Marquette Basketball: 5 storylines for Golden Eagles in 2020 offseason
By Brian Foley
Marquette Basketball has lost six of seven to end each of the past two campaigns and is now without their four best players from those squads. Where do the Golden Eagles go from here?
As much as things seem to change in our day-to-day lives during this global COVID-19 crisis, the opposite seems to be true for Marquette Basketball in the Steve Wojciechowski era.
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Here are some key metrics that have remained nearly identical over the past four years for Marquette:
- 3-point Shooting: Great!
- Offensive Efficiency: Good!
- Rebounding: Decent
- Defensive Efficiency: Bad
- Fouls Committed: Bad
- Forcing Turnovers: Very Bad
This has to change. The Golden Eagles need a new identity. Not only did the previous identity fall short against elite teams, but it’s also unreasonable to expect the same game plan to be more effective without All-American Markus Howard.
Does that mean a more attack-oriented defense? More offensive rebounds? A faster pace? A slower pace? I don’t know – I’m not a coach – but adjustments need to be made. Of course, attempting a complete strategic overhaul is a big ask when the summer offseason program could be significantly shortened. But banking on freshman and unproven returnees to fill Howard’s stead is a surefire way to limp to a sub-.500 campaign.
Marquette has a ton of questions as they enter an offseason of flux. Here are the five biggest storylines to watch ahead of the 2020-21 campaign.