Dayton Preview, 2025-26

Dayton Flyers

November 19th, 2025 at Fiserv Forum

Head Coach: Anthony Grant (365-193 overall, 172-82 at Dayton)

Three-Year NET Average: 57.3

Three-Year kenpom Average: 62.7

Projected 2025-26 T-Rank: 77

Javon Bennett will look to lead Dayton to another win over Marquette

Photo from daytonflyers.com

State of the Program

Anthony Grant has established his program as one that is generally top-3 in the Atlantic 10, but typically finds themselves outside the NCAA Tournament come Selection Sunday. Over the past seven years, they've been top-3 six times, but also only earned one NCAA bid (though they would've been a 1-seed had the 2020 tournament taken place). Last year was no exception. They got high-profile wins over tournament teams UConn and Marquette only to offset them with league losses to George Washington, UMass, and St. Bonaventure. This led to the NIT for the fifth time in Grant's tenure. The question this year is if continuing to be good enough to come up just short of the NCAA Tournament is good enough for Flyer fans. If not, Grant may find himself on the hot seat come March despite a relatively successful tenure.

Rotation

Javon Bennett slides from the 2 to the 1 after Malachi Smith transferred to UConn. This won't be his first shot at the point; he played major minutes there in 2023-24 when Smith was injured. Bennett benefited significantly last year being off the ball, especially from long range where he shot 39.0% from deep after a combined 29.8% his first two seasons in D1. Don't be surprised at three-point regression as he'll be expected to create more for others once again. His partner in the back court is De'Shayne Montgomery, a Georgia transfer who struggled to get on the court last year amidst academic issues. He was a solid rim/three scorer at Mount St. Mary's with good defensive length and the Flyers will hope he returns to that form. Jordan Derkack comes over from Rutgers. He's a smart shot-taker who struggled with the step up from the NEC to the Big 10 last year. Keonte Jones is an undersized forward who was a monster rebounder. He isn't the most efficient scorer but is great at hitting the offensive glass and kicking out to shooters. The key to a tourney bid will likely be sophomore big man Amaël L'Etang, who is already popping up on early 2026 draft boards. He showed the ability to put up high efficiency on high usage as a part-time starter. His efficiency and minutes increased in conference play. That along with his prowess as a shot-blocker, passer, rebounder and inside-our scorer projects him as a major 2025-26 breakout candidate. If Grant gets back to the NCAA Tournament, L'Etang will be a major reason why. Off the bench, Bryce Heard is most likely to challenge for starting minutes, having been moderately effective in limited minutes for NC State. Adam Nije and Malcolm Thomas (above stats are from high school) should both factor in as well.

Style of Play

Under Grant, Dayton moves the ball fluidly and tries to put five players on the floor that can step outside to hit a shot. Even his bigs like Obi Toppin and Daron Holmes, who initially were hesitant to take threes, became confident shooters by the time they left. They use ball screens to create perimeter looks, running a lot of pick-and-pop or drive-and-kick actions. Grant also likes to run a lot through his big men so don't be surprised to see more high/low or inside/out actions, especially with a pair of solid passing forwards in L'Etang and Jones.

In 2025, Dayton failed to force midrange, allowed more ATR, & struggled contesting perimeter shots

Shot charts from CBBAnalytics.com

Defensively, Dayton really struggled last year, posting the worst efficiency rating (#148) since Grant's first year. The two main issues seemed to be allowing high-percentage looks at the rim and a lack of perimeter size. Grant's best defenses play in man, make teams work deep into the shot clock, deny looks at the rim, and defend without fouling. Last year, they didn't have any quality secondary shot-blocker and a lack of perimeter size (5'10" Bennett, 6'0" Malachi Smith, 6'0" Posh Alexander, and 6'3" Enoch Cheeks) meant that while they forced turnovers at a higher rate, they struggled to challenge shots on the perimeter, deny passes to the interior, and stop drivers. Keonte Jones is a much better defensive piece alongside L'Etang while Montgomery, Derkack, and Heard give the Flyers more perimeter length. This should be a much better defensive team.

2025-26 Outlook

The consensus seems to be down on Dayton. Posh Alexander, Nate Santos, Zed Key, and Enoch Cheeks all exhausted their eligibility while Malachi Smith transferred to UConn. While that's a lot of experience and production gone, I think it's a good thing. The guards were too small to coexist. You can maybe have one or two of those guys, but only Smith could be counted on to get to the rim and he was poor (50.0% ATR FG%) when he got there. Key and Santos were both fine offensive players, but were ball stoppers on the offensive end and poor defenders who didn't compliment each other. This team just fits together so much better. Bennett isn't the creator Smith was, but he knows his best shots are taken beyond the arc and despite his size he's a better defender. Derkack and Montgomery can open up the court with their driving ability and are better finishing when they do get to the rim. Jones and L'Etang are a dynamic front court duo that can both score inside and out, create for others, protect the rim, and eat glass on both ends. This squad fits well together and definitely fits Grant's style better than last year's roster.

I also cannot enough stress how much I'm buying into the Amaël L'Etang breakout. Grant has turned big men like Obi Toppin and DaRon Holmes into stars and L'Etang looks like he's next. His efficiency (114.9), usage rate (21.8%), rebounding (9.6 OR%/20.3 DR%), block rate (6.9%), and inside-out scoring ability (33.9 3PFG%/68.3 ATR 2PFG%) is the exact skillset Grant can use to create a star. His 7'1" length makes him an intriguing NBA prospect. This team has the overall roster balance and upside to earn an NCAA at-large bid and I fully expect L'Etang to be at the heart of that push.

What We've Learned

The Flyers come in with a 3-1 record, notching three guarantee game wins over Canisius, UMBC, and Bethune-Cookman while dropping a road tilt at Cincinnati. Despite the record, they have failed to cover in their last three, indicating a less efficient team than expected. The Flyers have thrived offensively with drives and cuts to the rim, converting 66.7% of their attempts at the rim. The problem offensively is they are taking 41.1% of their shots from three and converting on just 28.4% (#284 nationally) of them. Further, Dayton is reliant on getting to the free throw line. They made 9 more free throws (19) than UMBC attempted in a 6-point win and made 11 more free throws (26) than Bethune-Cookman attempted in a 9-point win. Thus far, it's pounding the paint and getting to the line that has driven Dayton wins.

Dayton's defense is erasing the rim but vulnerable from deep

Shot Chart from cbbanalytics.com

Three-point shooting has killed Dayton on both ends. While they aren't making them on the offensive end, their opponents are shooting 40.5% (#332 nationally) from deep. Cincy scorched them with 9/19 long-range shooting. The Flyers' interior combination of Amaël L'Etang, Keonte Jones, and Jacob Conner has provided solid rim protection while their perimeter defenders have been elite creating turnovers. The overhauled roster puts a lot of pressure on opposing ball-handlers. The best ways to beat Dayton are protecting the ball and making shots from deep.

