The Northwestern sports news came fast and furious on Tuesday.
The day began with the school's announcement of a new hazing investigation led by the former U.S. attorney general. ESPN's Pete Thamel then reported that the Wildcats were hiring DJ Vokolek for a still-to-be-determined defensive assistant role on interim head coach David Braun's coaching staff. Later, three-star 2024 quarterback Brendan Zurbrugg tweeted that he was decommitting from Northwestern and flipping to Oklahoma.
Finally, at 2:32 pm, the Chicago Sun-times Steve Greenberg broke what may have been the most significant news of the day in a tweet: Boo Buie, the heart-and-soul of Northwestern's basketball team, had suffered an injury at practice.
WildcatReport confirmed with a Northwestern spokesperson that the Wildcats' first-team All-Big Ten point guard sustained an injury to his right hand and has already undergone surgery to repair it. Most importantly, he is expected to be back by the time Northwestern begins practice before the season.
Still, a Northwestern fan base reeling from negative stories on just about a daily basis had to be asking what else could go wrong for their Wildcats. The headline certainly created some anxiety. And for good reason.
Even though the medial prognosis appears to be good, a shooting-hand injury to the program's star player and leading scorer isn't something to be taken lightly. Last year, even in one of the program's best seasons, they had problems scoring. They can ill afford a slump in Buie's offensive production this season.
It's difficult to overestimate Buie's value to the Wildcats. Going into his fifth year as a starter, he is the unquestioned leader of a promising team that could make another NCAA tournament run.
Buie averaged 17.3 points and 4.5 assists per game to lead Northwestern in both categories last season and was named a finalist for the Bob Cousy Award as the nation's top point guard. With Buie leading the show, the Wildcats earned just the second tourney invitation in school history. They amassed a record of 22-12 (12-8 Big Ten), knocked off the No. 1 team in the country for the first time ever and finished second in the Big Ten for the first time since 1959.
A No. 7 seed, Northwestern won a game in the Big Dance before losing to UCLA in the second round.
Buie initially opted to enter the NBA Draft but withdrew his name in May to come back and use his "free" COVID year to play a fifth season in purple. Evanston rejoiced.
The news of Buie's injury came at a bad time for Northwestern fans who have been subjected to an unending barrage of bad news. Northwestern's football program is reeling after a hazing investigation that led to the firing of coaching icon Pat Fitzgerald. A total of five lawsuits have been filed by players against the program for hazing. The baseball, volleyball and softball teams have all been touched by the scandal. School president Michael Schill and athletic director Derrick Gragg are both under fire for their handling of the whole ordeal.
So for many fans, basketball season can't get here soon enough. But if the Wildcats want to live up to their lofty expectations this season and give Northwestern's beleaguered fans something to cheer about again, everyone knows they'll need a healthy Buie on the floor to do it.
