Marcus Garrett
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I like malik
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I missed it on Marcus early.
But he has played his role and gotten better.
Any 6-7 freshman that can guard inside and out and protect most of his first year and glassvac some has accomplished a lot! He reminds me some of 6-7 Bobby Wilkerson-the 2 guard to Quinn Buckner on some of Knights teams including the great one.
It will be interesting to see, if he bulks up to play inside more, or if he stays a 6-7 wing.
Where others focus on improving his shot, I want him to work on dribbling and upper body strength first. His shot seems to be coming along slowly on its own. A 6-7 2 guard that could bring the ball up some and be smooth at wing point initiating would be a HUGE MUA!
Like Bobby Wilkerson, his defense could really be stunning outside and his help could enable one of Self’s great team defenses, if Self can find him the right PG.
Or he could beef up some take over Svi’s role nicely, too!
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@BShark every coach loves a Marcus Garrett
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I was thrilled when we signed him, everything I read sounded like he was custom made for Self. He played PG on offense and C on defense in HS. He’s definitely 6’6’’ now as he looks taller than Vick. Don’t know about 6’7’’ but he could get there if he isn’t already. He is only 19 after all.
@jaybate-1-0 I’m really not worried about his handle at all. It’s quite good at this stage especially considering his size. Very much agree about him being a key defensive cog. He is very disruptive and just has a great feel for the game.
Next year we have the potential to see a return to great defense especially if Doke is back. There will be growing pains with new pieces but I trust Self to get them to gel. But when you consider this line-up: Dotson, Grimes, Garrett, Dedric, Doke. Just wow… A 7 foot beast patrolling the paint, a very rangy long arms forward in Dedric (who mysteriously gained an inch coming to KU), Garrett on the wing at 6’6’’+ and we have already seen how disruptive he is at that end, a 6’5’’ big, powerful and lengthy 2G/CG in Grimes and a 6’2’’ PG in Dotson that just talked about his commitment on the defensive end in a recent article.
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I didn’t like him in this line up most of the year because he was a non-scorer that opposing teams didn’t have to guard at all allowing double teams on someone else. And most of the season when Malik, who often took (takes) terrible shots, and Vick who disappeared, and Doke who mostly could only dunk, Garrett was a huge liability on offense and part of our losses.
Now that he has shown he can drop a 3 or drive to the rim on occasion, completely different story and I look forward to cheering him on in many future games. The fact that he is likely a multi year glue guy is muey bueno!
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This thread is ++ right now
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I didn’t either, I said he might end up being the steal of the class. He has good hands and he can dribble just fine; he played PG in HS and he was the Gatorade POY inTexas playing that position.
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BeddieKU23 said:
This thread is ++ right now
So is Garrett.
Back to that potential defensive line-up for a moment. The one potential weak link is probably Grimes but I the hope is that Self can get him engaged on that end. From what I’ve heard a lot of it is just effort with him.
Overall I like Grimes a lot though. Great handling and vision with fairly elite size for his position especially at the college level. Has some girth to him as well, but is still quick and has a lot of body control/wiggle/whatever you want to call it. Really it’s something that needs to be seen. He just has a great knack for hanging in air and finishing. Also a great feel for the game in general…like Garrett. Big big fan of getting actual basketball players instead of total projects like Cunliffe and Jamari. Grimes could probably stand to speed up the release on his jump shot. I imagine that is something the staff will work with him on. His form is already good so no issue there.
@JayHawkFanToo PG on offense, C on defense.
That right there spoke volumes to his commitment to winning and the game. He was barely on anyone’s radar before he committed to KU. Old coaching connections helped out tremendously there. We were only his THIRD offer along with Baylor and SMU.
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He looked comfortable bringing the ball up the court on one possession that West Virginia initially pressed but once he got the ball it was just Ahmad guarding him up the court. He’s gained confidence to do that and has developed some poise getting regular minutes. Any offense we get from him is always a bonus.
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We really only need Grimes to defend at a blending in level anyway. His value will be passing, perimeter shooting and having a big body that can get to the lane and finish. If he’s an above average defender it really just helps his draft stock even more. He’ll have to be taught defensive effort as most kids come in needing. Dotson might be an exception to the norm as was Garrett. Those kids don’t grow on tree’s though. Get Grimes in early and get him adjusted and he’ll be fine. He’s too good to be anything less then good enough
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@BeddieKU23 Agree. We already know what Doke and Garrett bring defensively (the pain) and Dedric was elite in that area at Memphis. Nothing but positives when reading about Dotson defensively. So he just needs to be a guy. Plus having Doke plus Dedric with his crazy wingspan means we can overplay the 3 point line a bit because we have erasers inside.
I could go on about Grimes’ offensive game all day, he is exciting. I recommend anyone that hasn’t to watch highlights to get a feel for it.
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The defensive potential of next years squad definitely is a revert to teams of the past. We should have plenty of options in the post. De Sousa, KJ & Lightfoot could all be positive defensive contributors next year off the bench. That’s not even including McCormack who’s a big dude. We could be a good rebounding and 2pt % defensive team for the first time in a while.
Perimeter defense will be suspect until we see how guys fit together. Garrett will be the only known entity currently. We have no idea what’s happening with Vick and Newmanjust yet. Ogbaji has a good body to work with and has a rep for being a hard worker. Sam?MIA. Langford would be the ideal two way guy if he came here
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@jaybate-1.0 I would like to see Self let Marcus harass Young when he is in the game tonight.
