Marquette sinks the Islanders

Marquette rolled to an 86-50 victory over Texas A&M Corpus Christi behind a career-high 21 points from freshman Vander Blue. A second half knee injury to senior forward Joseph Fulce - which appears to be serious - deflated the Warriors' spirit after the game however. With the win MU improves to 7-2 on the season.





MU victory tainted by Fulce injury, per Rosiak.
Rosiak blogs a recap.
Official MU recap.

5-star Vander Blue leaves MU just a couple of recruits from title contender in 2012

In the first eight years of the Rivals.com database, Marquette signed five 4-star recruits (Dameon Mason, Lazar Hayward and the Three Amigos). However, it wasn’t until this week’s decision by Vander Blue to come to MU that we landed our first 5-star recruit.

Only a couple of dozen players a season achieve 5-star status, so I immediately wondered how much of an impact Blue’s arrival might have on MUs success when he arrives for the 2011 season.

I’ve referenced the “Win Credits” system developed in The Ultimate Hoops Guide , which is a system of measuring a player’s contribution to his team’s win-loss record to determine how many wins he was worth to the team in a given year. Dwyane Wade was worth 9.6 wins to Marquette in 2003, the highest total in MU history.

To try to get a handle on Blue’s potential impact, I went back to look at the number of wins a 5-star player typically creates when he arrives in the Big East for his freshman season, and then how that number grows when he is a sophomore and junior.

This basically boiled down to calculating all player seasons for Louisville, Villanova, UConn and Syracuse since the league expanded, since they had almost all of the five-star players the first few years.

What are the chances of Blue being a Big East superstar immediately as a freshman in 2011? It's a tough conference, and only two 5-star freshman have been immediate Big East stars worth five or six wins their first season - Donte Greene (worth 5.5 wins to Syracuse in 2008) and Samardo Samuels (5.3 Louisville 2009).

What are the chances Blue has a strong freshman season, then takes over as a Superstar his sophomore season in 2012? Three other 5-star players had solid freshman seasons then exploded to be worth six or seven wins as sophomores - Syracuse’s Jonny Flynn (4.4 wins as a freshman, 6.9 as a sophomore), UConn’s Rudy Gay (3.9, 7.1) and Louisville’s Earl Clark (1.4, 6.0). The only bad thing about getting that good is that four of those five left after their breakout season, with only Earl Clark sticking around to post a ridiculous 9.1 wins last year as a junior for Louisville.

How often does a 5-star player not even put up big numbers? The good news is that while the majority of 5-star players don't dominate immediately, only one of 16 five-star players I researched, Curtis Kelly, was a dud. In addition to the five superstars mentioned above, big numbers were put up by Derrick Caracter, Corey Fisher, Paul Harris, Terrence Jennings, Kyle Lowry, Juan Palacios, Stanley Robinson, Corey Stokes, Kemba Walker and Darryl Watkins.

I averaged the Win Credits for these 5-star players during their freshman, sophomore and junior seasons (but not the senior year since most 5-stars are in the NBA by then) and then did the same thing for 4-star, 3-star and other recruits entering Big East play to see how many wins we might expect from each member of the team for the next few years:

How many wins to expect based on a player's year and stars

Stars	Fr.	So.	Jr.	Sr.
0-2 Stars	0.1	0.7	0.9	1.1
3-star	0.3	1.2	2.1	3.2
4-star	1.7	3.1	4.3	4.4
5-star	2.4	4.7	6.3	NA

THE BOTTOM LINE

The first thing you can notice from this graph is that 4- and 5-star players are able to have an immediate impact in the Big East as freshman, typically worth around two additional wins to their teams during their freshman season. However, a freshman with three or fewer stars typical will have almost no impact their freshman year, which makes it quite possible that MU will get a lot more out of the JUCO players than the 3-star freshmen in the coming season.

If we look at the wins generated by each player in 2009, then how many wins we expect from each MU player during the coming three seasons we get the table below. For the players who already played for MU last year, we look at how far above or below these averages they have been so far in their career, and assume they will improve as much as expected from that point for the coming seasons.