Marquette Connection

Once upon a time, Marquette dominated Dayton. That hasn't been the case since 1998, with Dayton winning six of the last seven, including last year's comeback win at UD Arena. The lone win in that stretch was led by Marquette legend Dwyane Wade on December 5, 2001. Wade scored 17 points and added 7 rebounds to pace the Golden Eagles. It was Marquette's eighth win of Wade's first season en route to a 10-0 start and eventual NCAA Tournament bid in 2002.

Maryland Preview, 2025-26

Maryland Terrapins

November 15th, 2025 at Fiserv Forum

Head Coach: Buzz Williams (373-228 overall, 0-0 at Maryland)

Three-Year NET Average: 41.3

Three-Year kenpom Average: 31.7

Projected 2025-26 T-Rank: 41

Familiar face Buzz Williams brings his new-look Maryland to Milwaukee

Photo by Matt Hinton | AP Photo

State of the Program

Coming off a top-10 finish in kenpom and both the AP and Coaches polls, as well as the program's first Sweet 16 since 2016, it would seem like Maryland should be in a great place. Instead, the bizarre Kevin Willard saga left the fanbase perplexed. It started with rumors that Villanova was interested in hiring Willard, then a public back and forth about a contract extension and Willard's complaints about the state of Maryland's NIL and "fundamental changes" he felt were necessary stirred the pot. All this occurred as Maryland soundly beat Grand Canyon then got a Derik Queen buzzer-beater to secure a berth in the Sweet 16. Instead of a clear focus on the next game, Willard was non-committedly answering questions about his future. They lost to Florida and within a few days, he took the Villanova job.

Enter Buzz Williams, who can now check off "Big 10" from his coaching bingo card that includes the Big East, ACC, and SEC. If he can maneuver to a Big 12 job to complete high-major bingo he'll get a free value meal from McDonald's. Williams has been an adaptive high-floor coach who has found success everywhere he worked, but he doesn't stay anywhere long enough to give his programs a high ceiling. He should establish Maryland as a top-half Big 10 team that is routinely competing for NCAA bids, but won't likely stick around long enough to get them back to the heights Gary Williams achieved from 1994-2004 (National Title, Final Four, 5 Sweet 16s).

Rotation

Williams hit the transfer portal hard, starting with Indiana guard Myles Rice. Rice was a breakout star for Washington State's 2024 NCAA Tournament team, but his efficiency and shot creation fell off at Indiana as his turnover rate went up. His shooting tendencies are similar to Buzz's last lead scoring guard, Wade Taylor, in that Rice will shoot from anywhere, including midrange, and is more of a volume shooter than an efficient scorer. He'll put up numbers, but not likely in the most efficient way. Darius Adams is a four-star recruit who joins him in the back court. Adams is regarded as a quality shooter with solid size and defensive acumen. He'll likely start, but if he isn't ready both David Coit and Isaiah Watts provide options. Solomon Washington is one of two Texas A&M transfers to come with Buzz. He's an elite offensive rebounder and shot blocker but isn't terribly efficient at the rim or on the perimeter. Elijah Saunders joins from Virginia and after spending time there and at San Diego State, his pack line background should fit nicely with what Williams wants to do. Saunders is a good rebounder and switchable defender, but can struggle to score. The most likely star is another Texas A&M transfer, big man Pharrell Payne. He's a monster on the offensive glass and is an elite rim scorer, taking 69.7% of his shots at the rim and converting 66.7% of them. Off the bench, the man to watch is Kansas transfer Rakease Passmore. He didn't pan out in Lawrence but has a reputation as a tough, physical defender who uses his body well.

Style of Play

Historically, Buzz has adapted his tactics to his roster. At Marquette, he flipped from an up-tempo attack with the Three Amigos to a slow-paced grind and make threes offense with Lazar and the Midgets. Every year the pace and tactics seemed to shift a little bit to take advantage of his roster's strengths. Since leaving, he's had two clear eras. At Virginia Tech, he prioritized shooting, filling his rosters with guys capable of taking and making a ton of shots from the arc. At Texas A&M, his teams couldn't shoot a lick (sub-240 3PFG% all six years) but pounded the offensive glass (top-5 OR% each of the past three years). Offensively, this team seems to be built in the Texas A&M mold.

It's hard to put in perspective how offensively efficient Williams' teams have been despite being truly awful at shooting the basketball. In the past three years, there have been 342 teams to finish the year ranked #250 or worse in eFG%. Of those 342 teams, just 3 of those terrible shooting teams have finished the season with top-75 of overall offensive efficiency. Those teams were 2023 Texas A&M (#34), 2024 Texas A&M (#26), and 2025 Texas A&M (#42). Buzz is doing something no one else in the country is able to do. Expect Rice and Adams to initiate the offense and they'll likely be allowed to chuck shots. They create space with ball screens, and both Washington and Payne are devastating screen setters. When the shooters miss, Washington, Saunders, and Payne will hit the glass to get second chance looks. The Aggies were in the 100th percentile of rebound & scramble plays each of the past two years according to Hoop-Explorer and this roster sure looks like it plans to continue that trend. They won't score with efficient shooting, but the sheer physicality of their offensive rebounders to earn second chances and get to the free throw line will lead to high offensive efficiency regardless.

Texas A&M's shot chart was hideous, but offensive rebounds still led to the #42 offense

Shot chart from CBBAnalytics.com

On defense, Maryland will likely adapt Buzz's Seattle 3 defense. When he arrived at Texas A&M, he brought with him a matchup zone that sought to double-team ball-handlers and collapse inside to give backside help to rim protectors. Teams started to exploit that because they left corner threes open. The new system uses fewer double-teams but still collapses the paint to provide help defense on dribble drives. Buzz's defenders are now aggressive attacking closeouts and the interior defenders are schooled to read shots so they know where the ball is most likely to come off to limit offensive rebounds.

2025-26 Outlook

This team is going to be very difficult to prepare for and to play against. Few teams play with as much energy and physical abandon as Buzz's teams do. However with so many players new to the system, it will likely take time before they really gel. I can see Rice and Adams developing into a Wade Taylor/Zhuric Phelps type combo, and the offensive rebounding is already there. However counting on second chance scoring is a dicey proposition because eventually the defense will get a rebound, and a unique defense that blends multiple concepts will take time to institute. I'm expecting this to be a NCAA Tournament team, but don't be surprised if it isn't until late January or February that they really hit their stride. It will be an emotional game at Fiserv and I expect Marquette's fans to propel the team to a win over a less cohesive Terps squad.

