Andrei Greska of
@painttouches helped us out again,
I'm starting to watch MU games since the teams last played, now. How has smart altered what the team does offensively, if in fact he has?
1) Since the last meeting, when Kolek finished with a career high 15 assists, teams have started to once again force Kolek into more of a scoring role, taking away passing lanes and daring him to beat them off the dribble. And he has responded brilliantly, scoring 13+ points in 6 of the 8 games. He seems to be much more aggressive, and willing to take shots himself. Particularly because MU has "struggled" offensively the past week +, as teams have been more willing to pack the paint and dare Marquette to shoot rather than drive/cut. I don't think we've seen much change in terms of what the team does tactically. There are still a bevy of P&R options, usually from the wings. Oso Ighodaro has hit a bit of a slump recently as well, so we’ve seen the freshman backup Ben Gold start to get a few more minutes.
Defensively?
2) The defense doesn’t seem to be pressing nearly as much, even as the token ¾ pressure that wasn’t meant to elicit turnovers. Prior to the UConn game, which was partially forced by the deep deficit, Marquette averaged just over 5 poss of press per game after the Georgetown matchup, compared to 12 a game going into the game. Instead, we’re seeing Marquette become much more aggressive in trapping and doubling outside the arc, particularly in the wings. This has led to a pretty noticeable uptick in turnovers, which is an area Marquette currently leads the Big East, forcing a turnover on 23.6% of possessions.
Several players like the Montreal, Canadian & Kolek have really improved. What do you know of Smart's development plan/foc us?How many resources (money/time) are directed towards it?
3) I can’t say I’m aware of what the commitment looks like in terms of budget or regimen, but since the minute Shaka got here, his mantra has been RGV: Relationships, Growth, Victory. There is a long article in The Athletic from 2021 (
theathletic.com/2905571/2021/1…) where he specifically notes his recruiting strategy is to find players that aren’t going to be top-50 McDonald’s All American types, because he thinks his project works best when players are in his system 2, 3, 4 years. So his whole tenure is based on developing players. It’s vital to everything he wants to do. This past summer, they “broke” Kolek’s shot for a month. Literally reworked it to the point he mentioned he had no muscle memory. He went from shooting 28% last year to 37% this year, so it’s been incredibly successful. But that’s the kind of strategy that is necessary.
What needs continued improvement, globally?
4) In terms of what needs continued improvement, it was and still will be rebounding, particularly on the defensive side. Marquette had it’s worst season in KenPom history last year, letting opponents grab 31.6% of misses. Well it has actually regressed a bit to 31.9% this year. Shaka’s defensive switching system means his teams will never be very good, and mostly bad at rebounding, but to be sub-300 nationally in back to back years shouldn’t be happening. Against UConn this week, they gave up 21 boars on only 31 misses, the 3rd worst OReb rate for MU since 2021. It’s been an Achilles heel and will continue to be so this season.
Prediction?
There’s a bit of fatigue setting in for some of the Marquette players of late, and Georgetown is actually playing much much better than last time these teams met. I think it’s closer than I’d want with Marquette winning by 5 or so.
