Marquette Basketball: Projecting Golden Eagles’ 2019-20 rotation

Power Forward

Minutes Breakdown (40 total): Brendan Bailey (14), Jamal Cain (11), Ed Morrow (10), Sacar Anim (5)

The matchup is going to dictate who Wojo can play at the 4-spot. If Howard and McEwen are seemingly locked into the two traditional guard roles, and Theo John or Jayce Johnson is down low manning the center spot, that leaves everyone else trying to scrap for minutes on the wing in smaller lineups or as backups off the bench.

But playing time will vary depending on the opponent’s frontcourt. Bailey is my projected starter here, and while he has the size to alter shots, speed to switch onto guards, and theoretical shot-making to stretch defenses, he still has an incredibly thin frame, and would struggle to guard thicker low-post bullies.

Luckily, the Big East – and college basketball as a whole – isn’t exactly teeming with a ton of quality bigs, and it’s even rarer for a team to feature two post players at once, so Marquette should be able to get away with Bailey (or Anim) at the 4. Still, even if the matchup doesn’t necessarily make sense on paper, Marquette is all but guaranteed to give the much-sturdier Morrow some run at power forward.

Morrow exclusively played the 5 behind John last season, and fared relatively well for a 6-foot-7 center. The Golden Eagles brought in the 7-foot Utah grad transfer Johnson this spring, so they clearly want the former Ute to soak up minutes as John’s backup. That means Morrow will be mostly pushed to the 4, where he will be expected to play away from the basket more often. Here’s where we note that Morrow has never attempted a college three-pointer and is a career 61 percent free throw shooter. The MU coaching staff is working hard to turn Morrow into off-ball weapon, but let’s just say I remain unconvinced.

Jamal Cain, the x-iest of all x-factors, remains on the roster, and his impact could range from negligible to vital. As a freshman, Cain looked like a key piece of the future as an uber-athletic forward who could step outside and sky for rebounds. But he regressed as a sophomore, and as his shooting predictably slumped, he was nailed to the bench for much of Big East play. Whether he can return to form will massively impact Marquette’s frontcourt potential, and will ultimately shake up the entire rotation.