Marquette Golden Eagles
2014-2015 Overall Rank: #64
Conference Rank: #6 Big East
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It is a new era for Marquette. Former coach Buzz Williams left for Virginia Tech and the Golden Eagles went out and got former Duke great and longtime Duke assistant Steve Wojciechowski. It will be interesting to see how all of this will pan out for Marquette, but for now, Marquette is looking to improve on a disappointing 17-15 campaign. Derrick Wilson is just one of two returning starters and the point guard will have to get a lot of new faces involved in the offense. Wilson is not much of a scorer and rarely shoots from outside, but he is a great floor leader. Last season he averaged 4.2 assists per game with just 1.5 turnovers. However, there is a lot of competition for minutes at the point now and Wilson will need to improve his scoring.
2013-14 Record: 17-15, 9-9
2013-14 Postseason: None
Coach: Steve Wojciechowski
Coach Record: 0-0 at Marquette, 0-0 overall
Who’s Out:
The team’s top four scorers are gone. Davante Gardner only started eight games, but the 6-8 forward led the team with 14.9 points per game. The frontcourt also lost Jamil Wilson, the team’s best rebounder with 5.9 per game. He also added 11.7 points and 2.6 assists. Jake Thomas emerged as a great shooting threat during his senior season. He knocked down 39.0 percent of his three-point attempts and averaged 7.9 points per game. Todd Mayo left the program in late July to pursue his professional career. That late departure certainly takes a big chunk out of the Golden Eagles backcourt production. Mayo was a dynamic scoring threat who averaged 11.3 points per game. Chris Otule was not one of the top four scorers a year ago, but he was a starter during his senior season. Otule, a 6-11 center, was a decent rebounder and the team’s best shot blocker.
Who’s In:
Coach Wojciechowski will have to rely pretty heavily on his four newcomers if this team is going to make any noise in the Big East. Matt Carlino had three productive seasons at BYU before heading to Marquette to finish up his collegiate career. Carlino is a great point guard who dished out 4.3 assists last season and led the West Coast Conference in assist-to-turnover ratio. Carlino is not afraid to shoot, but has been inconsistent in that department. He still averaged double figures in the scoring department each of three years at BYU. Luke Fischer, a transfer from Indiana, will be eligible in mid-December. At 6-11 and 245 pounds, he will bring in some much, much needed size to the roster. He averaged ten minutes per game for the Hoosiers before leaving the program after 13 games. Freshmen Duane Wilson and Sandy Cohen have more than enough talent to crack the regular rotation. Wilson was considered one of the best point guards in the class of 2013, but missed last year with an injury. With Wilson and Carlino, Wilson may need to find more of his minutes off of the ball for now. Cohen, a 6-6 forward, is a great athlete and will need to help out the depleted frontcourt from day one.
Who to Watch:
Juan Anderson and Steve Taylor will join Cohen and, eventually, Fischer, as Marquette’s frontcourt options. Anderson, a 6-6 senior, started 19 games in 2013-2014, but averaged only 13.5 minutes per game. He is a solid defender and a decent rebounder and that is enough to get him in the starting five. Taylor, at 6-7 and 240 pounds, can throw his body around in the paint effectively, but he has not seen that much playing time. Wings Deonte Burton and Jajuan Johnson will likely be forced to spend some time in the frontcourt this year despite being wings. Burton is just 6-4, but the sophomore tilts the scales at 240 pounds and spends most of his time inside the arc. That makes him a good fit for the four spot when necessary. Johnson is taller at 6-5, but plays much more like a shooting guard than a power forward. In any event, how well those two can play out of position could be very important for Marquette.
Final Projection:
Coach Wojciechowski has some decisions to make. There are basically three point guards who can start and no centers. It may work out nicely since a couple of those point guards will probably be on the floor at the same time as Marquette finds ways to win while playing small. However, that could be a huge problem on the glass and defensively. The non-conference schedule is manageable enough and the Big East has enough winnable games for this group to stay above .500 and earn a postseason berth of some sort.
Projected Postseason Tournament: NIT
Projected Starting Five:
Derrick Wilson, Senior, Guard, 5.0 points per game
Matt Carlino, Senior, Guard, 13.7 points per game at BYU
Deonte Burton, Sophomore, Guard, 6.9 points per game
Sandy Cohen, Freshman, Forward, DNP last season
Juan Anderson, Senior, Forward, 3.2 points per game
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 72.2 (132nd in nation, 5th in conference)
Scoring Defense: 68.7 (138, 7)
Field-Goal Percentage: 44.4 (158, 7)
Field-Goal Defense: 42.3 (105, 4)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 4.8 (312, 10)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 32.1 (NR)
Free-Throw Percentage: 69.0 (198, 7)
Rebound Margin: 3.2 (72, 4)
Assists Per Game: 14.8 (46, 3)
Turnovers Per Game: 12.0 (137, 7)
Madness 2014 Men’s Basketball Recruit Rankings:
#98 Sandy Cohen
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