Projecting the MU 2012/13 Starting Lineup

For the first time in years, the Marquette men’s basketball starting lineup might be as clear as day.  Assuming there are no more injuries or suspensions (knock on wood), I see every player on this team being able to play a big role in the upcoming season. Their only problem with having that many solid players is that you can’t distribute 40 minutes among 13 players.  Buzz and Co. are going to have to find a way to trim the playing time down to 10 players at most.  Don’t expect the reserve roles to be figured out by the end of the Pro-am, or even by the start of Big East play for that matter.  Buzz likes taking his time changing playing time each game until he finds a lineup that works. But who can really blame him, his track record at Marquette thus far speaks for its self.  So let’s start with what is known, the starting lineup:

PG–Junior Cadougan-Buzz’s favorite player. Full time starter last year. Offense runs 10x better when he is running the show. If he develops a shot, it adds another dimension to the offense.

SG-Vander Blue-Mayo might be the popular choice at shooting guard for most people, due to Vander’s play being bipolar over the last 2 years, but there is one thing we can all agree on: Vander is a defensive stud who leaves it all out on the court. Arguably the best rebounding guard in the Big East. Full time starter last year. Buzz loves him.  There is reason to believe that he could make big strides this off-season getting better at finishing and developing an outside shot.

SF-Trent Lockett-Provides much needed senior leadership on the court.  Can knock down shots, get to the free throw line, and rebound. Stud at ASU. Excited to see how he plays in an offense where he won’t be asked to do as much as he did at ASU.

PF-Jamil Wilson-Most physically gifted player on Marquette.  Full time starter last year.  Can score, rebound, block shots, and defend. Really believe that he will breakout this year because he will be able to play his normal position at PF. Will also be asked to play SF at times which will create a huge mismatch for the opposing team.

C-Chris Otule-Should be 100% by the end of the summer when practice starts. Bearing no major set backs, Chris should be that inside force Marquette never seems to have. Just having his shot blocking presence in the paint affects how the opposing players finish at the rim.  Doesn’t need to score in this lineup. He is the difference from being a sweet 16 team and a final 4 team. Marquette fans don’t like to think what could have been last year if he had never torn his ACL.  Was a full-time starter before injury.

Reserves in order of playing time:

1) Todd Mayo-Could easily be a starter. Arguably the best scorer on the team. Will play a Dion Waiters role who may find himself in the starting lineup by the end of the season.

2) Davante Gardner-Formidable scoring option off bench. Great spark plug that will get to the free throw line. Could average double digits points. De De and Chris give Marquette one hell of a duo at center.

3) T.J. Taylor-DJO clone that will provide point guard qualities and scoring if needed off the bench when any of the 3 starting guards need a rest.

4) Steve Taylor-6 foot 9 power forward that will be behind Jamil Wilson for minutes. Is able to stretch the defense with his 3 point shooting while being able to bang down low in the paint. Came from the top High School in the country for basketball where he played against top level talent for years.

5) Juan Anderson-How he recovers from shoulder surgery will be key in determining how many minutes he will be playing. Very small sample size from last year due to injuries, suspensions, and having to play out of position.  High school mixtapes show that he has the ability to be a smooth hybrid forward who can stretch the defense with outside shooting while being able to finish at the rim. Best case scenario for Juan would be Trent Lockett’s backup.

6) Derrick Wilson-Wilson automatically has limited minutes locked up because of how solid he was last year being the backup point guard to Junior Cadougan.  He didn’t turn the ball over and played terrific defense. But there is a decent chance that Wilson does develop a shot and gives Marquette another viable scoring option in which he could jump T.J. Taylor in the pecking order.

7) Jamal Ferguson-When I look at Jamal, I see a super athletic bouncy defender that most of Marquette Nation doesn’t know a whole lot about because he didn’t have as many mix tapes on You Tube as say…Steve Taylor did. This story is very similar to an incoming freshman last year, named Davante Gardner, who evidently turned out to have the biggest impact out of all the freshman.  Turns out they’re from the same area in Virginia. You could say I am excited to see what kind of player Ferguson is on July 6, the first day of the Milwaukee summer pro-am. I believe the best case scenario would be a player similar to Vander who gets minutes because of his defense.

8) Jake Thomas-This isn’t your average walk-on. Jake Thomas can flat out shoot. He has “in the gym range”.  Just because I have him last in the pecking order doesn’t mean I don’t think he will get minutes.  That’s how deep this team is. Thomas will get minutes because he is able to single handily destroy zones and is a great 3 point shooter for Buzz to have in his back pocket whenever he needs him.