Northwestern star Drew Crawford will miss season with shoulder injury

Poised for a strong senior campaign, Northwestern senior guard Drew Crawford will now be forced to miss the remainder of the regular season with a shoulder injury according to a report by Scott Powers of ESPNChicago.com.

Crawford currently ranks second on Northwestern at 13.5 points per night, but has shot a meager 40% from the field this season after 10 games. Wildcats head coach Bill Carmody revealed that Crawford re-injured an old shoulder issue two months ago and simply hasn't been able to improve, a scenario that led to season-ending surgery.

"Drew aggravated a previous injury in early September and attempted to play through it, but it just hasn't responded as we all would have liked," Carmody said. "While it obviously hurts to lose a player of Drew's caliber, it provides an opportunity for his teammates to step up and contribute."

Since the decision to shut him down came this early in the season, Crawford and the school will be eligible to apply for a medical hardship waiver that would afford the 6'5 guard a final year of eligibility in 2013-14. Despite being a significant loss right before the start of Big Ten play, the Wildcats will hope to get a strong look at freshman Tre Demps with Crawford on the shelf for the remainder of the year. Demps added 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting in just 12 minutes against Butler, and the 6'2, 200-pound combo guard should see an uptick in playing time immediately.