The Golden Eagle 2012

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Tuesday, November 6, 2012

TAKING A STAND

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The Golden Eagle

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

COLUMN

Don’t expect a recession, despite departures Michael LoCicero For the first time in coach Buzz Williams’ tenure, Marquette doesn’t have a bona fide star on its roster.

Williams’ first year was the final season of the Big Three, with Wes Matthews, Jerel McNeal and Dominic James leading the team.

His second year featured a future first round pick, Lazar Hayward, leading the way.

Williams’ third campaign had, you guessed it, another future first round pick, with Jimmy Butler doing the grunt work.

And last year, the Golden Eagles had the lethal combination of Darius Johnson-Odom and Big East Player of the Year Jae Crowder leading the team to its second consecutive Sweet 16 appearance.

But where is the scoring

going to come from this year?

Senior guard Trent Lockett transferred from Arizona State, where he led the Sun Devils in scoring in 2010 and finished second last year with 13 points per game.

Lockett will be eligible to play immediately, but it will be tough to ask Lockett to come in and score frequently without a period of adjustment first. Lockett is going to have to learn fast, however, as the Golden Eagles take on national title contender Ohio State in the Carrier Classic on Nov. 9.

Junior forward Davante Gardner is the team’s leading returning scorer, putting up 9.5 points per game in 27 games last year. Gardner missed eight Big East games after he suffered a knee injury on Jan. 28 against Villanova.

His conditioning has always been an issue, but he proved to be a viable option off the bench in Marquette’s final five games, averaging 16 minutes in those games.

He will likely be asked to play more than his 13.3 minutes per game average through two

seasons this year and will hopefully have a healthy Chris Otule on the floor with him.

As Marquette fans have come to expect, however, Williams’ teams will be able to score.

Since he took over in 2008, Marquette has averaged 75.3 points per game. He just finds a way.

Williams will have to rely more on sophomore guard Todd Mayo, who was sent home to Huntington, W.V., this summer to make sure he really wanted to be a part of the team.

The Journal Sentinel’s Michael Hunt reported that Williams has done this with at least one player every summer after the season.

Mayo seemingly has grown in his maturity, but translating that to the basketball court is an entirely different task.

He averaged 7.9 points per game and is the team’s second-most prolific three-point shooter, knocking down 33.3 percent of his shots from beyond the arc last year.

Two players to watch are redshirt junior forward Jamil Wilson and junior guard Vander Blue.

Wilson averaged 7.1 points per game and a team-high 1.4 blocks per game in his first season in a Golden Eagle uniform last year after transferring from Oregon.

Wilson’s maturity on the court grew to a whole new level last year, culminating in a seasonhigh 18 points and 10 rebounds in a road win over DePaul. The Racine, Wis., native will likely to be asked to score more than 7.1 points per game this year and is another “switchable” Williams loves so dearly.

Blue is one of the most polarizing figures on the Marquette roster and has been for his first two years. He was a consensus top 60 recruit in the nation in high school and has never had a season at Marquette in which he didn’t make the Sweet 16.

Blue tends to play better in non-conference games, averaging 8.4 points per game overall but just 8.0 points per game in Big East play last year.

Blue has to contribute more on the offensive end than he has in his first two seasons.

One certainty is that senior guard Junior Cadougan will be a breakout player this year.

Cadougan has always struggled as shooter, averaging just 39.4 percent from the floor in three seasons.

He was given a bad rap by fans after turning the ball over too much during crucial moments in big games last year, but Cadougan is as solid as a rock, with a career 2.1 assist-toturnover ratio. Williams loves him and will stick with him through thick and thin.

Marquette fans have high expectations for this team, and rightly so, because of how it finished the past two years.

When a team goes to the Sweet 16 in consecutive seasons, fans get used to winning.

This team will win, but another second place Big East finish is unlikely. Louisville is a national championship contender and Syracuse probably is, too. Marquette was picked seventh in the Big East this year, but it will finish higher.

Buzz has earned the respect of Marquette fans and always seems to finish higher than his team is projected and that will hold true again this year. michael.locicero@marquette.edu

Freshmen to make most of time in first term Taylor, Ferguson pledge to help team with specific skill sets

By Matt Trebby

matthew.trebby@marquette.edu

Trent Lockett may be the key addition to the Marquette team this season, but the two freshmen for the Golden Eagles will be ready to make an impact right away.

Jamal Ferguson and Steve Taylor both bring impressive skillsets to Buzz Williams’ team and will be plenty capable of contributing to Marquette.

Ferguson comes from Maury, Va., and is the lesser heralded of the two true freshmen. He was an honorable mention all-state player by VirginiaPreps.com, and was second team all-region. Ferguson averaged 17 points, eight rebounds, and three assists for Maury High School,

and was recruited consistently by head coach Buzz Williams.

Ranked 134th in the country

by Rivals.com, Ferguson said he knew Williams was someone he would like to play for since the day he started recruiting him.

“He was a very cool coach,” Ferguson said. “He kept in touch with me and has been there for me. I could talk to him about anything.”

If Ferguson plays this season, it will be because of his intensity and ability on defense. While true freshman haven’t played much under Williams, the size and

length Ferguson possesses could lead him to getting some minutes.

“I’m going to say right now,” Ferguson said, “I think I can help the team with my defense.”

Taylor comes to Marquette with much more hype and anticipation than Ferguson, ranked in the top-100 by nearly every recruiting site.

Coming from Simeon High School in Chicago, Taylor knows what it takes to win. He won three straight state championships there, and he played with top recruits in the class of 2013 Kendrick Nunn and Jabari Parker, who is the consensus No. 1 recruit in the country. Derrick Rose also went to Simeon, so there’s a long pedigree of success that goes with playing there.

That definitely helps the transition to college for Taylor, and he says the hard work at Marquette was aided a bit by playing at such a high-profile high school.

“It got me used to it because at Simeon you have to work hard to get what you want,” Taylor

said. “Once I got here it was second nature how hard they work.

But it was hard. Coming here to work, it’s like three times harder than high school.”

At 6-foot-7, Taylor creates match-up problems for anyone on the court. The natural small forward can play comfortably all over the court both offensively and defensively.

Offensively he can post up and shoot on the perimeter, while defensively he can present difficult match-ups with his length.

