He figured he’d go to college out of state, wherever seemed the most apt for him to have fun and get a good education. Basketball? Well, John Shurna loved the game, but that didn’t seem like an option.

Most college basketball players are often scouted from the time they are middle schoolers, some are accepting scholarships in eighth grade and others are ranked earlier than that. Not Shurna.

He didn’t play AAU basketball until after his junior year of high school. He wasn’t recruited until Green Bay showed up to watch a practice his junior year.

And Northwestern, where Shurna now stars as the Wildcats (11-3, 0-2 Big Ten) play Michigan (8-6, 2-1) today at 2:30 p.m. at Crisler Arena (Big Ten Network), wasn’t even a consideration for him in basketball or academics.

“I thought I was just going to be a typical college student, I guess,” Shurna said. “Do schoolwork, hopefully go to a good school and have a fun time.”

Being a typical college student fit his past summers. Instead of the constant AAU grind, he had jobs.

Shurna caddied at Glen Oak Country Club in his hometown of Glen Ellyn, Ill., the summer between his eighth-grade and freshman year. The next year, he was a lifeguard at the Sunset Pool in the Glen Ellyn Park District and went on a church mission to Kentucky.

He contemplated AAU basketball after his sophomore year, but he broke his ankle. He also wasn’t sure “if I was wanted.” Instead, he was invited to go to a leadership ranch. And he went on another mission trip, this time to Alabama and Mississippi in 2006 - less than a year after Hurricane Katrina.

“That was an eye-opener,” Shurna said. “An eye-opening experience.”

Then came his junior year. He led his high school team, Glenbard West, to its first sectional championship since 1938. The Chicago Tribune named him special mention all-state.

Then, the kid who thought he wasn’t wanted fielded calls from AAU coaches and from colleges, all suddenly interested in the 6-foot-8 forward. It was then, Shurna said, he thought he might end up playing college basketball.

It’s fitting that the longshot college kid would end up at Northwestern, the Big Ten school still searching for its first NCAA tournament bid.

The Wildcats came close last season reaching the National Invitation Tournament and finishing with a 17-13 record. Shurna, fresh from high school, started every game and was the team’s best shooter with a 46.6 field goal percentage.

Then team star Kevin Coble, the player many felt would lead Northwestern to its first NCAA berth this season, went down with an injury. Then Jeff Ryan, another senior cog, was lost for a year and this became, in part, Shurna’s team.

“He had some good games last year, but like a lot of freshmen he’d get 16 or 18 one night, four the next night and get in foul trouble,” Northwestern coach Bill Carmody said. “It was sort of highs-and-lows. This year, he’s played consistently at a pretty high level.

“He’s realizing he’s got to do this. He can’t just be, well, you knew last year that Coble and (Craig) Moore were going to get some points and if he happened to get them, it was sort of gravy. This year, he’s the meat and potatoes, you know, and he has to come through, and he’s accepted that role pretty nicely.”

Shurna is Northwestern’s leading scorer at 18 points a game. He’s the Wildcats’ leading rebounder (7.5 rpg.), is third on the team in assists (37) and shoots 31.3 percent from the 3-point line.

In the past five games, Shurna has led Northwestern in scoring - all 20-plus point efforts.

The kid who wasn’t sure if anyone wanted him four years ago has turned into one of the best players in the Big Ten, although for him there is something more important, something more legacy-fulfilling for everyone on this Northwestern team.

Trying, for the first time, to reach the NCAA tournament.

“Not that I really look at it,” Shurna said of his individual success. “We’re trying to be a part of history.”

Michael Rothstein covers University of Michigan basketball for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at (734) 623-2558, by e-mail at michaelrothstein@annarbor.com or follow along on Twitter @mikerothstein.