Big East Basketball: 2024 offseason grades for each team

Marquette Golden Eagles - Grade: C

Marquette is in a similar spot as Purdue when it comes to judging the offseason. The big difference here is that they technically could’ve returned everyone from a team that won 27 games last season since both Oso Ighodaro and former Big East Basketball Player of the Year guard Tyler Kolek had another year of eligibility.

In the end, both decided to enter the NBA Draft, two big blows to the roster. However, they were able to bring back Kameron Jones, who led the team with 17.2 ppg. Having him back automatically has the Golden Eagles as a conference contender and possibly a preseason top-25 team.

Coach Shaka Smart made the decision not to use the transfer portal, one of a few programs in the entire sport to add through there. So pressure will be on the incoming freshmen such as Royce Parham and Joshua Clark to have an impact and replace Ighodaro’s impact.

In the end, the bet being made is that the rest of the returning core (David Joplin, Sean Jones, Ben Gold, and Chase Ross) can collectively replace the departing duo’s production on both ends. If it works out, then Coach Smart will look like a genius.