“My position is with shorter guys,” Taylor said. “So I can post them up, or I can take

bigger guys to the perimeter and work like that.”

Rebounding is one of Taylor’s strengths, as well, and is one of the skills that he had to use at Simeon. With the talent around him, Taylor found himself in the paint a bit more than usual.

“He’s a good player,” redshirt senior center Chris Otule said.

“He’s really energetic, and a very good rebounder, and a good finisher around the basket.”

While both have potential to be impact players for the team in the future, Taylor has a more realistic chance to play significant minutes this season.

With players like Trent Lockett, Vander Blue and Todd Mayo already at shooting guard, Ferguson will have to earn his minutes, and if he does it will be with his defense. But with hustle, effort and defensive intensity, anyone can play for Buzz Williams.

Expect to see that from these two freshmen this season when they’re on the court.

Photos by Vale Cardenas/valeria.cardenas@marquette.edu

The Golden Eagle

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Tough first 100 days ahead Strong nonconference gauntlet poses big challenge for MU

By Trey Killian

robert.killian@marquette.edu

It’s going to be a daunting first 100 days for the Marquette Golden Eagles as they stare the program’s most difficult nonconference schedule in recent memory in the face.

The season begins with a rare opportunity in the Carrier Classic, as the Golden Eagles will take on No. 4 Ohio State outdoors on the flight deck of the USS Yorktown in Charleston, S.C., on Nov. 9.

While the game will be against a team that made the 2012 Final Four, it will provide plenty of adversity on its own. Coach Buzz Williams said the hype and buildup surrounding it will be just as challenging.

“It’s really not the games relative to who you’re playing,” Williams said. “It’s all the things that lead up to those games and the grind that it is on you emotionally and mentally on not just players, but everybody. Our first game’s going to be at Ohio State outside. That’s a lot of stuff.”

Williams went on to lay out the rest of the schedule and the tough task of starting with such steep competition. After Ohio

State, the team will play Colgate and Southeastern Louisiana at home over a span of 48 hours before heading to Hawaii for the EA Sports Maui Invitational.

There, the Golden Eagles will play Butler and, with a win, either No. 12 North Carolina or Mississippi State.

“I think a lot of our schedule this year is based on our success over the last couple of years,” Williams said. “We were invited to play in Maui this year after our first Sweet 16. If we had been bad, I don’t think (we’d be) playing in Maui or against Ohio State.”

With a matchup at No. 10 Florida on Nov. 29 and the annual rivalry game with No. 21 Wisconsin in Milwaukee on Dec. 8 also scheduled before play in the toughest conference in the country even begins, Williams still isn’t sure what impact the opening slate will have on his team.

“When you combine all of that into one year, is that the right thing? I don’t know,” Williams said. “For your coaching career record, it’s the wrong thing. For the development of who your team is, it’s probably the right thing.”

Marquette senior guard Trent Lockett is more excited than anxious about nonconference play.

“We really look forward to competing against the best,” Lockett said. “That’s what we prepare for going through all these difficult situations as individuals and pushing

ourselves through boot camp.”

While Lockett and the rest of the team plan to tackle the schedule one game at a time, redshirt junior forward Jamil Wilson has one particular game in his crosshairs.

“I’m really excited about the Florida game,” Wilson said. “It’s the last game we played, and you can call it revenge if you want, but we should’ve had a better game than we did. I’m just anxious to play them again. Usually the teams that we lose against we get to play twice, but we don’t get to see Florida too often, so that should be a good game.”

Despite the excitement, Williams views the first two months of the season realistically. He doesn’t think the team’s performance in the early going will be as indicative of its identity as fans might think, however.

“We could potentially be two or three games below .500 before we even get back home for Thanksgiving,” Williams said.

“I don’t think you can be under .500 and be a top 25 team.

We’ll probably have a better feel at Christmas than we will at Thanksgiving.”

For a team full of question marks after losing two NBA draft picks last season, it’s going to be trial by fire for Marquette to kick off this season.

The biggest question facing this squad, though, will be how much gas it will have left in the tank once Big East play begins.

POST SEASON POLL

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3rd Round NCAA Michael LoCicero Kyle Doubrava Trey Killian

33.3%

2nd Round NCAA Matt Trebby Christopher Chavez

16.7% Sweet Sixteen Patrick Leary

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Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Cardinals expected to take Big East

By Trey Killian

robert.killian@marquette.edu

INCUMBENTS LOUISVILLE The Cards are ranked No. 2 in the nation, according to the USA Today/ESPN poll. That comes from the return of some key pieces of a 2012 squad that reached the Final Four. While Louisville lost its leading scorer in Kyle Kuric, junior guard Russ Smith and Big East preseason player of the year Peyton Siva make up a deadly backcourt that will complement one of the best centers in the country in junior Gorgui Dieng.

SYRACUSE Under legendary coach Jim Boeheim, the Orange start their final season in the Big East ranked No. 9 in the nation. Unlike Louisville, Syracuse has lost a lot of its core players from last season, with three of its top five scorers departing. However, senior guard Brandon Triche and junior forward C.J. Fair, who combined for 17.9 points per game last season, are set to lead a younger and still talented group.

NOTRE DAME The No. 23 Fighting Irish return all five starters from last season’s team, including preseason all Big East first team player Jack Cooley.

The senior forward will likely lead the Irish in scoring after averaging 12.5 points per game in 2011-12.

CINCINNATI The Bearcats are coming off a Sweet 16 run and return two key pieces of their backcourt.

Point guard Cashmere Wright and sharp shooter Sean Kilpatrick will run a fast-paced offense, while the defense will continue to be a huge advantage for a team that held 29 teams it played last season to 70 points or fewer.

GEORGETOWN The Hoyas lost two of their top scorers in Hollis Thompson and Jason Clark. But despite its youthful look, John Thompson III’s roster has plenty of experience. Sophomore Otto Porter and junior Nate Lubic make up a solid frontcourt, while junior Markel Starks made 25 starts, mostly at point guard, last season.

PITTSBURGH The Panthers failed to reach the NCAA tournament for the first time in 10 years last season, but five of their top scorers return this season. Point guard Tray Woodall is back and healthy after missing much of last season with injury. Woodall averaged 11.7 points and 6.1 assists per game last year.

