I felt pretty comfortable with the idea that we would see Nigel James on the preseason watch list for the Bob Cousy Award, which goes to the best point guard in the country every season. I also thought that would probably be it for preseason watch lists for Marquette men’s basketball. It’s one thing to expect that the Naismith Hall of Fame would think that James is one of the 20 best point guards in the country, but one of Marquette’s other players as one of the 20 best at their position? Seemed
unlikely.
[BUZZER NOISE] WRONG! Louisville transfer Sananda Fru is on the watch list for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award, which goes to the best center in the country every year.
Fru averaged 9.0 points and 6.1 rebounds in about 22 minutes per game for Louisville last season in 35 appearances. There’s not really anything there that shouts “will be one of the 20 best in the country with a change of scenery,” even with Fru leading the ACC in two-point shooting percentage last year at .765. There is that top 30 offensive rebound rate and that top 75 block rate though, I suppose. Give him a bigger role at Marquette, and maybe some magic happens, that’s the argument for Fru on this list.
While you can play your way on and off this watch list as the season goes along, Fru is going to get a pretty solid number of chances to show what he can do against some of the other 19 guys on the preseason list. Going in order as they appear on the schedule this season:
Moustapha Thiam, Michigan
Johann Grunloh, Virginia
Nolan Winter, Wisconsin
Oswin Erhunmwunse, Creighton
Luigi Suigo, Villanova
Marquette gets two games against both Creighton and Villanova, of course, so that’s seven games against five guys in the 20 man preseason watch list. That’s pretty good, and we’ll get Fru’s first crack at one of them in Week 2 of the regular season.
Marquette gets things started for realsies on Monday, November 2, with a home game at Fiserv Forum against Mercyhurst. Tipoff on ESPN+ is set for 6:30pm Central time.
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