Cell phone buzzes at 1:47 a.m. on the morning of August 25, 2008. Text message says: “Mbakwe quit the team.”
Please excuse the radically confused look on my face, but WHAT? None of it makes any sense. So, let’s naturally try to make some sense out of this.
I’ll quickly recap for those of you unaware. Trevor Mbakwe, to be the 6 foot 7 inch power forward, quit the Men’s Basketball team and left Marquette on the eve of the first day of class. A highly touted recruit, Mbakwe was the crown jewel of Tom Crean’s final recruiting class. He demonstrated a tenacity for rebounding that we have not seen here for quite some time.
Missing the majority of his freshman season due to a knee injury, rumors circulated that Mbakwe was terribly homesick, and was considering a transfer back to Minnesota. And once Tom Crean packed his bags for the land of Cream & Crimson, Trevor’s transfer seemed to be a mere formality.
However, much to the surprise and excitement of Marquette Basketball fans everywhere, Mbakwe came out with a statement regarding the potential of his transfer on April 16th, “I just want to let everyone know that isn’t true. That’s never been in my head.”
Whew. Sure glad that was established early on… Whoops.
From my early assessments of the new Head Men’s Basketball coach Buzz Williams, the man is a straight shooter. He will look you in the eye and tell it like it is. So when you read a quote that says, “I was shocked by the news,” it sounds like everyone was caught with their pants down on this one.
Now what Buzz will not tell you, is that this REALLY hurts. Everyone knows how guard oriented and undersized the team is. Still, it was beginning to appear that with Lazar, Dwight and Trevor, the team could stand up to the giants of the Big East. Now Dwight and Lazar are going to be asked to shoulder the workload.
This is not to say that break out seasons from guys like Patrick Hazel, Chris Otule or Joe Fulce are impossible. But relying on unproven and, for Otule and Fulce, untested talent in key reserve roles is a serious gamble.
It’s hard to believe that the departure of one reserve power forward could be so traumatic, but it puts the rest of the team in a tough spot. If this team wants to eclipse and surpass what it has done the last three years, its stars are going to have to shine brighter than ever.
Dominic, Wes, and Jerel have been the backbone, selling point and marketing tool of Marquette Men’s Basketball for over three years. And we must ask more from them once again. Is it fair? No. Is it our only option? Yes.
If anyone still cares, Trevor Mbakwe enrolled at Miami-Dade Community College earlier this week, where it is rumored he will transfer to Miami University after the school year. Trevor… we hardly knew thee. He left a hole in Milwaukee, and he did it under the cover of darkness, in the middle of the night, without a trace.
Popularity: 9% [?]