SOUTH FLORIDA Sophomore guard Anthony Collins made a name for himself last year, piloting the Bulls to a surprising NCAA tournament run. Stan Heath, the Big East Coach of the Year last season, has a tough act to follow this year with lead scorer Augustus Gilchrist and dependable forward Ron Anderson Jr. gone.

CONNECTICUT The Huskies still look competitive with a backcourt including junior Shabazz Napier and sophomore Ryan Boatright, but Connecticut may be in for a down year in the aftermath of legendary coach Jim Calhoun’s retirement. New head coach Kevin Ollie will have a solid group of young players to work with, however, as his term begins.

ST. JOHN’S The Big East’s top-scoring freshman last year, guard D’Angelo Harrison, will lead the Red Storm in Steve Lavin’s third season as coach.

Harrison scored 16.8 points per game last season. Junior forwards Sir’Dominic Pointer and God’sgift Achiuwa make up a frontcourt of distinguished names.

VILLANOVA It looks like another rough season for a Villanova team that fell very far last year. The talented guard duo of Maalik Wayns and Dominic Cheek is gone, making 6-foot-10 senior forward Mouphtaou Yarou the team’s focal point.

Poor defense killed the Wildcats as a team last season, as they allowed 70.6 points per game.

SETON HALL The Pirates reached the second round of the NIT last year, but even being invited this year would be a serious accomplishment.

Seton Hall lost its top scorers in Herb Pope and Jordan Theodore, but do-it-all junior winger Fuquan Edwin can continue to make a case as one of the Big East’s most versatile players this season.

PROVIDENCE Second year coach Ed Cooley’s squad has nowhere to go but up after finishing second-to-last in the Big East last season with a 4-14 conference record. Senior guard Vincent Council will give Friars fans something to cheer about with his scoring finesse, but it’s doubtful the rest of the roster will be good enough to score some more wins this year.

DARK HORSES MARQUETTE Three starters return for the Golden Eagles, but the lingering question is who will replace Jae Crowder and Darius JohnsonOdom. Senior Junior Cadougan has a lot of experience at the point, while junior Vander Blue continues to improve as a lockdown defender. There’s plenty of athleticism in the front court as well with Jamil Wilson and Chris Otule back again, and newcomer Trent Lockett was lights-out from the perimeter in his three seasons at Arizona State.

THIRD PARTY CANDIDATES RUTGERS The Scarlet Knights made some noise last season with some shocking upsets thanks the efforts of a dynamic backcourt sophomore trio of Eli Carter, Myles Mack and Jerome Seagers. Too many questions in the frontcourt, however, will keep Rutgers from winning on a week-to-week basis.

DEPAUL The Blue Demons have been bottom-dwellers for quite some time, but they may be on the upswing under coach Oliver Purnell.

The team returns six of its top seven scorers from last season, including junior forward Cleveland Melvin, who averaged 17.5 points last season.

PLAYERS TO WATCH PEYTON SIVA, LOUISVILLE The Big East preseason player of the year is probably the fastest guard in the conference and will most likely play an even bigger role this year than he did last year. Siva averaged 9.1 points per game and was fourth in the conference with 5.6 assists per game in 2011-12.

VINCENT COUNCIL, PROVIDENCE Council is a star on an otherwise mediocre roster. The guard averaged a team-leading 15.9 points per game and was first in the Big Easts with 7.5 assists per game. Council also led the Big East in minutes played with 38.7 per game.

STEVEN ADAMS, PITTSBURGH The 7-foot center was named the Big East Preseason Rookie of the Year after ranking in the top 10 of many recruiting lists over the offseason. A native of Wellington, New Zealand, Adams brings a unique blend of size and finesse to the Panthers’ frontcourt.

Otule finally back to full strength Time on the court at Madness first since tearing ACL in Dec.

By Christopher Chavez

christopher.chavez@marquette.edu

Marquette men’s basketball coach Buzz Williams has been tested as a coach many times. Whether it was finding life after Lazar Hayward or Jimmy Butler, he has found an answer. For most of last season, the question was finding a replacement for Chris Otule’s presence in the frontcourt. He formulated an equation and found his solution.

Otule is back on the court for the Golden Eagles after being sidelined last season with a torn ACL. He played six minutes at Marquette Madness on Oct. 12, just nine months after undergoing knee surgery.

Williams limited Otule’s action with the team during its off-season workouts and bootcamp. From what he observed, Otule could have been more

active, but Williams took an overprotective approach.

“He’s just a really big guy,” Williams said. “All the things he’s overcome just to be able to be a part of the team picture, I think that’s really cool.”

The goal for Williams is to have Otule and Davante Gardner back to being in top shape for the season opener. The two complement each other well with Otule as the defensive stopper and Gardner as quick offense.

The fifth-year senior was granted a sixth year by the NCAA for his injury-stricken season in 2011-12, but he has not come to a decision as to whether he will choose to use it next year.

His focus right now is fighting his way back into the starting lineup and picking up where he left off before he hit the ground at Madison Square Garden against Washington.

“There’s competition in practice every day,” Otule said. “If you ask anybody on the team what me and Davante do every day, they’ll tell you we just bang each other. We just compete hard every day.”

In the public scrimmage, Otule scored four points down low and rebounded four times with no signs of pain. He is still not getting the minutes that some of his teammates are, but he is managing to stay behind his teammates and catch up soon.

“All these guys are getting work and I couldn’t work out with them,” Otule said. “I had to stick to my rehab, and structural things.”

Otule turns 23 in January. During his time at Marquette, he has been able to work with now-NBA talent, as Wesley Matthews, Lazar Hayward, Jimmy Butler, Jae Crowder and Darius Johnson-Odom have all been his teammates. Five years in the classroom and countless practices with those types of players have done a lot for Otule’s development as a leader.

He may not ever be the go-to option for points, and he knows that. Otule does his job well, and Williams sees positive results in the players around him.

“Offensively, he is our worst guy (on paper),” Williams said. “But the numbers don’t tell the story because he really helps us offensively

because he creates driving lanes and opportunities for guys to score.”

His teammates were all smiles seeing their big man back on the court with them before a crowd of thousands of Marquette fans. Otule took the microphone and showed off his vocal skills by attempting to sing FUN’s “Some Nights.”

His roommate and fellow vocalist Junior Cadougan is thrilled to see Otule with the team again.

“It’s lovely to see Chris back,” Cadougan said. “I know how it feels to be injured, and he’s worked hard and now he’s back.”

