CONTENTS

Editor: Stephen Filmanowicz

Assistant Writer/Editor: Rachel Gintner Orlando

Art Director: Julie Savasky, 508 Creative

Editorial Team: Sarah Koziol, Arts ’92; Jennifer Russell; Karen Samelson; Stacy Tuchel

Marquette Magazine

(Spring 2023, Vol. 41, Issue No. 1), for and about alumni and friends of Marquette, is published two times a year by Marquette University, 1250 W. Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53233

This issue’s contents are current as of April 1, 2023. For up-to-date Marquette news, visit today.marquette.edu.

Postage paid at Milwaukee, WI

Address correspondence to Marquette Magazine, P.O. Box 1881, Milwaukee, WI 53201-1881 USA mumagazine@marquette.edu. Phone: (414) 288-7448

Publications Agreement No. 1496964

Egbs

At the center of the men’s Golden Eagles’ distinct culture and success this season (see “Picked to finish ninth” below) was second-year head coach Shaka Smart. Known as a builder of swarming defenses, he helped this team craft one of the nation’s most efficient offenses. He built real relationships with team members and motivated them with now-familiar mantras — urging them to be “dominoes” making the next person better, and calling for “energy-generating behaviors” (anything from a defensive deflection to a chest bump after a score, all tallied carefully by assistants during practices). In frequent, often exuberant motion, Smart emerged as a major source of EGBs himself, which endeared him to fans near and far.

All Net

“I’m playing the game I love with my best friends,” junior center Oso Ighodaro said after hoisting the Big East tournament trophy in New York’s Madison Square Garden. His words captured the team’s tight bond and admirable Marquette way of winning. Smart and President Michael R. Lovell both praised how well their values fit each other and their institution. After Lovell missed out on the net cutting at a ceremony at the end of the regular season, Smart vowed, “We just have to go win in the Garden and cut down another net.” That’s exactly what happened, leading to an emotional high, an evening when iconic landmarks in New York and Milwaukee glowed blue and gold. As the great run ended a week later in the NCAA tournament’s second round, loss and gratitude mixed with a sense of more to come.

“PICKED TO FINISH NINTH”

The season that started with a discouraging assessment — Big East coaches rating the Golden Eagles ninth of 11 teams in the conference — ascended step-by-step to thrilling heights. Most wins in program history. First outright Big East regular season championship. First Big East tournament triumph. Junior point guard Tyler Kolek selected as Big East Player of the Year. And Shaka Smart named both Big East and AP College Basketball Coach of the Year. Along the way, the prediction clung to the team — serving alternately as a challenge, an emblem of pride and unquenchable spirit, and an exclamation point on how this group grew and who they became. In the end, phrase and team became part of Marquette lore.