Markus Howard talks about Nigel James Jr.’s star potential at Marquette
Markus Howard was at Fiserv Forum to have his number retired on March 1.
- The Marquette men’s basketball team will miss the NCAA tournament for the first time in Shaka Smart’s five seasons as head coach.
- Smart plans to use the transfer portal to reshape the roster, focusing on acquiring a big man and adding backcourt depth.
- The team struggled with rebounding, ranking No. 332 in the country for allowing offensive rebounds.
- Despite a disappointing season, the team has a strong foundation with Big East freshman of the year Nigel James Jr. and emerging forward Royce Parham.
Where does the Marquette men’s basketball team go from here?
For the first time in Shaka Smart’s five seasons as head coach, the Golden Eagles won’t be in the NCAA tournament. MU (12-20) doesn’t even have a strong enough NET ranking to put it in consideration for the streamlined, eight-team College Basketball Crown bracket that features non-NCAA tournament teams from the Big East and Big Ten. The third-tier College Basketball Invitational isn’t even being played this year.
That’s probably just as well for Smart, who knows this is a critical off-season for reshaping his roster if he wants MU to be in the mix on Selection Sunday next year. Smart’s name won’t be on the hot-seat lists that are published before every college basketball season, but certainly nobody at MU wants the team to dwell in the Big East basement like it did this season.
“Our regular season wasn’t to our standard,” Smart said after the first-round loss to Xavier in the Big East tournament. “So there’s just a lot of motivation inside of all of us.”
Shaka Smart needs a big man. When does transfer portal open?
MU needs a big man. Golden Eagles fans know that. Smart and his staff definitely know that.
The Golden Eagles are going to use the transfer portal, a roster-building tool that Smart has eschewed since 2022. The NCAA transfer portal window runs from April 6-20 this season, and it should be a busy time for MU. The Golden Eagles currently have just one open spot for next season, but that likely will increase with departures.
Ben Gold is out of eligibility after making 62 starts over four seasons. Sophomore Caedin Hamilton (2.9 points and 2.9 rebounds per game) started the first 15 games of the season, but his playing time dwindled in the final two-plus months when he looked overmatched against Big East foes. Even after a redshirt season, 7-foot center Josh Clark looks far from being counted on to play more than spot minutes. Sheek Pearson redshirted this season after reclassifying, but he is still working on getting strong enough to contribute at a Big East level.
MU teams have never been strong at rebounding under Smart, but this season the Golden Eagles allowed opponents to grab 34.7% of available offensive boards, the No. 332 mark in the country.
An older, physically developed big man would bolster the roster immensely. But every NCAA coach wants that kind of player, so there will be a lot of competition in the transfer market.
MU wants to make sure that the incoming big man fits alongside Royce Parham, the 6-8 forward who had a breakout season as a sophomore (12.5 points and 4.9 rebounds) and has a mismatch-creating blend of inside power and shooting ability.
“Royce came in as a very young freshman,” Smart said. “He came into summer school as a 17-year-old and he is still a teenager. So one of the great things is the next time we take the court for Marquette he’ll be in his 20s.
“As he said, he’s gained confidence, he’s gained maturity, his body is changing. He’s still not done. A lot of growth and progress to continue to make with that. But I think he’s become a guy that in a lot of these games has been just a really terrific scorer and someone that’s tough for the defense to deal with because of the different things he can do.”
Marquette’s No. 2 need in transfer portal: Backcourt depth
Nigel James Jr. is MU’s unquestioned star after being named Big East freshman of the year. The shifty, 6-foot guard has a classmate in the backcourt in Adrien Stevens who is a perfect complement with his shooting and stout defensive ability.
But those two were counted on for heavy minutes this season. James had the ball in his hands a lot, and he struggled with decision-making at times in the final minutes of close games, maybe the result of fatigue.
In the final game of the season against Xavier, James and Stevens combined to shoot 8 for 29 overall and 3 for 19 on 3-pointers. After Sean Jones was lost for the season with a foot injury, junior guard Tre Norman was the only backcourt option off the bench and he hasn’t developed into a rotational player.
“We’re going to make sure we have more depth,” Smart said.
MU shot just 31.8% on 3-pointers this season, the lowest mark in Smart’s five seasons. More help in that department might be on its way with Nash Walker, who redshirted this season, and Michael Phillips II, who skipped his senior season in high school to join MU early and showed flashes as a freshman. Walker suffered a shoulder injury late in the season during a workout and it’s unclear how much that will impact his offseason.
“I do think we have some young players, Michael Phillips showed it [against Xavier], that can emerge and develop and be part of a rotation playing heavy minutes,” Smart said. “He was terrific.
“I think [6-8 sophomore] Damarius Owens has had games where he’s been really, really good. I thought in the second half he came alive and was much, much better. We’ve got some other young players in our program, including the three redshirts that really have a chance.”
Phillips scored 10 points and knocked down two 3-pointers in his first Big East tournament game. That gives him confidence going into a big offseason for development.
“A whole bunch of work,” Phillips said in the locker room after the loss to Xavier. “Ball-handling. My defense. Obviously, my shooting, too.
“But just being able to handle the ball and get my teammates open and get my own shots, too.”
With key players in place, it doesn’t seem like MU is that far away from getting back to being an NCAA tournament-caliber team. But adding the right pieces in the offseason is of the utmost importance.
“We got a lot of work to do,” Smart said. “But we’re very, very motivated and driven to grow and be better because we know what we’re capable of.”