Photo courtesy of Marquette Images

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

The Golden Eagle

5

Lockett’s performance will be key to success Transfer from ASU averaged 13 points per game last year

By Trey Killian

robert.killian@marquette.edu

Basketball means an awful lot to Trent Lockett.

The senior guard played three years at Arizona State, where he was the star of a very mediocre squad. Last season, Lockett averaged 13.0 points and 5.8 rebounds per game to lead the Sun Devils in both categories. He was lights-out from all over the court, shooting 49.8 percent from the floor overall and 41.2 percent from behind the three-point line.

But as impressive as his stats may be, it wasn’t all basketball that drove Lockett to make Marquette his new home. After his mother, Judy, was diagnosed with cancer last spring, the Golden Valley, Minn., native wanted to be closer to her.

Lockett earned his degree in business communications last year from Arizona State, but he still had one year of eligibility left, and Marquette fit the criteria he was looking for.

“The transition has gone really well, it’s been nice to be a lot closer to home,” Lockett said. “The commute is a lot better, and I’m looking forward to seeing my mom throughout the course of the

year. She’s doing very well.”

Moving from one of the warmest states in the country to one of the coldest might be the hardest part of that transition so far.

“I definitely have to bulk up my winter wardrobe,” Lockett said. “And I have to say my walking times have definitely decreased. I’m walking and making it to class in a lot shorter time because of the cold weather.”

With three years of experience under his belt, Lockett said he’s seen the ups and downs of the game, and he’s hoping to give a lot of advice to his younger teammates. In regard to his game, Lockett feels he can be a contributor in all facets.

“I like to think I’m fairly versatile,” Lockett said.

“I like to mix it up with the bigs. I rebound very well for a guard, and I feel like I have a very well rounded game.”

Besides a well-balanced array of skills, Lockett has already shown coach Buzz Williams that he possesses all of the intangibles every coach loves to work with. Williams lauds him as a “stud of a human being,” someone who is “never late and always early” and “who is always prepared, really cares and is a great teammate.”

“He walked into a hornet’s nest relative to what he was accustomed to, into what we do, and has handled it superbly,” Williams said. “The expectation for him is to be a stud human

being every day, because I hope that by being around him I become a better person, too.”

Lockett’s roommate, redshirt junior forward Jamil Wilson, was perhaps the most excited during Lockett’s recruitment process. Wilson has known Lockett since his high school days, where the pair played against each other in AAU competition and attended a few camps together. They also squared off on opposing sides at the NCAA level while Wilson was still at Oregon.

“Trent’s a good guy,” Wilson said. “I was really excited when we were recruiting him. I was texting him all the time asking him about the schools he was looking at.

They hooked us up when he got here, and now we’re roommates and we’re boys.”

Lockett said the culture at Marquette is tremendous and that he’s excited to compete in what he called without a doubt the best conference in college basketball. His biggest expectation for himself is to simply work hard every day and continue to learn more and more through his unique transfer experience.

“I think I’ve grown a lot through this transition by not only being a year older but experiencing a whole new basketball culture, school culture and off-the-court culture,” Lockett said. “There have been a lot of new experiences, and I think I’ve grown a lot from them.”

Photo by Vale Cardenas/valeria.cardenas@marquette.edu

Senior guard Trent Lockett came to Marquette to be closer to his mother, in Golden Valley, Minn., who was diagnosed with cancer last spring.

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The Golden Eagle

OFF AND R Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Taking the podium as party leader Simmons expected to finally fill leadership role in senior season

By Patrick Leary

patrick.leary@marquette.edu

Passionate. Motivating. Positive. Consistent.

These words describe most senior leaders not just at Marquette, but all around college athletics. In 2011-12, these words did not describe

then-junior forward Sarina Simmons.

Simmons’ attitude problems frequently landed her on the bench last season. Coach Terri Mitchell would often start freshmen in her place because Simmons’ combination of shaky play, frustrating effort and body language did not give Marquette the best chance to win. This season however, Mitchell thinks Simmons has turned the corner.

“I would expect those days are over,” Mitchell said. “We’ll see.

She’s been practicing extremely hard. She’s a senior with a vision, and she knows it’s coming to an end.”

It will all be over for Simmons after the upcoming season, as she enters 2012-13 as Marquette’s only senior. The Milwaukee native thinks her unique situation can be a gift and a curse.

“Being the only senior has its pros and cons,” Simmons said. “Going into my fourth year, I expect to develop and lead. I know what to

expect from the coaches, and I know how (Mitchell) wants the program to run.”

How exactly does Simmons plan to execute as a leader in 2012-13?

“To be more consistent and lead by example,” Simmons said. “If Coach looks to me to execute something, that’s going to be my goal. We don’t have any superstars on our team, so on any given day it could be someone’s night. If my number gets called, I’m going to have to take that challenge head first.”

As far as her past struggles are concerned, Simmons feels that she and Mitchell are continuing to work out the kinks in their sometimes-tenuous relationship.

“Just work on our communication, as far as her [Mitchell’s] expectations of me to perform more veteran-like,” Simmons said. “I feel like we’ve worked past those problems in helping me be more consistent.”

Mitchell agrees, and is prepared to hold her lone senior to a much higher standard than in 2011-12.

“I expect a senior to act like a senior,” Mitchell said.

“She knows what it takes.

She has the most experience of anyone on this team and knows the high level.”

Mitchell isn’t the only person looking to Simmons for leadership and consistency. Junior forward Katherine Plouffe says the team will expect Simmons to

play well on a regular basis.

“Myself and the rest of the team are looking for her to be consistent,” Plouffe said. “We know she has game, and we saw spurts of it last year. She’s really working on being consistent, and that’s going to really help us in games and practices getting better.”

Plouffe thinks that Simmons’ mentality in practice should make her transitions into game situations smoother.

“She needs to have the mindset of ‘I’m going to make myself better by making my teammates better,’” Plouffe said. “She needs to give 100 percent in practice so it comes easy for her in a game.”

Mitchell knows that at this point in Simmons’ career, the only person who can make sure Simmons performs day in and day out like the team expects is Simmons.

“Ultimately, that’s all up to Sarina,” Mitchell said. “We know what she’s capable of doing, but it’s her deciding every day she wants that.”

