Too bad there's already one Big Hurt in these parts.
Because if Northwestern guard Brandon Lee's fractured face is any indication, the combination of Mike Thompson's 6-10, 250-pound frame and his Duke pedigree could prove to be a royal pain for upcoming opponents of the Wildcats.
Lee, who ended up with an overnight hospital stay after his face found the business end of Thompson's elbow in practice Sunday, will miss the Duke transfer's NU debut tonight when the Wildcats host DePaul (8 p.m., ESPN2, 720-AM, 670-AM).
"You look at him and he's an impressive guy, everybody who goes against him is scared to get hit,'' said NU junior guard T.J. Parker, who has been impressed with more than Thompson's physical stature.
"First, he picks everybody up. On defense, he's always like, 'Let's go! Let's go! Get your hands up!' He's a real athletic guy, real fast. So he can move his feet really quick. On offense, now we can run low post and just let him make his move. He can score all the time down there. He should easily be able to get at least 10 points a game inside with put-backs and stuff like that. That's a great force to have. But I think the biggest parts he's going to help us in are defense and rebounding.''
The Wildcats, who need to rebound from a 2-4 start, are playing their first game after an 11-day break for final exams. Thompson's inaction, however, lasted almost two years, starting when he decided as a sophomore that Duke was not the place for him.
"When you have Mike Krzyzewski come knocking at your door, it's hard to say no to him,'' said the Joliet native and former McDonald's All-American, who averaged 25 points and 12 rebounds as a high school senior at Providence. "So it was a pretty easy decision to go there.
"Leaving was also pretty easy because I didn't feel I was getting better. I didn't develop the way I wanted to develop. I wanted to be a part of something. I didn't want to just watch.''
After averaging just 1.3 points and 0.5 rebounds in 16 games as a freshman at Duke, Thompson appeared in three games with the Blue Devils in the 2003-04 season before deciding to transfer to Northwestern, which had also recruited him in high school.
"When he decided he was going to transfer, I'm sure he called a couple of other schools but I knew we were right there,'' said NU head coach Bill Carmody, who had to do a bit of re-recruiting. "Like a lot of guys in his situation, he wanted to be sure of the situation here.''
The situation at NU is the team has lacked a solid center since Evan Eschmeyer and his 1,805 career points graduated in 1999. So there was little question that Thompson would be in the starting lineup as soon as he became eligible with Tuesday's posting of first-semester grades.
"When you go to Duke, you're going to take some good stuff out of there,'' Thompson said. "I think I did take some things out of there that I'm bringing in here now.''
Carmody's concern is that Thompson will be so excited to be back, it could cause problems.
"He's going to be in foul trouble right off, I just know it, because he hasn't played a game in so long,'' the coach said. "That stuff always happens. He'll be tired too, that's the other thing, just because of the anxiety of it all. I can see that in the first five minutes, he'll be hyperventilating probably. But I don't intend to take the guy out.''
Carmody cautions that Thompson is no savior who will cure the early-season shooting struggles by the Wildcats (2-4).
"He can help us. I think he'll give us a lift,'' Carmody said. "But the other guys have to play better -- all of them -- because they haven't played well. If they don't play better than they've played the first six games, then we're in trouble and he won't make that much of a difference.''
As Parker pointed out, the biggest difference will be having that 6-10, 250-pound frame filling the paint.
"My bread and butter's down low,'' Thompson said. "I just think they want me to come out and play hard and try to get some wins. I don't think they think I'm going to be Jordan or something out there.''
Thompson, like many new NU players, has had his difficulty learning the so-called Princeton offense, which relies on precision passing and patience.
"We used to say, 'You don't want to go hunting with that guy because the first thing that moved he took a shot at it,''' Carmody said. "Well, guys are cutting now and whether they're open or not, he's throwing it. And usually against good teams, that first cut isn't open. You just have to be patient. But that's hard after not having played a lot in a couple years. But he sees things. Sometimes his passes are off, but he sees.''
Last season, NU captain Jitim Young quickly saw leadership potential in Thompson, who worked with the team during second semester.
"Jitim Young, when he left, he said he saw a quality in me that most people don't have,'' said Thompson, who has been a vocal practice presence. "So he wanted me to speak my mind and not to feel like I shouldn't say something.''
Tonight, his teammates are hoping that Thompson's actions speak even louder than his words.
"It's been a good year off just watching the game,'' he said. "But I'm ready to get back into it now.''