What We've Learned

Early returns on Maryland haven't been great. In terms of meeting expectations, they have failed to cover the spread in all three outings and in the process fallen from #34 at kenpom to #60. Offensively, their only truly plus efficiency play type is after offensive rebounds, but unlike Buzz's past seasons Maryland has a 35.2% offensive rebounding rate, good for #102 in the nation. Pharrel Payne has been fantastic in that regard (13.1 OR%) but isn't getting much support. Marquette is actually better on the offensive glass this year (36.4%, #83). Health is also an issue, as Myles Rice only played one game so far in their home loss to Georgetown. In that game, Rice and Payne were the only players with over 100 Adjusted Offensive Rating, per kenpom. Beyond those two, their biggest weapons offensively have been threes from David Coit (36.8%) and Andre Mills (43.8%) but the rest of the team is shooting just 18.6% from deep so if you can limit those two like Georgetown did, Maryland is vulnerable. 

Chase Maryland from those left corner threes and their offense looks weak

Shot Chart from CBBAnalytics.com

The biggest problem for the Terps might be style of play. They are turning the ball over on more than 20.1% of their possessions, and even if Rice is back ball protection has never been a strength of his. Their defense is turning teams over, but their #22 defensive turnover rate might be a bit misleading as they are #195 in steals and #5 in Non-Steal TO%, so it's likely more a case of Coppin State and Alcorn State throwing the ball away than anything Maryland actually did. Every indicator in this young season is that Marquette should be able to get a far better result against Maryland than they did Indiana.

Marquette Connection

"I'll be here as long as they'll have me." Buzz Williams said that to Jason King of Yahoo! Sports in 2010. When he left four years later, many fans felt like Buzz was going back on his word. But in retrospect, while the on-court results (Sweet 16 in 2011 and 2012, Big East regular season title and Elite 8 in 2013) earned him the ability to keep coming back, what happened off the court sullied the positives of Buzz's Marquette tenure.

There were signs of trouble early on, such as when Marquette recruit Monterale Clark was charged with sexual assault. Clark never signed a Letter of Intent or arrived on campus, but his character was certainly revealed. There was also the recruitment of D.J. Newbill, which for years spoiled Marquette's reputation in Philly and to this day has prevented Williams from recruiting a single player from Philadelphia. It continued with the Vander Orange incident, which resulted in battery charges that didn't help ingratiate Williams' players to the Marquette community. The most notorious incident was when Marquette students were allegedly raped by basketball players on Williams' team, as detailed in a Chicago Tribune cover story. There was the time half the team got in a fight at Club 720 and cited for underage drinking. There were a spate of suspensions, including the bizarre time Marquette suspended three players for the first half and one for the second half against West Virginia so they would still have enough players to field a team. Assistant Scott Monarch was fired and Williams himself was suspended for recruiting violations on his watch.

Amidst all this, Athletic Director Steve Cottingham resigned over the sexual assault allegations. A rumored power struggle between Williams and administration ended with the resignation of President Rev. Scott Pilarz at the start of the 2013-14 school year and the departure of a second Athletic Director Larry Williams before Christmas of that same year. Maybe both were just ready to be done with the President/Athletic Director portions of their respective lives, but as Pilarz later returned to be President at University of Scranton and Larry Williams went on to be Athletic Director at Akron, that rationale would seem flimsy at best.

Ultimately, Buzz left Marquette for Virginia Tech in 2014. The belief at the time was that he was the one that wanted to go to Blacksburg, and suddenly "I'll be here as long as they'll have me" felt hollow. But after the recruiting scandals, the coach and player suspensions, the sexual assault allegations, the fights, and the multiple resignations, maybe Marquette had simply had enough. No one would argue Buzz was fired by Marquette. He wasn't. But they sure didn't put up much of a fight to keep him.

Southern Preview, 2025-26

Southern Jaguars

November 5th, 2025 at Fiserv Forum

Head Coach: Kevin Johnson (102-124 overall, 37-24 at Southern)

Three-Year NET Average: 251.7

Three-Year kenpom Average: 257.3

Projected 2025-26 T-Rank: 169

Michael Johnson & Southern target a second straight SWAC regular season title

Photo from gojagsports.com

State of the Program

Kevin Johnson led Southern to their second straight winning season, the first time they've posted winning records in consecutive years since 2012-16 under Roman Banks. The Jaguars also won the SWAC regular season title. Perhaps most impressive, Johnson returns 6 rotation players and a redshirt freshman. In the transfer era, Southern's combination of success and retention jumps off the page. This will be one of the top programs in the SWAC once again.

Rotation

Southern has a loaded and experienced back court. Michael Jacobs, Cam Amboree, and Joe Manning all have starting experience and are skilled distributors, allowing them to put 2-3 point guards on the floor at a time. Jacobs is a downhill player who excels at getting to the line while both Amboree and Manning are perimeter threats. Defensively, all three also excel creating turnovers. DeMariee Jones and Delang Muon are both high efficiency offensive rebounders who excel at the putback. Defensively, both are capable shot blockers. How much they play together will likely be determined by whether or not either can develop an outside shot. UMass transfer Malek Abdelgowad will be counted on to anchor the defense. In limited minutes, he was an elite defensive rebounder, though his offensive efficiency leaves much to be desired. The bench has shooting, rebounding, and size. Johnson's squad is deep and talented.

Style of Play

While they ranked 3rd in SWAC play, offense is not the Jaguars' strong suit. They play a physical style predicated on getting to the line, and when that fails, scoring second chance points on offensive rebounds. They like to get out in transition and get to the rim off direct drives and through pick & roll cuts. Expect some offensive improvement this year. Development in the system, the addition of a three-point threat in D2 transfer Rondae Hill, and the team's best interior scorer in Delang Muon back from injury all should help. The biggest question might be turnovers. Southern had four rotation players with 20+% turnover rates and three of them departed. If the Jaguars can protect the ball better and their guard depth creates looks for each other, there's room for offensive improvement.

Southern's physical interior defense is tough to score on

Shot chart from CBBAnalytics.com

Defense is where the Jaguars are strong and it's predicated on physicality. Johnson runs a rotation that goes 10-12 deep and attacks relentlessly. That attacking style led to a top-20 turnover rate and top-110 ranks in defensive eFG%, defensive rebound rate, and block rate. Opponents have also been top-20 in points scored from the free throw line each of the past two years and five Jaguars averaged more than 5 fouls/40 minutes last year. They will throw bodies out and punish opponents with little regard for the consequences. 

