Bleacher Report - Marquette Basketball

Marquette's Chris Otule Breaks Foot, Likely Out for the Year

Mark Strotman — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 10:48:29 -0500

Marquette received some bad news on the eve of their game against South Dakota when they learned that sophomore center Chris Otule will likely miss the remainder of the season with a broken foot he suffered in practice Monday.

In three games where Otule had been used sparingly against smaller competition, he was averaging 3.7 points and 2.2 rebounds to go along with 1.7 blocks per game.

He had played just 25 total minutes in the first three games due to the lack of height of the opponents Marquette faced, but was expected to get a heavy dose of minutes in the Old Spice Classic Tournament coming up later this week in Orlando.

This is not Otule’s first time suffering from a foot injury, as last season the 6′10″ center from Texas was lost for six weeks after injuring his foot early in November.

As a freshman on a senior-laced team, the injury set him back and he saw minimal minutes the rest of the year.

Despite the lack of production, Otule was expected to fill in for the graduating Dwight Burke as Marquette’s “big man”, and he had been preparing accordingly.

Daily workouts with trainer Todd Smith, and a trip to Germany over the summer that helped him gain confidence and skill as well, had Otule pegged as a breakout candidate for Marquette’s young team.

The Golden Eagles will be able to redshirt Otule if they choose to, but that is about the only positive that comes out of the injury.

This newest injury to Otule will surely set him back, but the hope is that he can come back with a positive attitude and is champing at the bit to get back on the court.

For the here and now, Marquette will need to continue on with their season down a man, and a big man at that.

While the loss of Otule will not hurt the Golden Eagles much in the box score or on the offensive end, Otule’s presence on defense and the fact that he was another body coming off the bench will.

Without Otule, Marquette has just one player over 6′7″, Youssoupha Mbao, who is more of a project than anything.

Because of this, Marquette will more than likely go back to the small lineup that they implemented last year and try to out-run teams on offense while playing aggressive defense to make up for the lack of size.

This will mean an instant increase in the minutes of freshman Jeronne Maymon and junior Joe Fulce, who is battling a knee injury of his own.

In particular, the young Golden Eagles will have to grow up even faster than they once thought, now done one more man on the bench.

Just as it was last season, the guards will need to step up big and carry the team on both ends of the court, while the front court will need to play out of position and compete while being undersized the majority of the time.

The injury to Otule probably shifts Maymon over to the 5 spot, while Lazar Hayward and Jimmy Butler could see some time there as well.

The guard rotation of Maurice Acker, David Cubillan, Dwight Buycks, and Darius Johnson-Odom helps, but expect to see some more of Buycks playing the three spot if Marquette finds themselves in foul trouble.

Even freshman Erik Williams will need to pick up the slack for a Marquette team that currently has 10 healthy players on their roster, including the less-than 100 percent Fulce.

The Golden Eagles have suffered a slew of injuries over the past year and a half that have really cut into the depth of the team, including Otule, Fulce, and Dominic James last season and Junior Cadougan, Darius Johnson-Odom, Fulce, and Otule this season.

Then-freshman Liam McMorrow also left the team for medical reasons after last season.

As little silver lining as their could be to having your best big man go down for the season, at the same time it will help the young guns progress even quicker.

While throwing them into the fire right away wasn’t the game plan, things change over the course of the year and coach Buzz Williams will have to make those adjustments.

Williams recruits players who are going to fight for their team because they want to win and they want to be here, and with Marquette’s back against the wall right now after Otule’s injury, it’s time to fight.

Read more Marquette Basketball news on BleacherReport.com

Marquette Gets Last Minute Signing From PG Reggie Smith

Mark Strotman — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:41:59 -0500

Buzz Williams and Marquette received some great news at the end of Wednesday night’s early signing period, as Illinois point guard Reggie Smith signed his letter of intent to play for the Golden Eagles. The signing came unexpectedly to most, despite Marquette’s involvement with Smith in the recruiting process.

The 6′1″ point guard seems to fit the mold exactly for what Williams is looking in a point guard. Smith’s speed sets him apart and his ability to play in transition will get him on the court sooner than later. In terms of offensive sets, Smith lives off driving to the basket to get his shots. He is still raw and has to work better at getting his teammates the ball off the dribble, but the talent is there for him to do that.

If you were on the fence on whether or not to go to Marquette Madness in 2010, Smith’s signing alone should push you over the edge. Why? Smith is one of the best dunkers in the 2010 class and has a knack to flush it home when he gets to the rim. He takes his fair share of layups, but any chance he gets to throw one down, he does.

Defensively, Smith has good size for a point guard “6′1″, 175 lbs.) and uses it very well against defenders. A high-end motor keeps him on his man and he has room to grow with the speed that he has. That energy will get him on the court and if he continues to work hard, he could be a steal.

Overall, Smith’s game is very raw and he needs to hone in his athleticism. Sometimes Smith’s athleticism gets him in trouble by playing out of control and trying to force things. As he slows down his game and becomes more of a true point guard, his natural position, his value will become even greater.

If it’s not too bold to say, Smith looks a lot like Dominic James with his athleticism and ability to drive. Like James, Smith can struggle with his outside shot at times but the talent and potential is there for him to improve on that part of his game.

Smith will play his senior year for Thornton High School in Harvey, IL. His AAU team, Mac Irvin Fire, was considered one of the best in Illinois last year with Smith and University of Illinois recruits Crandall Head and Jerome Richmond.

Looking to the 2010 back court, Smith is a great compliment to red-shirted freshman Junior Cadougan. More of a pass-first point guard, Cadougan will rotate with Smith at the point guard spot and create a great mismatch with the two different styles of play.

The signing of Smith most likely moves 2010 recruit Vander Blue to shooting guard, although his versatility will also allow him to handle the ball.

Ranked 105th according to Rivals.com and the 35th-best point guard according to Scout.com, Smith isn’t a top-tier recruit that pushes Marquette’s recruiting class into the top five for 2010.

However, another top-100 recruit that has the potential to blossom as he molds into a point guard is exactly what Williams was looking for to fill one of the two roster spots for next year. As usual, Williams and the Marquette staff semi-flew under the radar with the recruiting of Smith as many expected he was leaning towards USC.

After losing out on power forward Tarik Black, who ended up at Memphis, it was good to see Buzz and the staff pull out a third recruit before the early signing period was over.

With one scholarship remaining, expect Williams the Marquette staff to go hard after a big man to solidify their 2010 class. Rumors of a junior college forward have circulated to balance out the class and avoid having four freshman on the roster.

Buzz Williams has shown again that he is a great recruiter that can bring in top-100 talent and has done it again for 2010.

Last season it was easier for Buzz to bring in the talent that he did because he had so much playing time to offer, but now the recruits are coming in packs and giving great depth to a Marquette team that should compete for a Big East title in the next couple of years.

Read more Marquette Basketball news on BleacherReport.com