On and off the court, Simmons feels the key to her success as Marquette’s leader will hinge on her ability to play within herself and not try to be someone she’s not.

“I’m not trying to out-do myself,” Simmons said. “I’m not going to force up anything for box scores. I’m just going to be aggressive every game and use my athleticism to take advantage of mismatches.”

Women’s cover photos by Rebecca Rebholz/ rebecca.rebholz@marquette.edu

The Golden Eagle

RUNNING Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Senior’s voice will be heard this year Cadougan will lead by example, step up from mild-mannered style

By Michael LoCicero

michael.locicero@marquette.edu

Junior Cadougan knows it’s his time to become a leader. As the player with the most starts on the roster, the senior guard is the most likely candidate to shoulder the load of making sure players stay on task during the grind of the season.

Cadougan is a quiet person by nature and usually prefers to let his play do the talking, but he realizes this year is different.

“On the court, it’s a different story; I have to be vocal,” Cadougan said. “My job this year is to get the guys to come in and work and play hard and be positive all the time.”

Cadougan has never been seen as a scoring threat, having averaged just 4.4 points per game in 78 career contests, including 34 starts.

But his confidence in getting to the basket and either getting fouled or setting up teammates for an easy score has grown in the last two years. Cadougan had a career-high 6.4 points per game and also averaged 5.5 assists per game last year.

Last year, Darius JohnsonOdom and Jae Crowder could be counted on to score at

basically any time during the game. This year, Cadougan realizes points will have to come from someone but isn’t worried about who that will be.

“Guys have improved their game, and this is a different team from last year,” Cadougan said. “We’re not looking to single out anyone as someone who needs to be a scorer.”

He doesn’t get the attention he deserves nationally, however, and is seen in a negative light by some Marquette fans. Despite a 2.1 assist-to-turnover ratio for his career, including a 2.2 average last year, some see him as turnover prone because of his performance in the Big East quarterfinals against Louisville last year.

In Marquette’s 84-71 loss to the Cardinals, who went on to win the conference title and advance to the Final Four, Cadougan turned the ball over a team-high eight times, but the Golden Eagles had 26 turnovers as a team.

Cadougan said he worked on some ball skills this summer and is ready to take care of the ball better this year.

“Things happened last year, and I’m over that,” Cadougan said. “I’m over that now and ready to go. We need every possession, and I’m going to try my best to limit my turnovers.”

As an example of how underappreciated he is on the national scene, CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander ranked the top 50 point guards in the country and didn’t even mention Cadougan.

Louisville’s Peyton Siva was Norlander’s best Big East guard at No. 9, with Syracuse’s Michael Carter-Williams (13), Connecticut’s Shabazz Napier (17), Providence’s Vincent Council (18), South Florida’s Anthony Collins (31), Pittsburgh’s Tray Woodall (36) and Syracuse’s Brandon Triche (39) also making the list.

It goes beyond that, however, as NBC Sports’ Raphielle Johnson didn’t include the Marquette backcourt in his Top 15. To Johnson’s credit, he listed Marquette in his “others” category.

Coach Buzz Williams is used to having his Marquette teams under the radar, but to not even include Cadougan in a top 50 ranking is borderline laughable.

“In the two years Junior has started, we’ve been to the Sweet 16,” Williams said. “What his heart is is really hard to quantify ... I think for his story as a human being and where he’s at as a student and as a player is really a great example to our guys.”

Being a great human being is different than being a great basketball player, but Williams is confident Cadougan can make the jump to being a great player this year.

“If you had just watched Junior

Men’s cover photos by Danny Alfonzo/ daniel.alfonzo@marquette.edu

every day, you would not look at him and go, ‘He’s a senior, he’s a really good point guard, he’s the guy that a lot of good things happen to when the ball goes off his hands,’” Williams said. “But you can’t quantify who he is internally, and that is a huge part of who we are.”

Redshirt senior forward Chris Otule is entering his fourth season with Cadougan as a teammate and is happy with the way he has handled himself both on and off the court.

“I’m proud of Junior because I’ve known him since he first came here,” Otule said. “I’m proud of what he’s doing now, and I hope for the best to come.”

7

The Golden Eagle

8

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Summitt brings more than a famous name

Photo courtesy of Marquette Images

Tyler Summitt, son of former Tennessee women’s coach Pat Summitt, has been working with offense and recruiting.

New assistant coach knows what it’s like to be around success

By Patrick Leary

patrick.leary@marquette.edu

Tyler Summitt has a famous mom. For all of his 22 years,

he has grown up in the massive shadow of legendary Tennessee coach Pat Summitt, the winningest coach in the history of college basketball, men’s or women’s.

But in 2012-13, the newest Marquette women’s basketball assistant coach will start writing a coaching legacy of his own.

“I couldn’t trade that for

anything,” Summitt said of his experiences with his mother. “Growing up every single day going to practice, going to every game, going on road trips – it was an incredible experience that only a coach’s kid could have.”

Marquette women’s basketball coach Terri Mitchell agrees that while those experiences with Pat weren’t the reason

Tyler got the job, they certainly will help the team while Tyler coaches.

“I didn’t hire him because his last name is Summitt,” Mitchell said. “But I am getting the benefit of his last name being Summitt.”

Mitchell made it clear that from the start Tyler went beyond his last name by communicating his goal to make Marquette a championship program.

“He got this job because of Tyler and who he is,” Mitchell said. “I asked him, ‘Why should I hire you?’ He said, ‘Because there’s only one thing I understand, and that’s a championship environment, and I’ll bring that every day.’”

As for what Summitt could do for the program, Mitchell said he has the right mentality to help Marquette bounce back.

“He brings to the table so much,” Mitchell said. “I love any tidbits he can bring, but the biggest thing he brings is a passion to win and a discipline to win. He didn’t come to Marquette to be sitting in 11th (place in the Big East, where it finished last year). He came to Marquette for us to be one of the best in the country in everything we do.”

Summitt stressed the importance of working with great fellow coaches in his first big coaching job.

“It’s an honor to work with Terri, someone who’s been here for so long and had so much success,” Summitt said.

“No matter where you are, it’s

all about the people. With Terri, Michelle (Nason) and ‘Q’ (Christina Quaye), it’s been a great group of people, and I’ve been blessed to be a part of it.”

So far, Summitt says his role has been to work with the offense and to talk to potential recruits on the road.