2025-26 Outlook

In the past eleven years, just two SWAC teams have finished in the T-Rank top-200 (#197 Texas Southern in 2022, #178 Grambling in 2023). Starting this year, Jackson State, Bethune-Cookman, and Southern are all projected in the top-200. This will be one of the strongest SWACs in years and Southern will be one of the top contenders. While they're likely to be a Quadrant 4 opponent on the resume, it's possible they could be the first SWAC team to crack the NET top-160 and land in Quadrant 3. Even with their success last year, Southern went just 5-8 in non-conference play against the 11th toughest schedule in the country. Expect a win for Marquette but a solid buy game on the resume come March.

What We've Learned

Southern played one game against Arkansas, losing a 109-77 contest. Four of the five starters were accurately projected, but Delang Muon did not play. Guard Fazl Oshodi picked up most of the extra minutes, but Southern ran a deep lineup with nine players getting 10+ minutes. Defensively, the Jaguars were primarily in man, though did mix in a 2-3 zone at times. The Jaguars had 12 turnovers, 10 of which were live-ball steals by the Razorbacks. Southern was also poor in their transition defense when Arkansas got out and running. Per Synergy, the Jaguars gave up 27 transition possessions with just 10 live-ball turnovers and Arkansas scored 1.407 ppp on those possessions (that would've been 100th percentile last year). Offensively, hot three point shooting (44.4%) made the final score line more respectable but Arkansas was in control end to end. 

Marquette Connection

Kevin Johnson has only been in charge of Southern for two years, but this won't be his first time coaching against Marquette. His first head coaching job was at Centenary. On December 1, 2000, he brought the Gentlemen to Milwaukee to take on Tom Crean and Marquette. The Golden Eagles scored the first 18 points of the game and Cordell Henry led the way with 17 points in a 66-47 victory. Despite the early run, it was a closer contest than the final score indicated. Centenary made an early push in the second half to close the score to 30-28, and trailed 56-47 before a 10-0 Marquette run to end the game.

Indiana Preview, 2025-26

Indiana Hoosiers

November 9th, 2025 at United Center in Chicago, IL

Head Coach: Darian DeVries (169-68 overall, 0-0 at Indiana)

Three-Year NET Average: 60.0

Three-Year kenpom Average: 55.3

Projected 2025-26 T-Rank: 42

Darian DeVries introduced as Indiana's new head coach

Photo from the Herald-Times

State of the Program

If the state of Indiana's program was healthy, Darian DeVries wouldn't be here. Mike Woodson underperformed kenpom projections all four years during his IU tenure and missed the NCAA Tournament each of the past two years. For a program that still views itself as a blue blood, that just wasn't good enough. DeVries is well regarded after winning 20+ games in each of his six years at Drake, amassing a stellar 150-55 record before going to West Virginia for one season. His Mountaineers went 19-13, narrowly missing the NCAA Tournament in what was arguably the biggest Selection Committee snub in NCAA history. While IU also had a strong case for being in, Woodson's fate had already been decided and DeVries being available early due to WVU being unjustly left out made for a quick early marriage. Thanks to that move and a busy transfer window, there is once again optimism in Bloomington.

Rotation

If you look up "mid-major all-star team" in a basketball dictionary, there would be a picture of this Indiana squad next to it. PG Tayton Conerway was the Sun Belt Player of the Year. He's an excellent distributor who is great at getting to the rim. According to EvanMiya.com, he's actually better defensively than offensively, ranking in the 99th percentile of all defenders last year and boasting the 3rd best steal rate in the nation. He's joined by Conference USA first-teamer Lamar Wilkerson in the back court. He's a weapon beyond the arc and solid secondary ball-handler, though historically his efficiency falls off against better competition. Jasai Miles was an ASUN third-team performer for North Florida who will likely have the most competition for his spot. He was a productive scorer and rebounder but will probably be a fifth option in this system. Tucker DeVries joins his father from West Virginia, but made his name at Drake where he was Freshman of the Year, two-time MVC Player of the Year, and two-time MVC Tournament MVP. Along with Conerway, he'll be expected to star for this team. He is a threat to score from anywhere on the floor, can create for himself and others, mixes it up on the glass, and can hold his own on the defensive end. He still has to show he can perform reliably at the high-major level but if his Drake levels of success translate he's an All-American candidate. Reed Bailey was a first-team Atlantic-10 player for Davidson where he was a volume scorer, but not hyper-efficient. His passing is probably his best attribute, as he's only average on the glass and is a poor interior scorer despite his height. While he shot well from three last year, his 41.5% conversion rate was on 1.3 attempts/game and he was a career 24.1% from deep coming into last year so I'm not convinced he can replicate that. Off the bench, Conor Enright (Drake with DeVries), Nick Dorn (Elon), Sam Alexis (Chattanooga), and Josh Harris (North Florida) all made their names at the mid-major level, even if they had high-major stops before arriving at IU. Expect Alexis' defensive intensity to push Bailey for the starting job in the middle, while Harris feels most likely to break through to the starting lineup given a potential freshman to sophomore year jump.

Style of Play

This will be DeVries' third job in as many years, so it's hard to gauge exactly what this team will look like. Based on his history, we can make some educated guesses. These aren't teams that drive to the rim looking to score. When they drive, it is either to kick the ball out to a shooter or to find a cutter. They take a lot of midrange, partially highlighted by Tucker DeVries' success at that level, but it persisted last year at WVU even though they were objectively bad at those shots. From the drive and kick, cut frequency, inside out, and pick and pop action frequency, expect a lot of ball movement. They are patient working for shots, only once in the last six years ranking in the top-200 in offensive possession length. I think what could snakebite this offense is taking bad shots. DeVries, Wilkerson, Bailey, and Harris all take midrange shots at a much higher rate than the norm, and Coach DeVries seems to encourage those shots. When you simply have more talent, like Drake often did in the MVC, it can still result in efficient offense (average 63.5 offensive rank from 2021-24), but when you are playing teams with comparable talent, like last year's West Virginia (#134 offensive rank in 2025), the scheme doesn't look as impressive.

Team Analyses from Hoop-Explorer.com

Defensively, Coach DeVries is a floor raiser. In the kenpom era, Drake has finished in the top-115 of defensive efficiency five times, with four of those being under DeVries. At WVU, he took them from #178 in 2024 to #15 in 2025. They play rigid man-to-man defense, limit second shots, and use their length to limit easy looks off the catch so offenses have to go one-on-one against them. Coach DeVries should also benefit from having both an elite defensive spearhead in Conerway and competent defenders like DeVries, Dorn, and Alexis. The problem is that aside from Conerway and DeVries, the best offensive players and best defensive players are not the same people, which will lead to a need to mix and match lineups. In addition, while West Virginia had a tremendous overall improvement, some of that can be chalked up to luck. Historically, three-point percentage defense is rarely something that aligns with particular programs (outside of Houston). The Mountaineers ranked #8 in 3PFG% defense last year at just 29.7%. That's the best mark of Coach DeVries' career, ranging from ranking #16 to #330 with an average rank of #116. His 3PFG% defense is a complete scatter plot. That coupled with uncharacteristically good rim protection leads me to believe Indiana's defense won't be as good as West Virginia's was a year ago. 

