Big East Basketball: 2019-20 offseason questions facing each team

Marquette: Who steps up in the absence of the Hausers?

Earlier in this offseason, Marquette was widely projected to be a top-10 team in the country during the 2019-20 season. Then, though, the Hauser Brothers announced their intentions to transfer from the program in a devastating move for the program’s potential. As a result of their moves to Michigan State (Joey Hauser) and Virginia (Sam Hauser) as sit-out transfers, the Golden Eagles plummeted out of the vast majority of top-25’s and left the team with plenty of questions. Most importantly, though, the team will need to develop a scoring hierarchy around Markus Howard.

Howard is clearly one of the top players in the entire nation, but he is now the only returning double-digit scorer on the team. So, in order for Marquette t be successful this season, the program will need to see at least a couple of pieces emerge as solid offensive options. Above all others, though, I would look to Koby McEwen to get buckets early and often next season. One of the best now-eligible sit-out transfers in the country, McEwen was a high-level scorer while at Utah State. In his first two seasons with the Aggies before sitting out last year, the 6-foot-4 guard averaged 15.0 points (.489/.367/.726), 5.4 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game.

In addition, notable “glue guys” Sacar Anim and Theo John could be poised to take on larger roles while Brendan Bailey has major potential to grow into a 6-foot-8 matchup nightmare on the wing. Also, although mostly known as a creator, incoming freshman Symir Torrence could surprise some people with his abilities. To put it simply, there are options for players that could take the next step but the Golden Eagles will need at least two of them to make that leap.