Projected Wins from each player from 2009 to 2012 seasons

Player	2009	2010	2011	2012
Maurice Acker, Sr. G, 0 Stars	0.0	0.8	G	G
Vander Blue, HS G, 5 Stars	HS	HS	2.4	4.7
Dwight Burke, Grad F-C, 0 Stars	0.1	G	G	G
Jimmy Butler, Jr. G-F, 0 Stars	1.3	2.0	3.6	G
Dwight Buycks, Jr. G, 3 Stars	JC	2.1	3.2	G
Junior Cadougan, Inj. G, 4 Stars	HS	RS	1.7	3.1
David Cubillan, Sr. G, 0 Stars	0.0	1.3	G	G
Robert Frozena, Jr. G, 0 Stars	0.0	0.0	0.0	G
Joseph Fulce, Jr. F, 3 Stars	0.0	0.9	2.0	G
Lazar Hayward, Sr. F, 4 Stars	6.3	6.4	G	G
Patrick Hazel, Trans. F-C, 3 Stars	0.0	T	T	T
Dominic James, Grad G, 4 Stars	3.4	G	G	G
Darius Johnson-Odom, So. G, 3 Stars	JC	1.2	2.1	3.2
Jamail Jones, HS F, 4 Stars	HS	HS	1.7	3.1
Wesley Matthews, Grad G, 4 Stars	6.6	G	G	G
Jeronne Maymon, Fr. G-F, 4 Stars	HS	1.7	3.1	4.3
Youssaupha Mbao, Fr. C, 3 Stars	HS	0.3	1.2	2.1
Jerel McNeal, Grad G, 4 Stars	7.4	G	G	G
Chris Otule, So. C, 2 Stars	0.0	0.6	0.8	1.0
Erik Williams, Fr. F, 4 Stars	HS	1.7	3.1	4.3
Projected Wins on known roster	25.1	19.0	24.9	25.8+

THE BOTTOM LINE
Key = a number indicates how many wins the player is projected to give MU that season, HS is a player in high school that year, G indicates graduated by that year, T indicates transferred out of MU, RS indicates red shirt season, JC indicates in Junior College that season.

2010 Outlook – 19.0 wins on roster. We already know there were 25 wins in 2009, and how top heavy MU was with great seasons from the Three Amigos and Lazar, but a lot of ZEROS on the roster. Buzz has obviously brought a lot more balance to the roster, but the roster only shows 19 wins this season. The Three Amigos were WAY ahead of the average pace for 4-star freshmen, so if 4-star freshmen Jeronne Maymon and/or Erik Williams are anywhere near Dominic James’ ridiculous 5.4 wins his freshman year, instead of the 1.7 we would normally expect from a 4-star freshman, then MU could certainly be better despite the painful season-ending injury to Junior Cadougan, the highest rated of this year’s 4-star freshman. On average though, we would expect juniors Dwight Buycks and Jimmy Butler to be on par or slightly ahead of the 4-star freshmen at about 2 wins each, meaning Hayward does need to post another 6+ win season and Cube and Acker need to get back to their levels from two years ago to add a little from the backcourt.

2011 Outlook – 24.9 wins on roster - equal to 2009. The great news is that with the arrival of Cadougan and Blue in 2011, and the anticipated improvement of everyone else, MU would be expected to return right to where we were in 2009 with about 25 wins. In addition, the production would be much more spreadout, meaning one injury wouldn’t end the season like it did after DJ went down last year. In addition, the production would be coming from all five positions as long as Mbao and/or Otule develop.

2012 Outlook – 25.8 wins PLUS three more players. What is really mindboggling though is the 2012 season. At first glance it appears the 2012 roster only looks about one game better than the 2011 roster. However, the 2011 roster anticipates 24.9 wins from 11 players. The 2012 roster shows 25.8 wins from only eight players. MU will have three new players by then, and if it were, for example, a 3-star JUCO (2.1), a 4-star freshman (1.7) and another 5-star freshman (2.4), we would anticipate 32 wins!