“I’ve been working on more of an offensive coordinator focus,” Summitt said.

“Out of bounds plays, recruiting and scouting have been more of my main focus.”

Junior forward Katherine Plouffe appreciates the impact Summitt has had on practices so far.

“He’s so knowledgeable,” Plouffe said. “He sees the details and fine-tunes everything.

He has completed our staff. He buys into the program and buys into our team so much.”

Moreover, she sees the positive impact Summitt will have on the program going forward.

“Because he’s seen a successful program, he knows what to bring,” Plouffe said. “He takes what he knows and inputs it to what we have going on.”

Beyond the impact he can make on the team, Summitt said Marquette is already on the right track to becoming a championship program.

“They’re so much of a family,” Summitt said. “They all care about each other and put the team before themselves.

That’s one of the first steps you have to take in order to win a championship.”

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The Golden Eagle

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Huskies still the class of Big East

9

By Kyle Doubrava

kyle.doubrava@marquette.edu

INCUMBENTS CONNECTICUT Can you name the last time Geno Auriemma failed to take the Huskies to the NCAA Tournament? Dig all the way back to 1988. Auriemma’s teams don’t fool around, evidenced by their five straight Final Four appearances, two of those resulting in championships. Receiving 12 out of a possible 15 first-place votes in the preseason Big East coaches poll, the Huskies should once f again finish out on top.

NOTRE DAME Yes, the Fighting Irish finished first last year in the Big East standings, and don’t be surprised if they do it again this season. Senior guard Skylar Diggins (16.8 ppg, 5.7 ast) has been tabbed as the Big East preseason player of the year and is backed by a solid core of sophomores and juniors who have the best chance out of any other team in the conference to beat Connecticut.

LOUISVILLE The Cardinals are expected to make plenty of noise after finishing tied for sixth last season.

Louisville made the tournament last season and advanced to the second round before losing to Maryland. Junior guard Shoni Schimmel will lead the way for the Cardinals, who will be using their experience to their best advantage; the team has seven juniors and seniors who will want to show the freshmen and sophomores how to make a deep tournament run.

ST. JOHNS The Red Storm will be an interesting team to watch this season.

If Notre Dame and Louisville fall out of the picture (for injuries or any other reason), St. John’s would automatically become the Big East candidate for the second overall seed. Three of the four top scorers return, but the team will need to improve on its 41.3 team field goal percentage. If St. John’s can continue to stifle opponents on the defensive end (37.9 opponent field goal percentage last year), it may not need to worry about the offense.

RUTGERS The Scarlet Knights lost their two top scorers to graduation, but coach C. Vivian Stringer spread out the playing time enough last season so that all players should be comfortable to step up and take charge.

Rutgers did not have a player last year average more than 30 minutes per game, and all of last year’s freshmen averaged at least 10 minutes per game, so the team should be poised for some big upset wins based on these young players getting the exposure they need.

SYRACUSE Despite finishing with a subpar 6-10 conference record last year, the Orange made it all the way to the WNIT semifinals, which surprised a good amount of fans.

Syracuse managed to average almost 69 points per game last year on just 37.9 percent shooting, so the primary goal for the Orange this season will be to boost that abysmal field goal percentage and maybe, just maybe, they’ll earn a spot in the Big Dance.

GEORGETOWN The Hoyas finished fourth in the conference last year, but the eighth-place prediction by Big East coaches may be because Georgetown has changed its head coach. Senior guard Sugar Rodgers (18.5 ppg) will be asked to prove the critics wrong and use her long-range shooting to her advantage (made 46 percent of the Hoyas’ 3-pointers last season).

SOUTH FLORIDA Even though South Florida has five returning players over 6-foot1, the Bulls were out-rebounded by 4.7 boards per game, which was an important factor in several of their losses. USF struggles to handle the ball (0.79 assist to turnover ratio) and its 69.0 percent foul shooting didn’t help its cause last year. Despite all of these mediocre stats, the Bulls made it to the third round of the WNIT. Don’t expect that same magic this season though.

VILLANOVA The Wildats return seven seniors, most prominently forward Laura Sweeney. She was tabbed by Big East coaches as a preseason conference honorable mention after leading the Wildcats in scoring, rebounding, field goal percentage, steals and blocks in 2011-’12. Villanova would be a true contender if it could rely on a player besides Sweeney, but that won’t likely be the case here.

PITTSBURGH Pittsburgh did not win a single conference game last year.

Zilch. Zero. It’s tough to win games in the Big East when you shoot 24 percent from longrange and get outscored an average of 12 points per contest.

Add the fact that the Panthers don’t have a single senior on the roster, and suddenly it looks like a true nightmare. They can consider themselves fortunate they don’t need to play Connecticut twice.

SETON HALL The Pirates were predicted to finish tied for 13th because coaches were skeptical of their lack of getting to the foul line (15.4 attempts per game) and poor ball handling (0.6 assist to turnover ratio). The team also lost its high scorer, Jasmine Crew (18.6 ppg). All things considered, Seton Hall shouldn’t be making a surprise 8-8 conference finish after going 1-15 in 2011-’12.

PROVIDENCE The Friars will no doubt have their work cut out for them; Providence has lost its top two scorers, top shot-blocker, top rebounder and assist leader. Teya Wright.

She accounted for 27 percent of Providence’s offensive rebounds.

It will be left up to senior guard Symone Roberts to lead the way (8.2 ppg, 3.2 rpg). After going 5-11 last year in conference action, though, it may be hard to believe this team finishes in dead last.

DARK HORSES DEPAUL Watch out for the Blue Demons.

DePaul is returning last year’s Big East scoring leader, Anna Martin (19.1 ppg), and will probably be the league’s biggest threat from 3-point range. In addition to Martin (64 3-PFG), sophomores Brittany Hrynko (58) and Megan Rogowski (53) are both returning and will want to light it up from deep. DePaul can easily finish fourth in the conference if it can pick up a few key upset victories.

THIRD PARTY CANDIDATES MARQUETTE As coach Terri Mitchell has expressed, the Golden Eagles have lacked offensive efficiency recently. Marquette will need to focus its offense around junior forward Katherine Plouffe, who led the team in scoring and rebounding last season. Despite having a seemingly easy conference road schedule, the task is always more difficult than it sounds. Marquette will need to solve its offensive woe, and until then it looks like it will be another rebuilding year.

