It appeared to be the same old story for Marquette in this young season during the first half. Marquette gave up many open looks, and they struggled to score again. Arizona State went up by as much as 15 points making it seem like the Golden Eagles could get boatraced in the desert. They found their way back into the game cutting the lead to only 10 points thanks in large part to Jahii Carson on the bench with two fouls. Marquette looked like an entirely different team in the second half led by Jake Thomas, Derrick Wilson and Davante Gardner. Two unlikely contributors with one standard.
Thomas drew the ire of almost all Marquette fans including yours truly. The only people defending Thomas might have been his own family at this point. FOX Sports 1 color commentator Bill Raftery made a mention early in the second half, 'Thomas has the stroke, he just needs the confidence.' Thomas must have found Jobu on the bench because he started becoming the rainmaker everyone wanted him to be going into the season. Thomas made five 3-pointers, and he finished with his Marquette high of 18 points. I do not care Thomas shot 12 threes in the process. If he starts becoming a lethal 3-point shooter, this is a dangerous Marquette team. Speaking of dangerous, Derrick Wilson figured out a move on offense that he can use to his advantage... the floater. Wilson might have always had this in his arsenal, but he finally used it to his advantage as well as taking in to the lane for the first time in his entire career. That is not a hyperbolic statement either with Wilson. This was Wilson's first game in his Marquette career where he had double-digits in points having 14 tonight. Additionally, he had seven assists and zero turnovers. This might be the pinnacle of Wilson's offense, but if he can contributed six to eight points a game with the same amount of assists plus limiting the turnovers, Marquette will be golden.
After a fast start against Southern, Gardner scuffled his feet in the next three games like the rest of the team. Gardner had 18 points with 12 rebounds notching his first double-double of the season. The rebounds are more important stat to me. In the first four games, Gardner had 18 rebounds averaging just over four a game. Gardner's rebounding numbers are forever inconsistent and one day, the hope is numbers will start trending towards what he did on Monday night. He also made a three and stupidly took a three so there's that.
This blog post might make you think Marquette won so there still is some deserved criticism. Jamil Wilson deserves some of it. While he did have a season-high in points, the shot selection for Wilson was not the greatest. He is currently shooting 31 percent for the season, and some that comes from his lack of 3-point shooting. Out of his 32 shots all season, 12 of them have been 3-point attempts meaning 37 percent of his shots have been from deep. For Jamil, that is too much. He needs to find the elbow jumper that he would make nine out of ten times last season. Wilson also needs to be more careful with his defense and his aggressive nature. His fourth foul happened on a loose ball in the middle of the second half, and if Wilson avoids that one, it could have been a different story.
Last year, Marquette faced many late game situations with Vander Blue finding the ball and having the big moment. Blue is not there anymore meaning they need a go-to guy late in the game. Currently, Marquette does not have that, and they did not have one until February last season. I do not mind Wilson taking the floater late. It is better than him launching a three or freaking out with the ball late in the game. Yes, he got blocked but that somehow is still promising he tried it out instead of shitting the bed.
While this post might make me look like a soccer mom or dad whatever way you perceive me, it is nice to see this Marquette come together a little bit. Hopefully, this will carryover to their Thanksgiving Day game against Cal-State Fullerton.
Charlie.
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