That’s a potential national title contender.

Obviously injuries, transfers and under performances could lower any of these individual player Win Credits. However, the numbers are just as likely to be higher for players that perform above the average like the Three Amigos and Lazar have been doing their whole careers, or for upgrade recruits that transfer in or take the spot of any of these players that cannot play for any reason. The overall pool of talent that Buzz has put together is so much deeper and more balanced than the past teams, that right now we are on course for a regroup/winning season this year even with no bust outs, being back to last year’s level by the 2011 season, and then the sky is absolutely the limit for 2012.

Patience is tough when we’ve been spoiled by being so good every year in the Big East so far, but one step backward this year could easily be followed by giant steps forward.

Friday Update - getting ready for IPFW

Hey there... it's been a slow week both here on Cracked Sidewalks and at MUScoop.com. There's just not a lot going on with the long break between the UW@Madison game and the game tomorrow. Hope that the students are doing well with their finals and will be ready to let off a little steam.

Good news, though, because the team kicks off with two games in the next four days. Tomorrow, the team wraps up a three-game homestand with a game against IPFW. Last year, Marquette won 80-56. Here is the official announcement from Marquette, complete with game notes, and two podcasts (Buzz and Burke). Rosiak also chips in with his own blog entry about the game. Check out the link to see what IPFW actually stands for, as well as some info about IPFW.

In Buzz' podcast and the Rosiak blog, Coach Williams mentions that IPFW just won on the road 63-46 at Valpo, which probably sounds impressive to Marquette fans considering how we needed Dominic James to score the last 18 points of the game for us to barely escape on our last trip. However, Valpo just isn't that good (#281 Pomeroy), so I am less impressed. They're playing worse than CMU, UNI, and UWM. It's not as though IPFW is that good either, although they are the best (#217) of all the cupcakes so far. We'll have more on the matchups in our IPFW preview tomorrow.

Rosiak also mentions that if you're hoping Joe Fulce and Chris Otule will be back by the Tennessee game, don't count on it. Buzz doesn't expect either player back until the Presbyterian game (12/28), and even then he expects them to be bad.

Speaking of the Tennessee game, Marquette travels down to the "neutral site of Nashville" next Tuesday as part of the SEC-Big East Invitational. There will be four games as part of this year's event, with two games on Tuesday in Nashville and two games next Thursday in Cincinnati. All games will be on either ESPN or ESPN2. It goes without saying that this is going to be a huge test for Marquette, but I'm sure that the coaching staff won't let the team look past IPFW.

Finally, pay attention to the Season Ticket Holder of the Game for tomorrow's IPFW matchup. Cracked Sidewalks' own Kevin Buckley will be on the court to receive the honor. Congrats, Kevin... I guess buying tickets for your friends/family by the gross added up.

Haunted Hoops 2008

UPDATED

I took the family to Haunted Hoops again this year. While the Fish Fry was sold out, the attendance at the scrimmage was way down, perhaps half of what it was in years' past. Either October 31st (Trick-or-Treat for non-cry-baby communities) gave reason for people to skip the scrimmage, or .. there's a lack of enthusiasm for this Top 20 team. -- It was a rough off-season.

Took a few pictures, shot some video for your viewing.

The best picture of the night is this, entitled "Mr. Incredible: Man of Steel"



Here's the slide show:


And the video:


Also, there was plenty of MU action and reporting as well. Here's the official GoMarquette.com release, which includes a nice photo gallery of the event. A poster on MUScoop also has several nice pictures as well. Eric Silver has a nice story at MarquetteHoops.com, where he is impressed by the newcomers. Finally, in one of his three entries over the weekend, Rosiak had his own recap of Haunted Hoops.

