This week, FanHouse is taking a look at the top teams heading into 2008 with a BlogPoll decided on by our college hoops bloggers. To help with the team capsules, we've brought in some of the top fan bloggers around the internets to give us insights on their teams.For the Marquette Golden Eagles, Tim Blair of Cracked Sidewalks gives us the inside view on the Golden Eagles.
After a nine-year run that brought Marquette basketball back to consistent national prominence for the first time in decades, Tom Crean abruptly ended his tenure in Milwaukee and the reigns were passed unexpectedly to Brent "Buzz" Williams. Williams, an assistant at MU for just one season after his own abrupt departure from the University of New Orleans, is now tasked with building on the Golden Eagles' recent success.
Luckily for Williams, Marquette returns all five starters from last year's 25-10 squad which lost at the buzzer in the second round of the NCAA tournament. The Golden Eagles will be led once again by one of the nation's best backcourts, senior running mates Dominic James, Wesley Matthews and Jerel McNeal. The trio has combined to start an incredible 276 games in their careers, serving as the foundation for the program since it entered the BIG EAST four years ago. After elevating the program to a consistently competitive level, this season will define their legacy. Can the Golden Eagles break through to compete for the BIG EAST title and win a pair of games in March?
Why they should be ranked here:
The Golden Eagles are one of just two teams in the country to boast a trio of 1,000 point scorers -- James, Matthews and McNeal. These guards personify the program and with their veteran leadership, toughness and overall productivity, the Golden Eagles believe they can beat anybody in the country. Combo forward Lazar Hayward was one of the more pleasant surprises in the conference last year, averaging 13 points and 6 rebounds per game. Factoring in MU's strong defensive presence -- the Golden Eagles were second in the Big East in steals, three-point field goal percentage defense and turnover margin -- and it's clear that Buzz Williams' undersized squad can create matchup problems for the opposition.
Why they should be ranked higher:
College basketball is a guard game and few teams in the country have a better backcourt than Marquette. A return to health from sharpshooting David Cubillan, who cratered late last year before undergoing surgery on both shoulders in the off-season. Then there is the presence of waterbug-like point guard Maurice Acker, and the addition of junior college transfer Jimmy Butler. This should provide Buzz Williams with a host of interchangeable parts that will cause fits for opponents. More importantly, it appears that Williams will let his veteran lineup read and react to the flow of the game, particularly on offense. This relaxed perspective is a far cry from the heavy-handed style of Tom Crean, who routinely interrupted the flow of the game to control the offense from the sidelines.
Why they should be ranked lower:
Marquette has had an inability to surround its gifted guards with adequately skilled post players. It remains not only a great mystery, but the primary reason why this program has not made a run deep into March since 2003. Marquette enters the season with senior Dwight Burke (2.5 ppg last season) penciled in as the starting center. Burke is joined by promising 6'10" freshman Chris Otule and little used 6'7" sophomore Patrick Hazel on the front line. The dearth of frontline talent means Lazar Hayward will once again play out of position as a power forward.
Unfortunately for Marquette, Otule suffered a broken metatarsal in his left foot last week and will be out for at least a month. The addition of 6'6" junior college forward Joe Fulce should help with depth along the baseline when he returns from injury late next month, but until then the Golden Eagles are extraordinarily thin down low.
Tim Blair and the rest of the guys at Cracked Sidewalks stay on top of Marquette basketball all year long. There is no better place to get your Golden Eagle fix.
