College Hoops First Impressions: BEast

[Skatastrophy]

http://www.midwestsportsfans.com/2011/06/college-hoops-first-impressions-big-east-volume-1/

A preview of next season for all BEast teams.  Here's the bit about MU:

Marquette

Coach Buzz Williams became somewhat of a media darling during last season's tournament, and based on preseason rankings, expectations have been raised for Marquette.  They'll need to replace Jimmy Butler, who was second on the team in both scoring and rebounding, and Dwight Buycks, who led the squad in assists, but they do return a solid nucleus.

Guard Darius Johnson-Odom paced the offense with 15.8 points per game despite a precipitous drop in his three-point shooting.  If he bounces back there, he could approach 19 or 20 points per game.  Senior Jae Crowder led the team with 6.8 boards last year despite standing just 6-foot-6.  The team seems to feed off of Crowder's emotion, and the Golden Eagles will need more consistent scoring from him if they want to live up to their newfound expectations.

Size is a potential concern with 6-foot-11 center Chris Otule the only player over 6-foot-8.  Otule will need to log more than 17.6 minutes per game this year, although he did grab 3.6 rebounds in that time last season while making 55.3 percent from the field.  Sophomore forward Davante Gardner finished strong with 16 points in the season-ending loss to North Carolina and will be a wild card down low.  He hit 57.6 percent of his shots and posted 4.6 points and 2.2 rebounds in just nine minutes per game.

In contrast, there are a number of options in the backcourt to play alongside DJO.  Sophomore Vander Blue saw his playing time and production drop off during Big East play, but the year of experience should serve him well in an expanded role.  Junior Cadougan averaged just 4.0 points but finished second on the team with 3.2 dimes.  He should get first crack at running the show.

A few newcomers should contribute early on as well.  Oregon transfer Jamil Wilson is originally from nearby Racine, WI, and will provide some depth inside at forward.  Their top recruit is small forward Juan Anderson who has decent size but needs to improve his shooting consistency, and they also add O.J. Mayo's brother, Todd.

Buzz Williams' teams consistently play hard, so if his under-sized frontline can come through, Marquette should finish in the upper echelon of the Big East while avoiding the bubble for the first time in a few years.

[brewcity77]

I think we're finally getting to the point where we aren't undersized, despite what the critics continue to say. We have a legit center in Otule and a big-enough backup in Gardner. Jamil Wilson, based on looking at him next to other guys, looks to be at least 6'8", if not 6'9". We run out quickly on the bench, with Juan Anderson the only other guy who might be over 6'6", but if Otule is a 20 mpg guy and Wilson a 30 mpg guy, we won't be outmanned from a height perspective nearly as much as we have been in the past.

Otherwise, nice write-up. Good find, Ska