In case you weren't aware, Marquette also scrimmaged Nebraska today. Rosiak's article has some nice comments from Tony Benford, who obviously was on the Nebraska staff last year. Rosiak also has some information about the scrimmage against Nebraska. Because of NCAA rules, Rosiak couldn't be there, but he managed to interview Buzz and get his feedback. If you read Buzz' comments, you can get some solid insight into what Buzz is thinking about the team right now. (Rob is particularly happy to hear Buzz consistently mention the value of a possession).

One player who wasn't going to scrimmage against Nebraska was Joe Fulce. Unfortunately, Rosiak is the bearer of bad news as Fulce will be out 2-4 weeks with a knee injury. This means that he could miss anywhere from 1-7 games. Get well soon, Joe.

In some positive news, Roy and Harv Schmidt (Bullseye) have a piece on their Sun-Times blog about Marquette recruiting the Chicago-land area. I really didn't follow their statement that "all the pieces are in place", but their information on Chris Colvin and Darius Smith was fantastic. Bullseye also provides some great information on players in the 2010, 2011, and (are you kidding me), the class of 2012.

Rob Lowe contributed to this post.
UPDATE: Included information and link about the Nebraska scrimmage recap

One Day Until Marquette Madness

As a reminder, Marquette Madness is tomorrow. Check out the
GoMarquette.com Home Page for the updated introduction video. The folks in the Athletic Department have really done a fine job in the last year in terms of making content available on the web, and this is just a continuing example.

Doors open at the Al tomorrow at 6 pm.

Season Previews are starting to roll out, and Fox Sports and Sporting News check in with their updates. The Fox Sports article by Jeff Goodman is fairly vanilla story. He picks us #18 in the country and fifth in the BE. DeCourcy has a decent article as well. It's probably the best article yet I've seen, although there is one notable issue. He fails to even mention Joe Fulce. Read the comments of the article for a nice criticism by Eric Silver.

The MUTV Sports guys are back with a Video Interview of Lazar Hayward. Good show, fellas. It never fails to impress me how well the Marquette players conduct themselves. If nothing else, the players are easy to root for.

Finally, Trevor Mbakwe committed to Minnesota and Tubby Smith last night.

Getting Ready for Marquette Madness

The folks at MU just keep churning out great content. If you head to the front page of
GoMarquette.com, you'll see a teaser video for Marquette Madness. The event will start at 6:30 on 10/25, and doors to the Al McGuire center open at 6. Click here for more details, although it'll be the standard team introductions, dunk contest, scrimmages, and more. All fans in attendance will receive a free poster and Converse/Brand WADE T-shirt.

Can't make it up for the game? MUTV will broadcast live on GoMarquette.com. For more information, check out the MUTV Sports blog. Right now they have a short interview with Maurice Acker up on the site.

Also, MarquetteHoops.com has articles up on Tony Benford and Joe Fulce.

By the way, tomorrow is Big East Media Day (for the men). The ladies have their moment on Thursday. Here's a list of men's players attending from all schools (pdf). All four seniors will be there for Marquette. Also, to file away, here is a composite Big East Schedule, but of course we only care about this schedule. I'm sure that there will be plenty of updates coming out from Marquette and probably from Rosiak as well. Stay tuned for more information...

UPDATE: Big East Media Day

A weekend full of updates

Just in time for your Monday time-kill at the office.......

First, a look at recruiting. 2009 Chicago point guard Chris Colvin will take his official visit to Marquette this weekend. Colvin, a senior at Whitney Young, is also considering USC, Iowa State and Providence. Per the Bullseye Brothers each of these programs stands an equal chance of landing him. Colvin will be on campus for Marquette Madness which is scheduled for 6pm on Saturday, October 25 in the Al McGuire Center.

There is a brief blurb about the start of practice at gomarquette.com. Not only that, but MU is rolling out podcasts at a breathtaking rate these days. The previous link has podcasts with Lewis Orr, Scott Monarch, and Robert Frozena. Plus, Dominic James and Jimmy Butler recap the first weekend of practice. (Again, all of the links open up mp3's directly). There's plenty more in this informative series -- here's the landing page.

