Top 10 reasons I'm excited for NU Men's Basketball 2011-2012

More basketball.

10. No more Kevin Coble talk. That ship has sailed. Seems like a good guy though.

9. The freshmen. The guards, Sobolewski and Demps, get all the conversation, but I'm excited to see what Mike Turner has to offer too.

8. A better non-conference schedule. We're supposed to play Georgia Tech and Creighton on the road, Baylor at home, and we're in the Charleston Classic. Big improvement over last year's abysmal non-con.

7. Luka's last year. My world will become much less Serbian when he is gone. And that is a major loss. Also, from all accounts, Luka is a very nice person and a classy guy, not to mention the best center of the Carmody era.

6. The emergence of Alex Marcotullio. He's a solid defender, a great shooter, he makes all the effort plays, and he's got a ton of heart. He'll be an important leader on this year's team, and at the end of last season he showed himself as a guy who can make big plays at big moments.

5. The chance to see Drew Crawford become a more consistent player. He's great when he's on, but sometimes he seems like he's not there. Let's see if he can fix that.

4. The chance to see a healthy Jershon Cobb play. He made some amazing plays last year (especially against Illinois - whew!), and he'll hopefully be even better this year. I would LOVE to see him play point guard -- a lot of good things happened last year when he brought the ball up the court.

3. The chance to see a healthy John Shurna play. That man is a beast when he's healthy. If you talk to me in person sometime I'll tell you the story of when I ran into him on Sheridan Road and embarrased myself with my starstruckness/crazy fandom.

2. Did I mention I love John Shurna? How could you not love that face? And this adorable shyness? And these dunking skills? There's a video somewhere on the internet that I can't find featuring John showing the Big Ten Network around his house in the 'burbs, and in the video he's wearing pink, purple, red and green mittens. Mittens! John Shurna makes me believe.

1. Another shot at the Tournament and beyond.

Go 'Cats!