Marquette Basketball: Analyzing newcomers for 2019-20

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 21: Marquette Golden Eagles head coach Steve Wojciechowski directs his players during the first half of the game against Kansas Jayhawks during the NIT Season Tip-Off tournament at Barclays Center on November 21, 2018 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images) /

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LAS VEGAS, NV – MARCH 09: McEwen while at Utah State. /

JR – Koby McEwen – Utah State

G | 6-foot-4 | 200 lbs | Sat-out transfer

Koby McEwen is one of the main reasons why I believe that Marquette is still a fringe top-25 team heading into this coming season. An elite scorer who sat out this past season due to transfer rules, McEwen should join forces with Howard to form one of the most electric backcourts in the country. These two can both fill it up with high volume shooting and could combine to average over 40 points per game.

Additionally, McEwen’s 6-foot-4 frame adds more size to the backcourt, making it more difficult for opponents to create size mismatches. Across two seasons with Utah State, McEwen averaged 15.0 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game on shooting slashes of .427/.367/.726. Howard will clearly be the top scorer for the Golden Eagles next season but McEwen should be a strong second option.

McEwen does turn the ball over a bit more than is advisable, but there should be less pressure on his shoulders at Marquette compared to Utah State. He will be able to pick his spots a bit more while playing alongside a dominant scorer in Howard. It is also important to mention that McEwen should take some of the scoring burden off of Howard’s shoulders as well.

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