Over the weekend Bob Wolfley of the Journal-Sentinel filed this report which included updates from MU -- mostly on player reactions to the new coach.

BIG EAST media day will be held this Wednesday in NYC. Ahead of the curve, Adam Zagoria picks MU for an underwhelming 7th in the Big East -- which I suppose speaks to several factors, namely coaching turnover, a much-improved league, and MU's rotten front line.

MU updates from the past several days

Let's get caught up on the program, shall we.

Marquette's 2008-2009 out of conference schedule is nearly complete. The Warriors have agreed to play at North Carolina State this winter, with a return game at the Bradley Center the following year. The Wolfpack finished last season 15-16. After losing its top three scorers from last season, including first-round pick J.J. Hickson, NCSU should be one of the worst teams in the ACC next season.

CNNSI's Luke Winn is blunt about the upcoming season for the Warriors noting that making the Sweet 16 is a baseline expectation for new coach Buzz Williams, despite his relative anonymity.

Buzz Williams sure can recruit. HoopScoop rates the current 2009 class as the second-best in the nation. Impressive stuff -- and Buzz Williams is likely not done recruiting for that group.

Interested in golfing with a Marquette basketball great? Sign up for the 1st Annual Warrior Day Golf Outing to benefit the American Liver Foundation, Marquette University's non-revenue sports and the Hank Raymonds Educational Center. The event will be held on July 28th at The Bog.

In case you didn't catch it, GoMarquette.com is now podcasting. Check out the podcasting section of the website, where you can download interviews and video highlights to your iPod. Don't have your iPod with you? Download the *.mp3's directly. We highly recommend the interviews with Jimmy Butler and Joe Fulce. As some commentary, one of the best parts about being a Marquette fan is that our players represent themselves well. The players are easy to root for, so it's nice to see Butler and Fulce carrying on with that tradition.

Joseph Fulce sticks with MU and more

UPDATED
"Everything's real good. I'm still going to Marquette," he said. "I'm excited, my family's excited. It's a great place for me, I'm going to get a great Jesuit education."

After a stretch of uncertainty with key recruits in the wake of the Buzz Williams hiring, Todd Rosiak once again puts fans' minds at ease today with a positive update on Joseph Fulce, the 6'6" combo forward from Tyler JC. Fulce remains an MU commit.

What's more, for the second time in as many days we're hearing from recruits and those close to them about how much they value a Jesuit education . Consider what John Harmatuck, Erik Williams' high school coach, said yesterday to the guys at the SportsBubbler:

“Erik’s parents really value a Jesuit education,” Harmatuk said. “Erik went to a Jesuit school (Strake Jesuit) as a freshman. His parents are very impressed with Marquette as a university, first and foremost.”

Not to mention what the hyper-talented Williams said himself at the SportsBubbler:

"I committed to Marquette because of everything that it stands for and has to offer."

These comments above reflect the kinds of values many traditional students appreciate when they decide to attend Marquette University - -and its good to see future student-athletes recognize and value what differentiates MU.

Oh, by the way ...... Fulce and Williams can play. Check out this video of Fulce from his high school days in Plano when he led his team to the state title.

JIMMY BUTLER AND SCOTT MONARCH TO JOIN MARQUETTE?
According to a blog on the Des Moines Register, Marquette is poised to gain a commitment from Jimmy Butler, a high-flying 6'6" guard/forward from Tyler JC. Like Fulce, Butler will have three years of eligibility remaining at a Division One program.

In addition, the Register reports that Scott Monarch has accepted an assistant coaching slot at MU. Monarch is currently an assistant coach at Tyler JC and was on Buzz Williams' staff at UNO. We'll await verification from MU.

Kudos to MUScoop for finding these gems.

