Marquette Basketball: Reviewing Golden Eagles’ first 9 games of 2019-20
By Brian Foley
Red Flags
Koby McEwen’s slide: After a highly encouraging three-game start to his Marquette career (18 ppg, 6 rpg, and 3 apg), McEwen has absolutely imploded over the past three weeks. The redshirt junior guard from Utah State is shooting just 19 percent from the field in his past six contests and has frequently been relegated to the bench amidst relentless foul trouble.
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As the old saying goes, you are never as good or as bad as you look. McEwen’s true skill level lies somewhere in between the Jekyll and Hyde performances he has shown thus far, but both McEwen and Wojciechowski need to find a way to straighten things out soon. McEwen’s frustration following a miscue has been extremely evident on the court, something that can crush a team should it persist for too long.
The lack of low-post offense: Theo John and Ed Morrow weren’t exactly the second comings of Wilt Chamberlain a year ago, but Marquette is really struggling to get effective offense down low. Part of the problem goes back to MU’s guards, who struggle to throw entry passes into the post, and are either unwilling or unable to hit the rolling big man in the paint off a screen. Morrow’s best offensive asset is his rebounding, but John and Jayce Johnson should be able to go up to catch a lob or make a play off a bounce pass. Opponents rightfully do not respect the big man screen, so the guard – typically Howard or McEwen – is being doubled at the point of attack, while a third defender is sticking to the spot-up shooter in the corner rather than crashing down to help on the big.
The turnovers: While Marquette’s defense is still thriving despite a lack of takeaways, the Golden Eagles’ offense is suffering under the weight of its own giveaways. Marquette ranks 79th of 87 high-major teams in offensive turnover rate. The primary culprits? Exactly who you would expect – McEwen and Elliott, shaking off the rust after redshirt years, Anim, taking on more responsibility as a ball-handler, and Symir Torrence, a freshman who reclassified to join this class. Morrow has also been a problem down low, frequently traveling with the ball under the basket.
Expect the Golden Eagles turnover woes to improve as the players get more comfortable, but MU will need to take a significant leap in this area if it wants to be a true Big East title contender.
Two-point offense: Oh my, is it ugly. Marquette is shooting just 43.3 percent from inside the arc, good for dead last among high-major programs. Howard is shooting under 39 percent on all twos, including a brutal 31 percent mark at the rim. Howard’s size does limit him somewhat in the paint, but it’s a near-lock he will improve his at-the-basket mark. Howard shot at least 44 percent at the rim in each of his first three seasons.
Anim has been productive finishing inside, shooting 23-35 at the rim. Unfortunately, he has negated that production with a 9-31 line on two-point jumpers. Anim has the first step and the physicality to get into the lane and finish; now he just needs to ditch the clunky midrange game.