Because if Northwestern guard Brandon Lee's fractured face is any indication, the combination of Mike Thompson's 6-10, 250-pound frame and his Duke pedigree could prove to be a royal pain for upcoming opponents of the Wildcats.
Lee, who ended up with an overnight hospital stay after his face found the business end of Thompson's elbow in practice Sunday, will miss the Duke transfer's NU debut tonight when the Wildcats host DePaul (8 p.m., ESPN2, 720-AM, 670-AM).
"You look at him and he's an impressive guy, everybody who goes against him is scared to get hit,'' said NU junior guard T.J. Parker, who has been impressed with more than Thompson's physical stature.
"First, he picks everybody up. On defense, he's always like, 'Let's go! Let's go! Get your hands up!' He's a real athletic guy, real fast. So he can move his feet really quick. On offense, now we can run low post and just let him make his move. He can score all the time down there. He should easily be able to get at least 10 points a game inside with put-backs and stuff like that. That's a great force to have. But I think the biggest parts he's going to help us in are defense and rebounding.''
The Wildcats, who need to rebound from a 2-4 start, are playing their first game after an 11-day break for final exams. Thompson's inaction, however, lasted almost two years, starting when he decided as a sophomore that Duke was not the place for him.
"When you have Mike Krzyzewski come knocking at your door, it's hard to say no to him,'' said the Joliet native and former McDonald's All-American, who averaged 25 points and 12 rebounds as a high school senior at Providence. "So it was a pretty easy decision to go there.
"Leaving was also pretty easy because I didn't feel I was getting better. I didn't develop the way I wanted to develop. I wanted to be a part of something. I didn't want to just watch.''
After averaging just 1.3 points and 0.5 rebounds in 16 games as a freshman at Duke, Thompson appeared in three games with the Blue Devils in the 2003-04 season before deciding to transfer to Northwestern, which had also recruited him in high school.
"When he decided he was going to transfer, I'm sure he called a couple of other schools but I knew we were right there,'' said NU head coach Bill Carmody, who had to do a bit of re-recruiting. "Like a lot of guys in his situation, he wanted to be sure of the situation here.''
The situation at NU is the team has lacked a solid center since Evan Eschmeyer and his 1,805 career points graduated in 1999. So there was little question that Thompson would be in the starting lineup as soon as he became eligible with Tuesday's posting of first-semester grades.
"When you go to Duke, you're going to take some good stuff out of there,'' Thompson said. "I think I did take some things out of there that I'm bringing in here now.''
Carmody's concern is that Thompson will be so excited to be back, it could cause problems.
"He's going to be in foul trouble right off, I just know it, because he hasn't played a game in so long,'' the coach said. "That stuff always happens. He'll be tired too, that's the other thing, just because of the anxiety of it all. I can see that in the first five minutes, he'll be hyperventilating probably. But I don't intend to take the guy out.''
Carmody cautions that Thompson is no savior who will cure the early-season shooting struggles by the Wildcats (2-4).
"He can help us. I think he'll give us a lift,'' Carmody said. "But the other guys have to play better -- all of them -- because they haven't played well. If they don't play better than they've played the first six games, then we're in trouble and he won't make that much of a difference.''
As Parker pointed out, the biggest difference will be having that 6-10, 250-pound frame filling the paint.
"My bread and butter's down low,'' Thompson said. "I just think they want me to come out and play hard and try to get some wins. I don't think they think I'm going to be Jordan or something out there.''
Thompson, like many new NU players, has had his difficulty learning the so-called Princeton offense, which relies on precision passing and patience.
"We used to say, 'You don't want to go hunting with that guy because the first thing that moved he took a shot at it,''' Carmody said. "Well, guys are cutting now and whether they're open or not, he's throwing it. And usually against good teams, that first cut isn't open. You just have to be patient. But that's hard after not having played a lot in a couple years. But he sees things. Sometimes his passes are off, but he sees.''
Last season, NU captain Jitim Young quickly saw leadership potential in Thompson, who worked with the team during second semester.
"Jitim Young, when he left, he said he saw a quality in me that most people don't have,'' said Thompson, who has been a vocal practice presence. "So he wanted me to speak my mind and not to feel like I shouldn't say something.''
Tonight, his teammates are hoping that Thompson's actions speak even louder than his words.
"It's been a good year off just watching the game,'' he said. "But I'm ready to get back into it now.''