MU signees continue fine seasons

MU's most balanced recruiting class in years continues to deliver memorable seasons at their respective programs this winter. Of note:

• Chris Otule led the Fort Bend Bush Broncos to a playoff victory over Galveston Ball earlier this week, 58-43. The 6'10" Otule led his squad with a team-high 14 points and 10 blocks in the victory. Bush is now 24-8 on the season and plays Northshore on Friday night in the second round of the playoffs.
  
• Nick Wiliams' LeFlore Rattlers (29-2 overall) are in the midst of a state title defense, and toppped Dothan 67-53 earlier this week. Williams had 11 points in the win. With the victory, Alabama's top-ranked Rattlers earned the right to play Baldwin County in the 6A regional finals on Friday morning where the winner will advance to the state tournament in Birmingham. LeFlore has already beaten Baldwin County three times this season.
• Joseph Fulce continued his dominant play at Tyler JC with a 30 point, 12 rebound effort in the Apaches recent loss to Blinn JC, 76-94. The Apaches fell to 22-2 on the year, losing for the first time in their last nine outings. For a look at Fulce's game by game production on one of the nation's top JUCO teams click here. Despite the loss, the Apaches are off to a record start.
  
• Finally, set your DVRs tonight -- Tyshawn Taylor and the St Anthony's Friars will appear on ESPN against American Christian Academy, led by super guard Tyreke Evans. Tipoff is scheduled for 8pm CT on ESPN. Here's a quick look at Taylor in action:

Notes from around the Web

A few links to get caught up on:

• Dominic James' wrist is OK and he won't miss anytime. So says Tom Crean in the latest blog from Todd Rosiak.
• Marquette is still actively recruiting Ohio big man Bobby Capobianco. The PF has visited MU unofficially in the past.
• Big East Basketball Report recaps MU's win over Seton Hall, along with a number of other Big East tilts.
• Joseph Fulce's Tyler (JC) Apaches lost their fist game of the season last night, falling 89-78 to Paris JC. Foul trouble limited Fulce's production, as he was held to just nine points and seven rebounds. The Apaches are 11-1 overall.
• Nick Williams is having quite a season for the LeFlore Rattlers. Track his game by game production here at MarquetteHoops.
• Mark these dates on your calendar. Tyshawn Taylor and his St. Anthony's squad will be on television a couple of times later this season. The Friars will take on Scott County (KY) on January 21 at Noon CST. The Friars will take on Tyreke Evans' American Christian (PA) squad on February 21 at 8pm on ESPN2. Set your DVRs!
  

MU recruits in action - UPDATED

During this season's "Cupcake Central/Please Please Please Don't Come Away With a Crippling Injury" portion of the schedule, here's an update on each of MU's four signees from the Class of 2008:

For a kid who only averaged 5 ppg as a high school junior, Chris Otule is positively blowing up as a senior at Fort Bend Bush High School. The 6'10" center had another boffo performance over the weekend, with 21 points, 14 rebounds and four blocked shots in a 64-52 win. According to the Houston Chronicle, Otule (who is also referred to as "O'Tule" in reports) already has two triple-doubles this season. Rip Van Winkle has official gained consciousness.

Meanwhile, Nick Williams has having a monster season down in Dixie. Averaging 32 ppg, Williams canned 16 to lead LeFlore to another win on Friday night. LeFlore, ranked #15 in the nation by ESPN and 9-0 on the season, travels to a tourney in Hawaii shortly.

Finally, JUCO forward Joseph Fulce had 21 and 10 to lead Tyler JC to an overtime win back on December 1. Big Joe also had 21 in his previous start, a win over Lon Morris. Fulce is having a terrific year in the Lone Star State, where the Apaches are 9-0. Check out this outstanding game log for Fulce from the Dodds board.

Jersey City St Anthony's opened its season with a win on Saturday. Tyshawn Taylor chipped in with six points for the positively loaded Friars, ranked #5 in the nation by USA Today. Taylor followed that up with a 10 point effort in a 72-45 win over the Hun School on Sunday, led by former MU recruit Lance Goulbourne(who had 17 points). The Friars take the court again on Monday night against Cardinal McCarrick.

