Then there were nine.

The NIU men’s basketball team is losing players so fast that head coach Brian Hammel, who was drafted by the NBA and CBA, might be tempted to suit up himself.

Going into the second half of the season, the Huskies are down to nine players, only six of whom have basketball scholarships.

Brian Banks and Randy Carter left the team after off-court problems, sophomore guard Mike Lipnisky is red-shirting after injuring his back and Mark Layton, Brad Lindsay and Hubert Register are academically inelegible for the fall semester.

“With nine guys, we can’t even scrimmage,” Hammel lamented.

Lindsay decided to transfer from NIU, but Layton and Register can still practice with the squad under NCAA rules.

NIU’s remaining six scholarship players are joined by two walk-ons and football wide receiver Vaurice Patterson, who will be forced into the starting point guard position.

“With six scholarship players, we have to be careful (about fouling),” Hammel said. “We have to be more selective about what we’re doing because of our depth.”

Things should get considerably better for NIU next year as the Huskies announced the signing of five prep standouts in December.

NIU received Letters of Intent from 6-4 Jamal Robinson (Proviso East), 6-7 Scott Peterson (Pekin), 6-7 Clayton Stivers (Findlay), 6-7 Mike Hartke (Heyworth) and Chad Weeks, 6-3, from Blaine, Minn.

“I think it’s a tribute to our coaches, Sam Dixon, Scott Duncan and Jeff Strohm,” Hammel said. “If you told me in June we’d sign five players, I would have been ecstatic.”

Hammel said four of the five future Huskies have already passed their ACTs, meaning they’ll be eligible as freshmen.