2025-26 Outlook

This team feels very hard to evaluate for 2025-26. There's no one returning and while there are some monster performers from lower levels, expecting all these guys to translate up successfully seems like a big ask. Last year's West Virginia team that was snubbed was still deservedly on the bubble with most of their rotation players starting their careers at other high majors. This roster isn't that. I suspect this team will take longer to gel. The early successes WVU had last year came because Javon Small and Tucker DeVries had All-American level performances early on coupled with their high-major talent playing their roles. This feels like a longer build. Indiana will likely end up around the bubble like West Virginia a year ago, and while they have the ability to get on the right side of that bubble, Marquette's experience should give them an advantage in the first week of the season.

What We've Learned

In terms of rotation, Enright started ahead of Miles, giving IU a two-point guard attack. While it's only one game, DeVries is trying to modernize his offense. Indiana's shot chart against Alabama A&M looks like a Nevada Smith fever dream, with just one of their fifty-eight shots taken in midrange. Offensively, Indiana had a quick trigger and it seemed like any time AAMU went under a screen, Indiana took the three. They got their twos at the rim in transition, off back-door cuts, and other forms of pick and roll. They also played beyond the whistle, clearly focused on taking advantage of the new continuation rules. Indiana overwhelmed AAMU with talent. IU was a bit loose with the ball and were soft on the offensive glass, so there are areas they can be exploited. It will be important to chase them off the three-point line, fight over screens, and keep the Hoosiers out of the paint. They move the ball a lot, so Marquette will need active hands to disrupt the offensive flow and create turnovers.

Indiana did well taking high-value shots against Alabama A&M

Shot Chart from @INBBallSource on Twitter

Defensively, they stuck to man-to-man, which will be something to monitor considering how Marquette's first two opponents both went heavy on zone. Conerway was the tip of the defensive spear, though Enright showed some token pressure in early possessions. In the half-court, they went over screens to take away the three, though the AAMU screen efforts were not very effective. Frankly, AAMU was out of their league and it was difficult to come out with many strong defensive takeaways.

Marquette Connection

#7 Marquette came into Chicago as -13.5 point favorites over DePaul on January 14, 2025. Marquette built an early 21-10 lead before DePaul surged back to take a 40-39 halftime lead. At the center of that was Conor Enright. The now-Indiana guard dished out 11 assists on the night. 7 of his 11 points came in the final 1:42 of regulation, including a game-tying layup that forced overtime with 3 seconds to play as Ben Gold goaltended the shot. In overtime, Enright did his best to keep DePaul in it, including assisting on two Isaiah Rivera threes in the final 13 seconds (part of a 12 points in 43 second explosion from Rivera) but it wasn't quite enough as Marquette escaped with the 85-83 victory.

Little Rock Preview, 2025-26

Little Rock Trojans

November 12th, 2025 at Fiserv Forum

Head Coach: Darrell Walker (101-113 at Little Rock)

Three-Year NET Average: 245.0

Three-Year kenpom Average: 246.7

Projected 2025-26 T-Rank: 142

Johnathan Lawson returns after leading Little Rock in scoring and assists

Photo from lrtrojans.com

State of the Program

Little Rock is poised to have their best season since Chris Beard caught lightning in a bottle in 2016. They return two starters, including likely OVC preseason Player of the Year Johnathan Lawson. The Trojans were in the driver's seat for the regular season title. Tied at 10-4 in the league, they hosted SEMO in the first of a four-game home stand. They lost that pivotal game and four of their last six to finish tied for third in the league. Little Rock's lowest points lined up with starting point guard Isaiah Lewis' struggles, as the Trojans went 2-8 in games he was sub-70 in offensive rating. Now they welcome back K.K. Robinson, who sat out the 2024-25 season but was a first-team all-OVC player in 2023-24. They have a loaded roster with legitimate star talent at multiple positions.

Rotation

The aforementioned Robinson is a three-level scorer who can create for himself and others while not shying away from contact. He's joined in the back court by Braxton Bayless, who has spent much of his time on the ball at Western Kentucky and Niagara but seems better suited to be a finisher than a creator. Lawson started his career as a role-player at Memphis, transferred and failed to break through at Creighton, and finally made his mark at Little Rock. Lawson was first-team all-OVC and effectively served as point forward for the Trojans. Also returning is OVC Defensive Player of the Year Tuongthach Gatkek, who was top-10 in the OVC in steal and block rates. Manning the middle is Penn State transfer Kachi Nzeh, who was a high-efficiency reserve at the high-major level but the staff likely hopes pans out as well as Lawson did translating down. A pair of JUCO sharpshooters, Khasen Robinson (K.K.'s brother) and Cameron Wallace, will provide bench scoring, while Caleb Pennyfeather gives an experienced big man reserve. The wildcard may be freshman forward Terrion Burgess. He was a five-star recruit according to 247 in June 2023 and earned offers from Auburn, Alabama, and Arkansas, among other high-major programs. He was a first-team all-state player in Arkansas, but his stock dropped and he finished his high school career as a three-star recruit, which likely led him to Little Rock rather than the SEC. He won't need to make an impact this year, but if he does pop, he has the talent and athleticism to be a difference maker in the OVC.

Style of Play

Despite adding Lawson, Little Rock fell from #165 to #305 in offensive efficiency from 2024 to 2025. This was the result of two things. First, the turnover rate dropped from #206 to #340 and the 2PFG% plummeted from #71 to #312. In both seasons, Little Rock did their best work at the rim, but they did so in different ways. The 2024 team was able to score anywhere inside the arc, to the point that even though they didn't shoot as well from three they were a better eFG% team as they were both higher volume and more efficient on drives to the rim, drive and kick, midrange shots, perimeter cuts, second chance points, and in transition. While Robinson may not deserve credit for all of that, it led to a simplified offense that ran through the bigs in 2025. It was the bigs cutting to the rim instead of the wings, it was post up plays that only worked when they got very deep position, and inside out plays where the bigs initiated the perimeter attack. Expect a turn back for the Trojans. Lawson and Bayless are better supporting ball-handlers and creators than anyone Robinson ran with before, and Robinson's own creativity will set his teammates up better as well. Expect fluid ball movement, three level scoring (admittedly with more midrange than is probably healthy), and a return to the pick & roll success they had with Robinson.