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Agree. If Doke returns we have a lot to look forward with our defense. Naturally Doke would continue to improve his feel for rebounding and protecting the rim which we are seeing improved signs from the latter. His rebounding game still has at least another level to reach. The Lawson’s bring that toughness with them.
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Barney said:
@jaybate-1.0 I would like to see Self let Marcus harass Young when he is in the game tonight.
I think Marcus guarded him a few times in Norman, didn’t go so well. Young has that quickness to him that makes it harder for bigger guys to fight around screens. I think the best bet is to have Graham or Newman’s quickness and hope they are locked in tonight.
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I’m a huge fan of Marcus. That move shown from the ISU game is what other NC teams master. Right off the bat, I’m thinking of Villanova.
Notice how Marcus keeps his arms busy… going straight up for the deflection on the feed, and keeping his arms loose and out… ready to attack. It makes it easy for him to jab at the ball, like he did in this video. Another big thing… notice how he stays bouncing. If he is guarding on a spot where he isn’t moving lateral, he will still keep bouncing. That bounce helps keep his feet reacting quickly with his brain and ready for a fast reaction. Also… it is thought that defenses showing more motion, even if positioned in one spot guarding a stationary player… the motion of 5 guys bouncing and showing energy creates a level of chaos for the offense, often leading to anxiety and speeding them up. Watch tape of any game where one team suddenly gets motivated and starts showing lots of defensive motion… usually… it leads to TOs or rushed shots.
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@drgnslayr Interesting point about Marcus and his bouncing, because I noticed Malik getting flat-footed while guarding Carter dribbling out front.
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Malik is learning. Actually…look back at the video. Malik is bouncing while standing in place. But I know what you are talking about. When Malik’s man has the ball, Malik typically isn’t bouncing. He tends to spread his stance and bend his knees more. And credit to him, this is what he is taught. Bounce isn’t always the answer, especially when trying to defend in the ball handler’s grill!
One more thing… look at Svi in this video! He is playing far off the ball and he’s got some bounce, too!
This idea that some people have that Svi isn’t capable of playing good defense just gives up on Svi. He is capable of playing good defense. He just needs to keep focused on defense. Sometimes he loses his focus, and gives away points on a bad switch or doesn’t hedge right on a drive, or doesn’t know how to play good weak side defense. He is a lot more capable than people give him credit. But he needs to stay in the defensive NOW and so his reflexes are better and he’s not making mistakes.
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Barney said:
@jaybate-1.0 I would like to see Self let Marcus harass Young when he is in the game tonight.
I suspect you might get your wish fulfilled for at least a few minutes, especially if Young comes out of his slump.
If Young were, say, 6-0, or 5-11, and were being pawned off as 6-2, wouldn’t it be interesting to see Self put 6-7 (or even 6-5) Young on him and tell him to shrink wrap him beyond the trey stripe and force him inside, when Mitch, or Silvio, are giving Doke a blow. OVER PLAY HIM OUTSIDE INTO HIS MID 30% 3PT RANGE EVEN WHEN HOT, AND OFFER HIM DOWN THE MIDDLE TO A WELCOMING COMMITTEE WITH HARD FOULS TO GIVE.
6-7 guys with spring and long arms, as describes Garrett, create a pretty big shadow for a 6-0 point guard. i doubt he saw much that in high school.
This stretched trey defense is one of the things I like about Garret’s potential.
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Don’t know if it’s been mentioned, but Garrett reminds me of a smarter yet slower Tyshawn Taylor. But I think his smarts make up for his slows. And he’s not even that slow, but only when compared to Tyshawn.
For a freshman, Garrett can finish at the rim better than I expected. He’ll have to work on his shot, so we’ll see what happens there. He IS showing improvement though.
But his knowledge of the game is apparent. He knows where to be, knows where others should be, and he appears to be a “winner”.
Some may say Tyshawn was more talented, but it seems like the word “talent” carries more of a physical connotation. Garrett has a physical and mental combination of talent that will help him perform better than most.
Looking forward to this kid playing at KU for a while.
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@BShark Good post. What are your thoughts on Doke going into the draft? 50/50?
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First time poster, though I’ve followed the board day-in, day-out for years, going back to the old LJWorld.
Just wanted to chime in on Marcus Garrett and what a pleasure it’s been to watch him develop this season.
I think I realized at some point around the start of conference play that by keying in on Garrett on defense, all the rest of the dynamics fall in to place.
Waching him helps me, at least, see the court.
Along with the bouncing, it’s the quick glances, the peripheral vision, the sense of space and flow, how “in the moment” he is.
I’m sure you guys have noticed how much he’s been exerting himself off the ball on offense too – directing traffic, pointing to spots - gotta love that kind of high expectation and sophisticated understanding of the playbook from a freshman.
Anyway, a special player. Seems preternaturally capable of “exploding out of his position” on defense. Like Tyshawn Taylor or Releford.
GO HAWKS!
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Welcome to the board. I enjoyed your post, nice observations.
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Welcome to the board! Heck of a first post.
Marcus certainly looks as if he’s starting to think less on offense and make plays. Some of the troubles he was having on O earlier in conference season were due to hesitation and a lack of confidence in his shot. Seeing the ball go through the net has to be a huge confidence boost to him.
His defense has been stellar, I cannot remember another freshman under Self that has bought in on defense like him. Defense is a big reason he plays as many minutes as he does.
