Marquette Basketball: Takeaways from Golden Eagles so far in 2020-21 season
By Max Marmitt
8. Jose Perez Deserves A Chance In The Rotation
Speaking of a highly targeted transfer, it was less than a week before the season started that Gardner Webb transfer Jose Perez received an approved waiver to play. The Marquette staff did not expect Perez to be allowed to play this season, so they probably didn’t have a clear vision of his outlook on this year’s team with a very limited offseason (one that included a COVID-19 break for Marquette) and little time to prepare. However, this was a highly-sought transfer that many other big schools offered including Illinois, Minnesota, Iowa State, Memphis, and several others.
To provide some context on his career at Gardner Webb, he quickly adapted to the college level he was a key starter during his freshman year, with impressive statistics of 15.1 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 3.0 assists as he did so in a very efficient mater (leading his team in assists and rebounds).
The 6’5″ guard stepped up against major conference opponents, including a March Madness performance as the team’s leading scorer at 19 points against the tournament’s national champions Virginia (going 7/10 from the field in a game where Gardner-Webb led by 6 at the half).
As a sophomore, his efficiency dropped dramatically but his statistics improved slightly (15.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists). However, shooting 45 percent from the field and 38 percent from three dropped to 34 percent from the field and 25 percent from three. Two of Gardner Webb’s leading scorers (and second-leading rebounder) graduated, allowing defenses to put more attention on him than the previous year (and Perez might have felt overwhelmed with a very amplified role).
He didn’t really prove himself as a defender at Gardner Webb, but a big part of that could have been the energy aspect playing 35 minutes a game. He averaged a steal per game his sophomore year and less than 2 fouls in each season. He’s taller than the average guard as well as 6’5″. That doesn’t mean he will automatically improve to a great extent as a defender at Marquette, but he could be at least an average defender and probably not a big liability on the defensive end either.
Perez had a questionable role going into this season: I had no real guess on if he were to start the season as a key rotation piece or have a limited role due to getting his waiver approved late in the game.
Well, after a combined 14 minutes in two blowout victories to open the season, Perez has not been on the floor since. While Marquette didn’t seem to have a ton of guard depth at the beginning of the season with Dexter Akanno coming off COVID-19 protocol and Greg Elliot coming off injury, Marquette has more than a reasonable amount of guard depth now.
That being said, I thought Perez would get even some playing time, especially against UCLA without Symir Torrence and when the team was in big foul trouble. Not to knock on Symir Torrence, but he has really struggled for Marquette this season.
He hasn’t proven he’s a threat to shoot or score, so defenses play him accordingly and the offense usually becomes more stagnant as a result (and while I mentioned earlier he usually takes good care of the ball, he has a 27.6% TO rate). It’s worth questioning what the offense would look like with Perez facilitating or playing alongside DJ Carton.
Dexter Akanno hasn’t really been apart of the rotation, but he has been given somewhat of a chance in five games. Drawing praise from Donovan Mitchell and Spencer Dinwiddie over the summer on Akanno’s talent, the freshman is very athletic and seems to have a lot of potential down the road, but this might not be his year.
Greg Elliot on the other hand has definitely earned more playing time, shooting over over 50 percent from the field and three point line while also being an active and quality defender on the other end, but the only thing I could think holding him back from more playing time is injury history as he only averages 14.6 minutes a game (he did go 4/4 from three and 5/6 from the field at Creighton with his season-high 27 minutes).
Marquette has a great rotation already but it is a little slim at 7-8 guys usually getting meaningful playing time each game. Marquette has a ton of talent of the roster, and increasing the depth to 8-9 guys could definitely be beneficial. Greg Elliot has proved he can be a spark plug off the bench, and with the swagger and versatility in Perez’s game, there’s a genuine chance he can do.
Perez is also a reliable ball handler, as Paint Touches mentioned months ago that “he was one of just 10 players over the last two years to post an assist rate north of 21 percent and a sub-13 percent turnover rate.” Perez would not single-handedly fix the team’s turnover issue, but he could be one part of the solution to solving it.
The bright side of Perez not playing yet so far is that I believe he will not lose a year of eligibility due to the NCAA handling winter athletes with COVID. Unless there was upcoming communication between the coaching staff and Perez going into the season, I’m not even sure if Jose Perez expected himself to not play at all during an 8-game stretch during the season. Not to be overdramatic, but there could be something behind the scenes Marquette fans don’t know about as the potential reason to his playing time.
With that being said, it wasn’t completely unreasonable for Perez to have limited playing time this season. However, he still has proven he can be effective at the college level and the red flags shouldn’t indicate a risk not worth taking. Even if Perez ends up not panning out the way he’s supposed to or doesn’t fit with Marquette, all he deserves is just a chance.