Walker pushes an aggressive defense. Last year they ranked #39 in defensive possession length, #20 in eFG% defense, #17 in forced turnover rate, and #3 in block percentage. They speed teams up and at their best use those shortened possessions to generate transition offense. Gatkek was insanely effective. He blocks shots, forces turnovers, is strong on the defensive glass, and per EvanMiya.com his 2.49 DBPR was by far best in the OVC. But he's not alone in terms of quality defense. Lawson and Nzeh provide up front length and rim protection while Robinson and Bayless are both solid defenders that force turnovers. This should once again be one of the top defenses in the OVC.

2025-26 Outlook

While memories of the Wojciechowski era at Marquette aren't always the fondest for Marquette fans, as someone to loves quality scheduling, bringing in Belmont in 2015, Fresno State in 2016, Vermont in 2017, Buffalo in 2018, and North Dakota State in 2019 was awesome. For five straight years, Marquette brought in teams fresh off NCAA Tournament bids and expected to compete for their league titles again. And while only Buffalo was a tourney team the year Marquette hosted them, three of the other four made the NIT, showing they were quality guarantee game opponents.

While they aren't coming off a NCAA bid I view this Little Rock team in a similar light. In Lawson, Robinson, and Gatkek, they have three of the best players in their league. Those three along with Nzeh began their careers at high-major programs, and along with Burgess give this team a ton of talent that is higher than the general level in their league. Even if this team comes up a little bit short, they could still be a Quadrant 3 game, which is fantastic for any guarantee game, and if they meet or overachieve expectations this could be a top-100 team flirting with Quadrant 2. This is a talented, deep, dangerous team that can actually test high-major competition and could be a team not just making the NCAA Tournament in March, but having a shot of putting a scare into a high seed in the Round of 64.

What We've Learned

Certainly nothing good. K.K. Robinson suffered another season-ending injury, which forced little used sophomore reserve Christian Hughes into the starting lineup. Bayless did well running the offense in their win over NAIA Arkansas Baptist, but that's not much of a test. This will put a dent in Little Rock's hopes for an OVC title, NCAA bid, and top-160 NET finish (Q3). The upside is this allows Walker to run out a bigger lineup, and both Terrion Burgess and Cameron Wallace were productive for the Trojans off the bench, but they turned it over too much for comfort (19.2% TO Rate) and likely won't be the same without an all-league caliber lead guard.

Marquette Connection

The last time Marquette played Little Rock it was a tight affair. In Tom Crean's second season, it was a late Cordell Henry layup that broke a tie to give Marquette a 48-46 lead with 18 seconds to play. Little Rock got two looks at a tie, with Milwaukee King grad Damion Ninkovic missing two shots in the closing seconds to allow Marquette to escape with the win. And tying this to another November foe, the coach of Little Rock that night was Porter Moser, who will lead Oklahoma against Marquette. "We had a good look," Moser said of Ninkovic's final attempt, "I'll live with Damion taking that shot any time, it was in and out."

Albany Preview, 2025-26

Albany Great Danes

November 3rd, 2025 at Fiserv Forum

Head Coach: Dwayne Killings (51-76)

Three-Year NET Average: 285.0

Three-Year kenpom Average: 288.3

Projected 2025-26 T-Rank: 318

Amir Lindsey will need to step up from promising freshman to star sophomore

Photo from UAlbanySports.com

State of the Program

2024-25 seemed like a breakthrough year for Dwayne Killings at Albany. His squad finished in the top half of the America East for the first time in four years, had an overall winning record, and reached the semifinals of the America East Tournament before losing to eventual champions Bryant. They also established an identity of winning the turnover battle and attacking the offensive glass. Much of that team was built on experience, and the loss of three senior starters and three junior transfers that started 10+ games each means that six of their top seven rotation players left over the summer.

Rotation

Who's back begins and ends with sophomore point guard Amir Lindsey. He is a high-efficiency scorer at all three levels, but will need to improve his distribution as he likely spends more time on the ball. He'll be joined by Fordham transfer Will Richardson, who started the first seven games for the Rams before going down with an injury. He provides Killings with a secondary ball handler that has shown he can deliver in big moments. Richardson led the Rams to a road win at Seton Hall last year. JUCO transfer Jaden Kempson is a downhill guard who excels scoring inside and getting to the free throw line. Up front, Cleveland State transfer Isaac Abidde was a spot starter who does a bit of everything, scoring inside and out, rebounding, blocking shots, and generating turnovers. He's joined by Oklahoma transfer Yaya Keita, who never produced much at the high-major level but they hope will thrive in the America East. On the bench, Albany has experienced players in NIU transfer guard Nasir Muhammad, Rider transfer wing Ife West-Ingram, UMass transfer wing Tarique Foster, and FIU big man transfer Okechukwu Okeke.

Style of Play

Killings has adapted his style yearly to the roster he has. In his first year with a number of holdovers from the old staff, they slowed the pace more and more as the season went on. They've played faster the past three years, with 2024 really standing out as they played at the 6th fastest pace in the country, largely because they had the athleticism and a lead guard in Sebastian Thomas that could go that quick. Offensively, expect a lot of one-on-one play from Albany. This is a team that loves to put their heads down and drive to the rim in isolation. Per Hoop-Explorer, Albany was in the 92nd percentile of rim attack plays but ranked just 350th in the percentage of shots at the rim that were assisted. Richardson and Kempson might help with offensive flow, but the Great Danes have only had two individual players in the top-500 of national Assist Rate in Killings' four years and as a team have been sub-220 all four years and sub-300 in three of four. Expect a moderate pace geared at protecting the ball and trying to take the defense on one-on-one.

Albany has been eviscerated at the rim for three straight years

Shot chart from CBBAnalytics.com

Defensively, the good news is the Great Danes have found an identity on that side of the court. Killings' defense loves to attack ballhandlers. They have ranked #1 or #2 in America East turnover rate in three of four seasons. They're also aggressive at the arc, where they effectively chase teams off the three-point line. They also work on cleaning the glass, where they've been in the 65th or better percentile on the defensive end three of the last four years. The bad news is they've been ranked #280 or worse in overall defense nationally each of the past three years, largely because their two-point defense has been miserable (#357/340/335 2PFG% defense rankings). Expect them to play an attacking defensive style that leads to turnovers, takes away the perimeter, and limits opponents to one shot, but at the expense of protecting the interior.

