pain in his shoulder was too severe to continue.
“I felt a lot of pain, and I wanted to get out right away,” Vukusic said. “When I was running back on defense (after making a 3-pointer), they threw a pass down the sideline and I tried to steal it. I made a sudden movement with my arm, and that’s when I felt a lot of pain.”
Vukusic had his shoulder examined after practice Monday, and the extent of the injury isn’t known because he could not be reached for comment.
Vukusic said his availability for Wednesday’s game against Iowa would be a “gameday decision.”
The sight of Vukusic clutching his shoulder has been all too familiar. During the Michigan State game on Jan. 8 Vukusic crumpled to the floor in the first half after colliding with Spartans forward Alan Anderson. He went to the lockeroom but returned midway through the second half.
The fall brought back eerie memories of the last time he hurt himself diving for a loose ball.
In an exhibition game his sophomore year, Vukusic injured his right shoulder, which required season-ending surgery.
After suffering the injury Saturday, Vukusic’s mind drifted.
“Every time something happens to either of my shoulders, I’m just thinking about (my right shoulder) and what could’ve happened,” Vukusic said, “so I just wanted to see what the problem was.”
THOMPSON TIME?
Instead of his usual routine of working with guard T.J. Parker before practice, NU assistant coach Mitch Henderson performed individual drills Vince Scott on Monday.
The 6-foot-10 center replaced Thompson in the starting lineup in Saturday’s 65-62 loss to Penn State. Scott will be Thompson’s fill-in until his suspension ends.
Thompson was suspended indefinitely Wednesday for violating a team policy on class attendance.
NU coach Bill Carmody said Monday that Thompson has been cleared to practice but Carmody did not indicate when he’ll play again.
“You don’t want your guys not playing,” Carmody said. “You have rules and just want guys to abide by them.”
Thompson’s absence weakened the Cats’ interior game against Penn State. Nittany Lions’ center Aaron Johnson outrebounded the entire NU roster, 21-17, for Penn State’s first Big Ten victory.
Thompson leads the Cats in rebounding with 5.3 boards per game and is their second-leading scorer with nearly 12 points per game.
Scott is averaging 2.5 points per game and 1.3 rebounds per game. He finished with a career-high 14 points against Penn State, but picked up only one rebound in the game.
“We’re all in this together,” Carmody said. “We’re all sort of trying to get this thing right, and so far we haven’t been able to do that. It’s disappointing to all of us.”
B-LEE BACK AT PRACTICE
Guard Brandon Lee, who was suspended indefinitely by Carmody for an unspecified violation of team rules on Jan. 13, has been cleared to practice.
Carmody said Lee may be reinstated before Wednesday’s game.
Carmody also said he’s never had two players suspended at the same time during his coaching career.
Reach Zach Silka at [email protected]