UPDATE
BTW, here is a worthwhile article on the legendary St. Anthony's Friars - -the article includes a photo of Tyshawn Taylor looking happy in his MU cap. Sweet! This is quite a team - -8 Division One players on the roster this year.......a season that's being chronicled by a documentary filmmaker.

National Signing Period Begins Today

Today is the first day of the National Signing Period when recruits can sign binding letters of intent with the university of their choice. Recruits can sign LOIs between November 14th and November 21st.

Marquette is expected to sign four student-athletes this week -- a class that stands to be one of the more well-balanced groups Tom Crean has signed in several years. With this class, Crean recruited to every position on the floor (in terms of skill) and neatly replaced his outgoing seniors (Barro, Fitzgerald, Blackledge), and signed a talented PG to potentially replace Dominic James or to account for other roster attrition.

Collectively, this group is ranked in the national top 20 by HoopScoop and unranked by other services - -which is not surprising given the late-bloomers in the class. Here's a brief look at MU's expected incoming class of 2008:

Nick Williams, 6'4" SG from Mobile (LeFlore) Alabama: Williams was the first class of 2008 player to commit to Marquette. Williams plays for one of the most successful high school programs in the State of Alabama, and leads his Rattlers in defense of their 2007 State Championship. Williams is a big, strong guard in the Wesley Matthews/Tony Smith mold who should see immediate playing time next winter. Big Nick scored 32 points in LeFlore's season opener earlier this month.

Joseph Fulce, 6'7" combo forward from Plano, TX via Tyler (TX) Junior College: Fulce originally signed with Texas A&M thanks to then assistant coach Buzz Williams. However, grades forced Fulce to a prep school where he reopened his recruiting after the coaching change in College Station. Soon after, Fulce signed an LOI to play for the University of New Orleans -- and then head coach Buzz Williams. Now Buzz is at MU, and Fulce is coming to MU. Third time lucky for Marquette? That's what Tom Crean is hoping for. Fulce will have three years of eligibility at Marquette.

Tyshawn Taylor, 6'3" PG from Jersey City St. Anthony's. Taylor, who committed to MU over Georgia Tech, KU and UNC, looks to be the point guard of the future for the Golden Eagles. Because of the load of backcourt talent on his high school team, its doubtful Taylor will begin his career as a classically trained point guard but his strength and size mark a sea-change for the rather undersized stable of point guards currently on the MU roster. With Williams, Christopherson and now Taylor, Marquette should have have one of the bigger, more physical young backcourts in the Big East. Given Taylor's upside and heritage -- St. Anthony's, Bob Hurley -- he could be one of the most vital recruits for MU since Dominic James.

Chris Otule, 6'10" 245 pound PF/C from Fort Bend (TX) Bush. The man in the middle. Finally. Otule was the final piece to the puzzle for the 2008 freshman class, and maybe its most vital component. While Tom Crean aggressively pursued Frank Ben-Eze (who ultimately committed to Harvard), he didn't fall for other bigs who expressed high interest in MU such as Maurice Sutton, Garrett Stutz or Josh Crittle. Crean waited until he found what seems to be a player with better tools, more potential and higher upside. Although Otule only averaged 5 ppg as a high school junior, that does not seem to be an indication of what to expect down the line. Check out this Q/A with Jim Hicks for details.

And the newest Warrior is .... Joe Fulce?

In case you missed the internet forum frenzy, Iman Shumpert did not give the nod to Coach Crean, and is instead going to Georgia Tech. My wife suggested, "Well, there's direct flight from Chicago to Atlanta." Guess that's how his family will watch him play. Maybe they didn't want to pay tolls on I-94.

So in a surprise, the Plano Courier Star is reporting:

Joseph Fulce, a 2006 Plano Senior graduate and starter on the Class 5A State Championship Wildcats squad, has verbally committed to play basketball at Marquette.

He's a 3 star small forward from Plano Texas.

We'll update this as we figure out more. Welcome aboard, Joseph.