2025-26 Outlook

This feels like a very important season for Killings with a lot of question marks. Will Brown had 5 NCAA appearances and was the winningest D1 coach in Albany history, but three straight losing seasons got him fired and Killings hired. If Killings has a losing record for the fourth time in five years, Albany could be looking for a new coach come March. Last year Lindsey showed promise, but he will have a lot more responsibility as the likely lead guard. Most of the transfers are coming from more prestigious leagues but need to up their production at this level. If everything breaks right, this team might have enough to challenge for the top half of the league and be a contender in the America East Tournament. I think the combination of Lindsey growing from freshman to sophomore and a wealth of D1 experience at higher levels will be enough to keep Killings in Albany. This team will likely be a mid-Quadrant 4 opponent come Selection Sunday, but don't be surprised to see them playing in the semifinals or even finals of the America East Tournament. 

Marquette Connection

If the name Dwayne Killings rings a bell, it's because he was an assistant at Marquette before taking the Albany job. Killings was on Steve Wojciechowski's staff from 2018-2021, moving on to Albany before Wojo was dismissed. Though Killings left, he left his mark on Marquette for years after his departure. His recruiting connections helped land Justin Lewis, Stevie Mitchell, and Kam Jones, among others. While it was Shaka Smart and his staff that kept those players around, it was Killings that got them in the door. And he's not the only former Marquette staff member at Albany; assistant coach Dan Madhavapallil was a student assistant who worked his way up the ladder under Buzz Williams and Wojciechowski before going with Killings to Albany.

Killings in his time at Marquette (and Madhavapallil in the lower right corner)

Photo from gomarquette.com

Previewing Marquette's Schedule

Marquette's full schedule has been announced. That means that basketball season is getting close. Beginning next Monday, Cracked Sidewalks will release our opponent previews. These will start with non-conference opponents release over three weeks, followed by conference opponents released over three weeks. Today we're going to preview the preview with some quick thoughts on opponents, the schedule structure, and what you can expect from Cracked Sidewalks in the coming weeks. Bear in mind the order for Big East previews hasn't been determined, so we will instead just provide dates and general Big East schedule thoughts.

Non-Conference Previews

September 22: Albany Preview - Marquette opens the season with a visit from the Great Danes and a couple familiar faces on the sidelines.

September 23: Southern Preview - This team is the favorite in the SWAC according to T-Rank and could be the best metric team from the SWAC of the analytics era. The Jaguars are a very good buy game opponent.

September 24: Indiana Preview - Marquette's first high-major contest takes place in Chicago against the new look Hoosiers. Indiana has some highly productive players but need that talent to translate up to the high-major level.

September 25: Little Rock Preview - This is an excellent buy game opponent. The Trojans are loaded with all-league talent and have Quadrant 3 or higher upside.

September 29: Maryland Preview - Marquette welcomes Buzz Williams back to Milwaukee. The Terps look like another tough defensive unit that plays bully-ball offense, but may need time to gel.

September 30: Dayton Preview - Most outlets are down on the Flyers, but some of their offseason departures may be addition by subtraction and they have a big man anchor with NBA upside.

October 1: Central Michigan Preview - The Chippewas are trying to replicate Drake's success by hiring a star Division 2 coach. Few coaching staffs have as many coaches that won national titles, but none of them have done it at this level.

October 2: Oklahoma Preview - It's another trip to Chicago, this time against Porter Moser and the Sooners. This is a team with NCAA Tournament talent but will need a number of guys to bounce back from injury to realize it.

October 6: Valparaiso Preview - It could be a tough year for the Beacons, who lost a lot in the transfer portal and had to plumb mostly outside Division 1 to replace those losses.

October 7: UW-Madison Preview - Bucky brings in a mix of returning stars and solid transfer performers. Making the Tourney will be the goal but can they compete once again for a protected seed?

October 8: Purdue Preview - Marquette closes out non-conference play at Mackey against a Purdue team with National Championship aspirations. The offense will be elite, but will the defense be good enough to play into April?

Conference Previews

October 13, October 14, October 15, October 16 - Big East Week 1

October 20, October 21, October 22, October 23 - Big East Week 2

October 27, October 28, October 29 - Big East Week 3

I feel like the Big East season really breaks down into three mini-seasons. Let's look at them in order:

Season 1: The Imbalance (Games 1-7)

Georgetown, at Creighton, Seton Hall, at UConn, Xavier, Villanova, at St. John's

Marquette opens their season with what should be four very winnable home games mixed with the three most difficult road games. Of Georgetown, Seton Hall, Xavier, and Villanova, maybe at most one of those teams on paper looks like they will be in the hunt for an at-large bid. Obviously Marquette lost to Xavier last year at home, so upsets happen, but this is a stretch where Marquette should be able to get off to a winning start at home. But in between these games are trips to Creighton, UConn, and St. John's. Those are the three teams most frequently picked at the top of the Big East and getting even one win out of those three would be considered an achievement.

Personally, I love this start. Even if Marquette only wins the home games, they will still have a winning record through the first third of the schedule and will have their hardest games all out of the way. It really sets the team up well for success in the rest of the season as long as they don't stumble at home.

Season 2: Playing the Favorite (Games 8-13)

at DePaul, Providence, at Butler, Creighton, at Seton Hall, Butler

Anything less than 4-2 in this stretch would probably be considered a disappointment. Granted, there are three road games, but Marquette should be favored to win all of those. Creighton is tough on any court, but getting them at home in a first chance at a marquee conference win comes right in the middle of the schedule. The spacing of these games is a plus. Four days off instead of three when we go on the road to Butler and Seton Hall. A full week of rest before we take on Butler again for National Marquette Day, so the team will be fully focused on that game.

After those tough opening road games, this is a chance to get a long winning streak going. Marquette should be able to improve their position both in the league and moving up NCAA Tournament seed lines.

Season 3: The Gauntlet (Games 14-20)

at Villanova, at Xavier, St. John's, at Georgetown, DePaul, at Providence, UConn

The final stretch is a mix of road games and tough home tests. Villanova and Xavier don't look like they'll be tourney level this year on paper. Georgetown and Providence both have at-large upside, and those could be resume moving games in the final weeks (for good or bad). This is also a great chance to get some marquee wins at home with both St. John's and UConn coming to town right before the Big East Tournament. Don't count out DePaul as having more value that usual either, I don't think home DePaul is the easiest game in this stretch (testament to Chris Holtmann).

This is the toughest part of the schedule. The winnable games are mostly on the road, which is never easy, and the home games are not gimmes. This is where we'll determine if Marquette has enough to shock the Big East like they did in 2023 or if they are just fighting to stay on the right side of the bubble.

Closing Big East Schedule Thoughts

I would really like to have more home games on the weekends. The Bucks don't play a single Saturday home game in December, January, or February, but Marquette only ended up two Saturdays in that three-month stretch. But there's no shortage of Tuesday/Wednesday games in that same stretch. In terms of drawing big crowds and getting both students and families into the building, that's a disappointment.

