The one- time coaching prodigy, who took VCU to the 2011 Final Four at 32 and was at Texas for five years and became available after being dismissed following a first round NCAA loss to Abilene Christian, has gone back to his roots in the Midwest, resurfacing at the perennial national power and Big East program that was looking for a reset after the school fired Steve Wojciehowski following a 13-14 season. me
The 43- year- old Smart inherited a team that lost eight players, including future NBA center Dawson Garcia, the Big East Rookie of the Year, transferred to North Carolina and 6-9 senior center Theo Johns, who left for Duke, to the transfer portal, leaving him to start his first year with nine new faces.
Sharpe, one of the best recruiters in the country, is rebuilding with nine new faces. The Golden Eagles are starting four transfers, fifth year senior guard and Big Ten defensive Player of the Year Darryl ne Morsell of Maryland, fifth year senior center Kur Kuath from Oklahoma, redshirt freshman point guard and Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Yer Tyler Kolek of George Mason, 6-7 redshirt freshman Olivier Maxene Prosper from Clemson along with 6-7, 243-pound redshirt freshman forward Justin Lewis.
Lewis who came to Marquette from St Francis Academy in Baltimore became the darling of Marquette fans everywhere last year when his last second tip in gave the Golden Eagles a 67-64 victory over then fourth-ranked in state rival Wisconsin. He took his game to new heights this week when he scored a career high 33 points on 11 of 19 shooting as the Golden Eagles (15-6, 7-3) won their seventh straight Big East game, defeating Seton Hall, 73-63, at the Rock in Newark.
Lewis has emerged as a hero during this stretch, scoring the final seven points and making a game winning three with 11.9 seconds to play a week earlier as Marquette defeated Villanova,57-54, to break the Cats 29-game winning streak at the Pavilion.
The Golden Eagles haven’t lost since Jan. 1 and their last four wins have come against teams ranked in the Top 25 and their last four victories have been against teams ranked in the Top 25 this month, jumping to 22 in AP poll. They have a shot to move even higher Saturday when they play Providence (17-2, 7-1) another surprise team that leads the league despite being picked seventh in pre-season, on the road.
Not bad for a team picked to finish ninth in the pre-season poll. “I think when you lose four in a row like we did before the winning streak, there’s some humility comes out of that,” Smart said. “We ‘ve been able to win some games since then but we’re the same team and the same guys. Hopefully we’ve got a little bit better and grown in some areas. I think one thing that our guys realized is that our anchor has to be defense. And we’ve done a better job there.”
Against Villanova, the Eagles made stops in 11 of the Cats’ 12 possessions. they jumped out to a 37-21 halftime lead against the Pirates.
Lewis has jumped into the Big East Player of the Year conversation during this hot steak, making 13 of 22 threes over the last three games
“The whole summer when i met Shaka, he just embraced work,” Lewis said. “And that’s what I did over the summer. i got up those reps.”
Lewis also added nine rebounds and six assists against the Hall
“I can understand why people picked us ninth,” Smart said. “We have three returning players from last year. A lot of new faces. But we’re midway through the league and the thing about this conference is taht there’s seven or eight teams that really really are dangerous. And whether you play them on your home floor or their home floor, it’s going to be a war.”
