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Marquette Basketball: 2018-19 season preview for the Golden Eagles

By Lukas Harkins

GREENVILLE, SC - MARCH 17: Head coach Steve Wojciechowski of the Marquette Golden Eagles reacts in the first half against the South Carolina Gamecocks during the first round of the 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Bon Secours Wellness Arena on March 17, 2017 in Greenville, South Carolina. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
GREENVILLE, SC - MARCH 17: Head coach Steve Wojciechowski of the Marquette Golden Eagles reacts in the first half against the South Carolina Gamecocks during the first round of the 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Bon Secours Wellness Arena on March 17, 2017 in Greenville, South Carolina. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
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MILWAUKEE, WI – JANUARY 28: Marquette’s Howard (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
MILWAUKEE, WI – JANUARY 28: Marquette’s Howard (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) /

Starting Lineup

Projected starters: Chartouny, Howard, Anim, Hauser, Heldt

Youth has been a common theme for Marquette basketball over the past couple of years. However, those players are now seemingly all grown up and the projected starting lineup here features all upperclassmen. With this being said, the program looks to be in great shape thanks the experience that this lineup should bring to the court for head coach Steve Wojciechowski.

At the forefront of this group will clearly be Markus Howard. One of the best scorers in the entire nation, Howard will most likely play the off-guard position this year despite standing at only 5-foot-11. He might not be the tallest player on the floor but he can fill up the basket in a hurry. An elite 3-point shooter who is developing as a scorer around the basket, Howard averaged 20.4 points (.464/.404/.938), 3.2 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game last season. He may be a liability at times defensively but his scoring more than makes up for that (there is also reason to believe he will be much improved on this end of the floor this year).

Additionally, it will certainly help Marquette’s defense to put a strong perimeter defender alongside Howard in the backcourt. And while losing Andrew Rowsey to graduation will be difficult to recover from offensively, the addition of Joseph Chartouny will greatly improve the defensive potential of the Golden Eagles. A 6-foot-4 graduate transfer from Fordham, Chartouny is coming off of a season in which he averaged 12.2 points (.371/.284/.697), 5.6 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and a ridiculous 3.3 steals per game. With his long arms and ability to protect passing lanes, Chartouny will be a welcomed sight for Marquette fans.

Next up, Sacar Anim is returning after posting a solid sophomore campaign a year ago. A 6-foot-5 wing, Anim might not post incredible numbers but he is a solid part of the rotation for the Golden Eagles. While starting 30 of the team’s 35 games last season, he averaged 7.6 points (.481/.235/.622), 2.9 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game. Even though he only scored more than 15 points on one occasion last season, he is a consistent presence on the court.

And then there is Sam Hauser. An elite shooter at 6-foot-8, Hauser is a darkhorse Big East Player of the Year candidate heading into this season. He may have been overshadowed a bit last season due to Rowsey and Howard but he is a unique player in his own right. Over the course of last season, the hyper-efficient forward averaged 14.1 points (.499/.487/.836), 5.7 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game. Hard to argue with those numbers.

Lastly, junior big man Matt Heldt is returning as one of the better players in the nation in regards to playing within his role. His numbers are far from gaudy but his offensive role is to simply score on second-chance opportunities or dump-offs in the paint. Despite starting 32 games and averaging 21.9 minutes per game last season, Heldt only scored 3.9 points per game but did so on 64.7% shooting from the field. He also snagged 4.7 boards per game while exhibiting the second-best rebounding rate (13.3%) on the team (behind Harry Froling – 15.1%).

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