But in terms of schedule structure, this is fantastic. Marquette only plays consecutive road games twice, and never has to play three straight on the road or four out of five. Having a week off ahead of National Marquette Day is excellent and really lets fans get excited for that game. The schedule structure, with the three toughest road games early sets up so that if this team could break through and compete at the top of the league, the schedule will only aid that. The closing stretch will be difficult, but it will be a good measure of where this team is at come March. If this team is ready to continue at the level of the past three years, those final games will be a chance to earn a top seed in the Big East Tournament. If not, it'll still be a chance to earn an NCAA bid. I also like that Marquette plays all 10 Big East teams once before playing any of them twice.

Stay tuned, previews will starting soon and carry us right up until the week before the 2025-26 season tips off. Don't worry, we'll have you primed and ready to Ring Out Ahoya, starting next week.

Too much young talent in the program to call this a rebuilding year for Marquette basketball

By Tom Keegan 

The departure of All-American Kam Jones and all-world defender/energizer Stevie Mitchell and leading rebounder David Joplin leaves many believing that this will be a rebuilding season for Marquette. 

Not buying it. 

If just 5 of 8 of the following developments, listed in order of most to least difficult to imagine, come to fruition, this could prove to be Shaka Smart’s best March team yet.

1. Chase Ross improves from a 36% 3-point shooter to 40%, becomes Marquette’s go-to scorer, earns second-team All-American honors and is projected to be drafted in the first round. From the moment Ross took the floor against Radford in his Marquette debut, it was obvious he had natural basketball instincts, especially defensively, where he always seemed to be right there to lend help. His rim-rocking leaping ability was obvious from the go as well. 

One of the nation’s best defenders, he can guard anyone from a point guard to a power forward and repeatedly has shut down the opposition’s top scorer, all while playing the passing lanes like few others in the college game. 

Football-tough, relentlessly aggressive and super smart (Academic All-Big East), he didn’t need to be a go-to scorer his first three seasons. Now Maquette needs one. He might be the guy. Going from 36% to 40% from outside the arc isn’t easy, but since when does Ross limit himself to easy challenges? 

2. Almost left this out so as not to create false hope. I have no sources at Marquette, so nothing I write here is based on any inside knowledge, but I do spend a lot of my idle time thinking about Marquette basketball, close to 365 days a year. Again, this one is a wild hope, not anything based on reality. 

Here goes: Freshman Sheek Pearson, earmarked for a redshirt season, makes so many strides the first couple of weeks of practice that the coaches determine he already is good enough to make Marquette significantly better this season and they decide to trade the redshirt for a blue-and-gold one and he’s all for launching his college career a year early. 

3. Damarius Owens, impaired by injuries last season, stays healthy and makes the biggest improvement of anyone on the roster. Long and quick and blessed with a soft touch and a guard’s handle, Owens might have the highest ceiling on the team. If this is the first year that he shows that in games, look out. He’s the first Marquette player I can remember from Rochester, NY, my hometown.

4. Royce Parham the sophomore has production similar to or slightly better than what Gold had as a junior, only with better rebounding numbers. In 25.3 minutes a game, Gold averaged 7.4 points, 4.3 rebounds and shot .371 from 3. If Parham earns that much playing time, would anybody be shocked if he gave Marquette 9 points and 5.5 boards a game and matched Gold’s 3-point percentage? 

5. Ben Gold has a healthier season, one without shin splints for example, and continues the climbing trajectory of his 3-point shooting percentage: 30.0 as a freshman, 35.9 as a sophomore, 37.1 as a junior, and improves as a rebounder, not an easy goal for someone who doesn’t appear to have rebounding instincts, but also not impossible to attain. 

6. Nigel James is ready to lead the team from the point guard position as a freshman. He has the confidence, the quickness and the skill to do it. He didn’t let the great competition he faced in practice and games send him into retreat mode at either end. 

I’ll never forget watching him on TV playing against La Lumiere, blocking Jack Smiley’s shot at the rim in a way that reminded me of a taller, less built version of another James, first name Dominic. 

7. Sean Jones is fully recovered from the ACL surgery that shortened his season two years ago and kept him out of games last season, and he embraces whatever role Shaka has for him, be it sixth-man energizer playing starters’ minutes or whatever. His great attitude makes him willing to embrace any role pretty much a given. As for the knee recovery, it takes most athletes about a year-and-a-half to regain the strength in the knee, which made a redshirt last season for one of college basketball’s fastest players a smart decision. 

8. Adrien Stevens’ game is developed enough for him to play major minutes. No reason to believe he won’t. 

Even without Mitchell, this team has more potential to force turnovers than any of Shaka’s Marquette teams. Always having two of the following, sometimes three and even four on the floor at the same time, will turn opponents sloppy: James, Jones, Stevens, Ross, and if he improves his shot enough to earn any minutes, Tre Norman. At this point, that might be a big if. But picture the first four on the floor with Gold, who moves his feet well enough that he’s not an automatic release for the opponent when pressing and that’s a lot of havoc for most teams to handle. 

Increased depth means Shaka can apply even more defensive pressure without worrying about exhausting his players or getting them into foul trouble. 

Bruce Kelley, Stevens’ high school coach at powerhouse Bullis, calls Stevens a “relentlessly hard worker.” 

Stevens’ family tree is as impressive as any Marquette player’s since Wesley Matthews, who earned $116.9 million in NBA salary. Stevens’ grandfather, Curtis Greer, was a first-team All-American defensive end at Michigan and played nine seasons in the NFL. Adrien’s father, Larry Stevens Jr., played linebacker at Michigan and spent two seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals, and his mother played soccer at Michigan. 

Even if it doesn’t end up being Shaka’s best March team, Marquette fans will be entertained more than followers of the vast majority of fan bases. Smart’s program-building strategy of developing instead keeping the transfer portal turnstile spinning makes 

Marquette a way more interesting program to follow than most. It deepens the connection spectators at Fiserv Forum feel with the players because they have seen them get better every year in a program that puts more emphasis than most on individual instruction. 

The difference between watching a player recruited out of high school by Marquette and a transfer feels a little like watching your own child play youth sports compared to watching one of your friend’s children. It’s just not the same. 

Plus, little by little, it figures to improve recruiting. A player can trust that he will be going to a school at which he need not look over his shoulder for an older player coming in from the outside to take his spot. The more that happens elsewhere, the more it helps Marquette’s future. 

Tom Keegan, Marquette ’81, is a baseball Hall of Fame voter who has written a column for the New York Post, Lawrence Journal World and Boston Herald, and now writes for Onwardtrojans.com in Chesterton, Indiana. Tom can be reached at TomKeeganmu@gmail.com