Marquette Basketball: Breaking down the Golden Eagles’ 2018-19 rotation
By Brian Foley
Shooting Guard
Minutes Breakdown (40 total): Markus Howard (20), Greg Elliott (11), Sacar Anim (9)
No surprise, Howard is going to be Wojo’s number one option at the two-spot. Howard is one of the nation’s elite shooters, and he improved mightily as a rim finisher last season (58.3 percent).
He needs to make strides as a defender and a passer, but the pieces are already there for him to supplement his reputation as a pure scorer. Howard’s size makes him a defensive liability, but the Golden Eagles actually fared pretty well with only Howard (and not Rowsey) on the floor last season. Stick him next to defensive-minded backcourt mates like Chartouny, Elliott, and Sacar Anim, and Marquette could take a big leap in the defensive rankings this winter.
More. Sacar Anim emerging as glue guy for Marquette. light
Elliott will split time across both guard spots, and Anim will likely earn some minutes as an off-ball guard in bigger lineups. Anim took a big step forward last year coming off his redshirt campaign, averaging 27 minutes per night and starting 30 of the final 31 contests. Wojo will find a way to shoehorn the hard-nosed redshirt junior into the lineup as much as possible, even if his minutes dip slightly from 2017-18.
When Howard sits, Marquette will roll with at least two of Chartouny, Elliott, and Anim in the backcourt. That is a very imposing defensive group, but there isn’t a ton of shooting there. Last season, that trio shot just 59-205 from beyond the arc (28.8 percent). Chartouny did most of that damage early in the year with Fordham, and while Elliott did shoot 36.7 percent from three, it came on just 30 attempts. In such a small sample size, if even three of those makes turn into misses, that number falls to 27 percent, and we’re talking about how Elliott is a liability from the outside, rather than someone with shooting potential.
Luckily, with the two sharpshooting Hauser brothers available in the frontcourt, Marquette should have at least two long-range snipers on the floor at all times.