Recruit lawsuit settled by NU

Northwestern has settled a lawsuit filed by a former basketball recruit's parents, who contended that former coach Kevin O'Neill revoked a scholarship their son had accepted in June 1998, a university official confirmed Wednesday.

Terms of the settlement will not be disclosed, said NU Deputy General Counsel Tom Cline, who declined to comment further. NU athletic officials also declined to comment.

The parents of Andrew Coates, a former Seattle-area prep star who is now a sophomore forward at the University of Pennsylvania, filed a lawsuit in March 2000 accusing O'Neill of reneging on a full scholarship offer after watching Coates play poorly at a summer camp.

The suit had been scheduled to go to trial in May in U.S. District Court in Seattle, after NU's motion to dismiss the case was denied in September. The Coates family had been seeking damages and unspecified amounts to cover Andrew's tuition at Penn, which does not offer athletic scholarships.

Peter Coates, Andrew's father, declined to comment on the details of the settlement, but said many of his complaints centered on O'Neill, who left NU this fall to serve as an assistant coach for the NBA's New York Knicks.

"Obviously Kevin O'Neill isn't there anymore, and he was clearly a big part of it," Peter Coates said Wednesday. "A lot of it was Kevin O'Neill and not the university."

O'Neill was unavailable for comment Wednesday.

Peter Coates said in March that his son was slowed by nagging injuries and a stomach virus at the camp O'Neill attended. Peter Coates said he was shocked when the coach called him to say he was "no longer interested in Andrew."

According to Peter Coates, O'Neill told him: "I've never made a mistake like this before."

Visiting campus in June 1998, Andrew and Peter Coates met with University President Henry Bienen, who spent nearly an hour answering questions and assuring them NU matched Andrew's academic standards, according to the suit.

After O'Neill's call, Peter Coates wrote to Bienen explaining the situation and asking for his help. Bienen replied that as far as he knew, the scholarship offer still stood, and he did not respond to a follow-up letter from Peter Coates, according to the lawsuit. Calling initial settlement talks "unproductive," the Coates family proceeded with the lawsuit.

Bienen was unavailable for comment Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Andrew Coates said he's comfortable at Penn and doesn't dwell on losing a spot at NU.

"Things are going really well here and I don't think about it much anymore," said Coates, who's enrolled in the Wharton Business School. "I'm here, I enjoy it, and I'm happy."

After missing his freshman season with an ankle injury that has yet to heal, Coates said his biggest challenge has been regaining his health.

"I'm still struggling to get back to my full athletic ability," said the 6-foot-9-inch, 215-pound forward, who has played sparingly in eight games this year. "Right now I'm working toward next year."

Coates said he still keeps an eye on NU, watching how former Princeton coach Bill Carmody is handling a Wildcats squad that last week picked up its first regular-season conference victory in more than two years.

Both Penn and NU have struggled this year, with the Penn Quakers tallying an 8-14 mark as of Wednesday. The Wildcats are 9-16 (1-11 Big Ten).

After O'Neill left NU this fall, Carmody inherited a team in turmoil — seven players have transferred or quit the team in the past year.