The holiday season wasn’t exactly kind to Northwestern. A turbulent preseason was highlighted by the end of Mike Thompson’s brief career at NU and an appendectomy for senior guard Mohamed Hachad.

Now the Wildcats (7-4) will bring a new-look – if not makeshift – lineup to their Big Ten opener against Purdue (6-5) tonight at Welsh-Ryan Arena.

Thompson appeared in three games this season before the team announced on Dec. 7 that the senior center was no longer with the program. Coach Bill Carmody and the athletic department declined to give details about Thompson’s departure.

“He’s just no longer with the team, and that’s it,” Carmody said. “Sometimes things work out, and sometimes they don’t. I don’t know how else to say it. It happens everywhere, and it happened in this case. We wish him the best.”

After transferring from Duke in 2003, Thompson averaged 10.2 points and 4.8 rebounds in 10 starts last season. The 6-foot-10 former McDonald’s All-American was heralded as the inside presence that would take the Cats to the postseason.

Instead, Thompson missed the final 11 games last season with a sprained foot. He was a non-factor for NU this year, scoring only five points in three appearances.

“It’s not like we’ve been counting on the guy,” Carmody said. “He was in our plans and all, but we’ve been playing teams without him.”

The loss of Hachad figures to be a different story. The 6-foot-4 swingman leads the Cats in rebounding and ranks second with 9.8 points per game.

Carmody said Hachad’s playing time in the next few weeks will depend on how fast his body recovers from the operation.

Hachad, who has started 71 games in his NU career, definitely will miss tonight’s season opener.

The senior guard first complained of stomach pains during NU’s 59-49 loss to DePaul on Nov. 26. As the pain worsened, he was forced to undergo surgery on Dec. 28. Hachad sat out the Cats’ 82-47 win against Northern Colorado on New Year’s Day.

“When you lose guys like Mike Thompson or Mohamed, both leaders of the team, it hurts,” said freshman guard Craig Moore. “This gives (the young players) a chance. We have to step up. If we want to win games, we know we have to contribute now.”

Moore has started the last six games at point guard, recording 15 assists and three turnovers. With Hachad out indefinitely and senior guard Evan Seacat hampered by a hernia injury, the Cats will rely on the inexperienced backcourt of Moore and redshirt freshman Sterling Williams, who have started a combined nine games.

“I think they’ll get better as they keep playing, get more minutes and more seasoning,” Carmody said. “I like the way they’ve gone about their business.”

A third newcomer vital to NU’s fortunes this season is 6-foot-8 forward Bernard Cote, a junior transfer from Kentucky. Thompson’s departure leaves the Cats with a thin frontcourt rotation in a physical conference. Leading scorer Vedran Vukusic has seen some action at center in recent games.

Cote is coming off his two best performances at NU, averaging 11 points and four rebounds in wins against DePauw and Northern Colorado.

“It’s one of the reasons why I transferred here,” said Cote, who played sparingly as a backup with Kentucky. “I thought I could be used. I thought my talents or abilities could be used on the team and help us win.

“It’s unfortunate that (Thompson) is gone. He’s a great guy. We all liked having him around. He was kind of the joker on the team. We have to deal with what happens.”

Reach Gerald Tang at [email protected].