It will likely be a game time decision whether or not Northwestern senior wing Vic Law plays tonight in the Big Ten Tournament (“He’s very much questionable for the game,” NU coach Chris Collins said on the Big Ten Coaches Conference Call Monday), but his Wildcats legacy is already long cemented.
The St. Rita graduate and native of suburban South Holland collided with Big Ten scoring champ Carsen Edwards on Saturday, and the result was a cut to his shin which left him bleeding and unable to leave the court without being carried off. The good news is his basketball career won’t end with the scary scene on NU’s Senior Day.
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“There is no long term damage which is great for him and his future,” Collins added. “To have a senior that has meant so much to our program not be able to finish it the right way was heartbreaking.”
“It was scary looking at the time and there was an open wound on his shin, I think we were all a little bit nervous to see what was wrong because he was in so much pain.”
Collins said Law had a considerable gash on the leg that had to be sewn up, and impacted his shin bone, and it’s something that obviously hurts and is going to be sore for awhile.
However, Law was up and walking around after the loss to Purdue, which gave the Boilermakers a share of their record 24th league title.
If Vic Law doesn’t play another minute of college basketball, he’ll still leave Evanston among the top ten in program history for career rebounds, double doubles, three point field goals made, steals and games started. He’s also one of just four NU players to accomplish 1,200 points, 650 rebounds, 200 assists and 100 steals.
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Most importantly, he was the very first recruit to commit to Collins, and the highest rated recruit in NU history at the time.
“You always have to have a first guy believe,” Collins said Saturday in postgame
“It still takes a lot of courage when you have a lot of other options that are more established. He was a trail blazer with that.”
Collins became uncharacteristically very emotional on Saturday when discussing the seniors: “They believed when there wasn’t a lot to believe in…The kind of men that they’ve become…it’s about the characters of these guys.”
This year’s senior class is obviously not seeing their college careers end in the manner that they had hoped. NU comes into their in-state battle against Illinois in Chicago’s Big Ten Tournament as the absolute bottom seed, having lost 11/12 and finished dead last in the conference.
Don’t count them out tonight though, with or without Vic Law, as they’ll face an Illinois team that has lost 5/6 and set a school record for single season losses.
To the Northwestern community, I am well and fine. Fews scrapes and bruises but you can’t keep a Wildcat down. Much love to everyone! pic.twitter.com/B6Mc9HC4V1
— Vic Law (@Followthe_LAW) March 10, 2019
Whether it’s tonight, or later on in the Big Ten tournament, Law leaves school as a key figure in the Wildcats program history.
“He spearheaded an amazing class of four guys, three of which became 1,000 point scorers and all-league guys,” said Collins.
“He was the catalyst to all that. He’s had an outstanding career. He’s very versatile on both ends of he court I give him so much credit this year with the way our roster was, he was asked to do a lot of things he wasn’t asked to do before.”
“For a lot of intents and purposes he was our point guard all year, he’s always been a wing, he’s always run the floor, he’s always come off screens. We asked him to be a primary playmaker this year, and he did it with a great attitude, and he did his best.”
“It’s been an honor to watch him grow and become the man he’s become, in addition to the player.”
Vic Law has consistently been a great soundbite over the course of his four years at Northwestern too. If he’s made available to the media tonight, we will update this article later with quotes from him.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, regularly appears as a guest pundit on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
He also contributes sociopolitical essays to Chicago Now. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram. The content of his cat’s Instagram account is unquestionably superior to his.