Marquette Basketball: Revamped big man rotation revitalizes Golden Eagles

Marquette Basketball cruised to a 67-42 victory over the UMBC Retrievers on Tuesday, led by an improved defense and newly effective big men.

After fielding a slight, guard-centric team in 2017-18, this year’s Marquette squad is built around its significantly improved size, starting with the center spot.

Last season, following the graduation of Luke Fischer – the program’s all-time field goal percentage leader – head coach Steve Wojciechowski was forced to turn to previously underutilized Matt Heldt and freshman Theo John. The results were, at best, mixed. Heldt held his own in some low-post matchups, but struggled to guard on the perimeter and did not have the athleticism to make up for his teammates’ mistakes. John was simply a walking foul who was looking to dunk everything on offense and swat everything on defense. He was unable to harness his chaotic energy for good, as is common for many young big men.

But one game into the 2018-19 campaign – albeit against a rebuilding UMBC squad without much size – Marquette seems to have found the right mix of bigs between John and transfer Ed Morrow.

Somewhat surprisingly, Morrow received the start in both the exhibition and season opener over Heldt, the lone scholarship senior on the roster and the first player to stay for all four years under Wojo. Still, it’s quickly become clear that Heldt will not be as much of a factor this season unless a favorable matchup arises or Marquette is hit by foul trouble or injuries. The senior played just three minutes at the tail end of the blowout over UMBC after starting 32 games for last season’s 21-win team.

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Despite receiving the nod, Morrow did not make much of an impact Tuesday, playing just six minutes without attempting a shot after picking up two quick fouls with an early turnover. The Golden Eagles will need Morrow’s rebounding and rim protection down the road though, so expect Wojo to continue to run him with the starters for the time being.

John was the real star against the Retrievers, posting 11 points, 10 rebounds, and three blocks in 23 minutes. The Minnesota native was active on the glass, more disciplined in his block attempts, and flexing his tree trunk muscles up and down the court after big plays. John made himself available for drop-off dunks, put-back slams, and other opportunities around the basket. Fouls were still an issue (he picked up four, though one was a questionable charge call that John comically responded to with an apology flex) and he sometimes clogged the lane while Markus Howard attempted to slice through the lane, but John’s rim talent still forces defenses to account for him. He can carry bodies on box outs on the offensive boards and is able to stretch the floor vertically with leaping alley-oops.

Marquette had plenty of defensive issues last season, including youth, pick-and-roll problems, and diminutive guards, but soft play inside allowed opponents to both take and make plenty a ton of shots at the rim (Marquette ranked 249th in field goal percentage allowed at the basket). This year, the Golden Eagles have much more perimeter length to keep opponents at bay and two athletic, shot-blocking bigs in John and Morrow to protect the final frontier at the tin. During Tuesday’s opener, UMBC shot just 8-34 (23.5 percent) on all two-point tries.

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The Big East – once lined with elite big men – appeared to see its center position dry up before the season. But with John potentially taking a step forward and Morrow likely providing legitimate defensive pressure, Marquette may now have the interior presence to supplement its stars and wreak havoc on the rest of the conference.

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