CINCINNATI Cincinnati won 16 games last season after winning just nine the previous year, so why aren’t coaches thinking the Bearcats can have a 20-plus win campaign? It doesn’t exactly appear as if Cincy is going to wow fans in many facets of its game; 57.1 points per game, 65 percent foul shooting, 32 rebounds per game and an ever-improving group of Big East teams give everyone reason to believe this season will be less-than-stellar for the ’Cats.

Challenging home slate ahead Golden Eagles host Navy, Green Bay in nonconference action Marquette’s conference schedule features a challenging home slate and a relatively easy road lineup. In the non-conference spread, the Golden Eagles will be playing against teams that participated in the NCAA Tournament last year. Here’s a closer look at Marquette’s schedule strength at home and on the road.

like we feel we have when we’re on the road in the Big East.”

Marquette’s first home game is this Saturday against Butler. The team then plays four consecutive road games and won’t return to the Al until a Dec. 1 tilt against Fordham. Mitchell hopes the team plays well on opening night to make the fans want to come back for more after the road swing.

“We only play once in November,” Mitchell said. “We only give our fans one opportunity to see us, and then we’re on the road for a good long time.”

The Golden Eagles will host Navy and Green Bay, two teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament last year.

DOMESTIC

FOREIGN

The Golden Eagles are going to have their hands full at the Al McGuire Center, especially when league play commences. Seven of the squad’s eight league home games will be against teams predicted to finish in the top half of the conference.

Coach Terri Mitchell sees the tall task ahead but hopes the team will be comfortable enough playing at home at that point.

“You get the hometown crowd behind you and you get the comfort of home,” Mitchell said. “You hope you have some advantages and that we can put them in a disadvantage

The teams Marquette plays on the road seem beatable, but that’s almost never the case in basketball.

The Golden Eagles will play seven of their eight league road games against teams that are projected to finish in the lower half of the Big East standings. In a conference like the Big East, however, no game is a guaranteed win. Junior guard Gabi Minix said the team won’t be taking the road games lightly.

“When we go and get Ws on the road, that just helps motivate us more,” Minix said.

“We don’t have a lot fans that come with us, and they have a

By Kyle Doubrava

kyle.doubrava@marquette.edu

lot of fans going against us.”

Marquette will be greatly testing itself against some powerful schools on the non-conference away schedule. The team will be playing at South Dakota State, Texas A&M and Georgia Tech, all tournament participants last season and expected contenders for this season. If Marquette can come away with even two wins against these teams, it would give the team not only confidence, but a solid resume for NIT or even NCAA consideration.

CONNECTICUT Marquette redshirt freshman center Lauren Tibbs took a glance at her team’s conference schedule and saw that the Golden Eagles have to play Connecticut, arguably the nation’s best team, not once but twice this year.

Many teams would be frightened by this, but Tibbs sees these two games as a perfect opportunity to put Marquette on the right track.

“I think we approach it not necessarily that we have to play Connecticut twice, it’s we get to play Connecticut twice,” Tibbs said.

“It’s an awesome team, and they’ve obviously established themselves at the national level. I think it’ll be really good for us to get the chance to play them here at home and measure ourselves against them.”

Photo by Alyce Peterson/alyce.peterson@marquette.edu

The Golden Eagle

10

Lower expectations create higher team motivation This season’s more experienced squad showing improvement

By Kyle Doubrava

kyle.doubrava@marquette.edu

Being selected to finish 11th in the Big East in the conference’s preseason coaches poll isn’t exactly flattering for the Marquette women’s basketball team.

It is, however, an excellent source of motivation.

The Golden Eagles will need to prove their critics wrong right away when the regular season begins this Saturday against Butler and will have to play with much better efficiency over the year in order to earn a higher league seeding.

“I think, if you look at us statistically, offense was a big struggle for us,” coach Terri Mitchell said at the team’s media day on Oct. 24. “That’s speaking the truth when you look at your stats. How do we prove people wrong? Consistent. We have to be consistent in our play and consistent for 40 minutes.”

Marquette scored 60 points or fewer in 12 of 16 conference games last season, which played a large role in its 4-12 record and

14th place finish. Sophomore guard Cristina Bigica is confident the team can perform much better than its predicted 11th place finish, and she thinks one way of doing that is continuing to develop chemistry early in the season.

“This year we’ll be higher than 11th because no one graduated,” the guard from Bucharest, Romania, native said. “We’re the same team, and we know each other so much better. I can say 11th place is a motivation for all of us.

No one wants to be ranked 11th.”

The players may be well-acquainted with each other, but a slew of injuries last year forced the team to constantly mix and match in the middle of a fierce Big East schedule. Mitchell wants the players to remain healthy and stay in shape, which can be a key to getting out of the conference’s basement.

“We were young and injured, very injured last year,” Mitchell said. “Our rotation kept changing, so we couldn’t do a lot of things we wanted to. We were basically maintaining bodies so we could get through the season and be injury-free. We’re through that, and we understand injuries are part of it.”

Sophomore guard Margeaux Dupuy has been satisfied with how practices have been going and would like to see the team translate its play from practices to games easily.

“We’ve been working really hard in practice, so as long as we show how hard we’ve been working in our games, I think we’ll be fine,” Dupuy said.

On a more personal note, Dupuy wants to improve her ability to execute decisions on the court and become a more reliable backcourt option. Bigica, who may be sharing time with Dupuy in the backcourt, wants to see herself make some individual strides of progress before important Big East games start up.

“I want to improve on handling the ball and have the least amount of turnovers I can make,” Bigica said. “(Make) good passes and just make the best shots for the team.”

Despite the offensive woes for the Golden Eagles last year, Mitchell will place a focal point on defense, an area in which the team is somewhat already comfortable; Marquette held conference opponents to 60 points or fewer in seven games.

“You’re always going to get a defensive emphasis from me one way or the other,” Mitchell said.

“Whether it’s zone (or man-toman), it’s just, ‘How does it change each year?’. I think you’ll find we’ll do a lot more man.”

So over the first 100 days, can Marquette ramp up its offense, develop its chemistry, stay healthy and continue to execute defensively? Time will tell.

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

POST SEASON POLL

50% No Post Season Christopher Chavez Kyle Doubrava Patrick Leary

16.7% Bronze 1st Round WNIT Michael LoCicero

16.7% Silver 2nd Round WNIT Trey Killian

16.7% Gold 3rd Round WNIT Matt Trebby

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Tuesday, November 6, 2012

The Golden Eagle

11

Rookies may help eliminate backcourt deficit Santos, Pumroy add depth, youth to solid stable of guards

By Christopher Chavez

christopher.chavez@marquette.edu

The Marquette women’s basketball team was the second-youngest team in the NCAA last year with six freshmen and no seniors.

Things look different in 2012 for coach Terri Mitchell’s team, with

just two freshmen in Brooklyn Pumroy and Ashley Santos.

Both incoming freshmen saw limited action in their senior years of high school due to knee injuries, but they still have Mitchell excited about their contributions to the team.

“I’m impressed by their passion for the game of basketball and their passion to make a difference on this program,” Mitchell said.

The Golden Eagles changed their offensive style for the upcoming season by having each player take on a general guard or post position. A player like Pumroy helps ease the pressure on other guards

like junior Gabi Minix.

Pumroy led the Fairborn (Ohio) High School team to a 21-3 record her junior year of high school, adding on a district finals appearance. Prior to injuring her knee, she was one of the more agile players in the Greater Western Ohio Conference.

Being from Ohio, her favorite player growing up was Wright State center Israel Sheinfeld. He wore No. 10 and played three seasons at the university in Pumroy’s neighborhood before leaving to sign a contract with a professional Israeli team. She looks up to him and will be wearing the same

number on her jersey in 2012-13.

Unlike Pumroy, Santos has not practiced yet as she finishes up her rehabilitation. She arrived at Marquette as a top 50 recruit and was ranked 89th on ESPN’s overall prospect list.

Her vertical has been highlighted as a strength, but when she had to undergo knee surgery, she believes her skill level took a hit.

She is now working her way back.

“Before my injury, I was more of an explosive player and more into my vertical,” Santos said.

“That’s the type of thing where losing my legs hurts, and I want to get back right away. That’s

#33

Ashley Santos 5’11” Freshman guard Geneva, Illinois

#10

Brooklyn Pumroy 5’9” Freshman guard Fairborn, Ohio

my main focus.”

Santos does physical therapy every day with the team’s strength and conditioning coach and works closely with assistant coach Tyler Summitt on skill drills.

Summitt is in his first year at Marquette after playing basketball at Tennessee and spending one year as a student assistant coach under his mother, legendary women’s basketball coach Pat Summitt.

Working with Pat Summitt, he was able to see hundreds of the top recruits in the country. He sees a lot of talent similarities in different conferences.

“When I was with my mom I was in the SEC, and Marquette is at the exact same level in the Big East,” Summit said.

“It’s great to see players that can do things and be explosive.

It’s going to be a lot of fun.”

Since Santos was young, basketball was always popular within the family. Her mother played Division I basketball at Wichita State and her father played in a professional league and made the Puerto Rico national team.

Santos has represented Puerto Rico twice in her career on the U18 and U19 national teams.

“It was one of the best experiences of my life,” Santos said. “I was able to travel and do a lot of international tournaments that not a lot of players get a chance to do.”

Six players knew what it was like to be a freshman just a year ago, which leads to a positive team chemistry and an easy transition for the new freshmen to mesh with their teammates.

“They’ve been very welcoming,” Pumroy said. “It’s a great group of girls and they’re awesome to be around. I feel very at home here.”

COLUMN

After last year, there’s nowhere to go but up

Matt Trebby For Terri Mitchell’s Marquette team, it can’t get much worse than last season.

It will not be anywhere near that bad this season.

Last season, Mitchell’s team went 14-17 overall and 4-12 in the Big East. It was expected to be a rebuilding year for the team, but not nearly to that extent.

The Golden Eagles only had one upperclassman on their roster, then-junior forward Sarina Simmons, who is this team’s only senior. They relied on freshmen and sophomores throughout the campaign and did not have success doing so.

After starting Big East play 3-1, they finished 2-12, including two games in the Big East Tournament.

At the time, it didn’t seem like there was much good to come from the season. While inexperienced players received more playing time, what good could come of losing over and over by double digits?

Well, there are plenty of

reasons for optimism coming into the season. There are plenty of established interior players, with forward Katherine Plouffe entering her junior season coming off an impressive statistical year as a sophomore.

Sophomore center Chelsie Butler will hope to make a step forward this season as well.

On the perimeter, junior guard Gabi Minix will continue to run the team’s offense, which turned the ball over way too much last season. Marquette consistently had games with more than 20 turnovers, which can lead to nothing good.

Sophomore guard Arlesia Morse is the team’s sharpshooter and a solid candidate to be Marquette’s leading scorer.

Freshman guard Ashley Santos was a McDonald’s AllAmerican nominee and is likely to help Morse on the perimeter and take a bit of the scoring burden. Junior guard Katie Young should be healthy and will be a nice option off the bench.

The Golden Eagles are going to have depth. There is no doubt about that. They probably will even have the talent necessary to compete with any team on any given night in the Big East.

How high can this Golden Eagles team soar? Well, it’s likely not going to be as high as the teams of 200910 or 2010-11 that made the NCAA Tournament, but it

will be competitive in one of the country’s best conferences.

Will Marquette be competing for the conference championship? Probably not, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be playing an exciting brand of basketball, with a few players who will really catch your eye.

During games, Simmons is one of those players. She can frustrate you, wow you with her athleticism and then make you think, “Huh?” all in one possession.

Simmons was moved out to the perimeter as more of a small forward last season and took a bit of time to adjust to her new position. Her inconsistency has been well documented here at Marquette, and as the team’s most talented player, Simmons may be the key for the Golden Eagles this season. If she is on her game and finds her groove, Marquette will be one of the Big East’s tougher teams to beat.

With all the doubts surrounding this team, one thing is definitely for sure, and that is the quality of coach Marquette has. Mitchell is one of the best

and most respected coaches in the country. She has rebuilt a team from scratch before.

So while preseason expectations aren’t going to have Marquette winning the Big East, stay calm, Golden Eagles. Your women’s basketball team is on the right track,

and there is no doubt about it.

It is only a matter of time, maybe even a few months if you’re feeling ambitious, until Mitchell has this team competing with the best in the Big East again. matthew.trebby@marquette.edu

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GOING FOR GOLD