Self says KU senior Marcus Garrett ‘one of the most underrated players in the country’
As somebody who spends a large amount of time devising ways to stop opposing players from scoring, Hall of Fame basketball coach Bill Self recognizes the great value of lockdown defenders such as Jayhawks senior point guard Marcus Garrett.
“Marcus is one of the most underrated players in the country,” Self, KU’s 18th-year coach, said of the 2020 Naismith Defensive Player of the Year — one of 10 individuals still in the running for that award this season.
“Nobody looks at him and gives him near the credit he should get defensively because he guards everybody’s (best) man. His man never gets double-figures. Never. Never. And that’s a knock on wood, but never.”
Garrett — the 6-foot-5 Dallas native set to be honored before and after Saturday’s 7 p.m. Senior Night contest against Baylor in Allen Fieldhouse — likely will draw the defensive assignment on 6-3 Baylor junior scoring machine Jared Butler.
Butler scored 30 points in the Bears’ 77-69 victory over KU on Jan. 19 in Waco, Texas.
“There’s a lot of switching that goes on, which obviously magnifies sometimes the guy he’s guarding scoring points,” Self said. “A lot of time he’s not on him (when that player scores). He (Garrett) is a ballhandler, stabilizer, and I don’t want to say he’s playing out of position, but he’s doing something that, if he had somebody back there to help him a little more, I think he’d be more effective,”
While fellow seniors Mitch Lightfoot and Chris Teahan will return to KU next season, taking advantage of the NCAA awarding another year of eligibility to all players in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Garrett said Friday that he was likely to leave KU after this season to pursue a professional career.
Garrett reiterated Friday he had not made a final decision yet and would talk with Self again after the season.
He played combo guard during his junior season, occasionally running the point during the rare occasions Devon Dotson needed rest. Garrett has taken over as KU lead guard during the 2020-21 campaign to mixed results.
“Marcus’ role is totally different (this year). He goes from being Robin to Batman. Now he’s got the ball in his hands all the time,” Self said of Garrett, who has dished 88 assists against 51 turnovers.
“He has to at least start on the other team’s best player, be our best defender, be a leader, do things where everybody has scouted him. He maybe doesn’t have as many weapons around him as last year who can take pressure off him.”
Garrett has averaged 10.0 points a game on 44.7% shooting for No. 17-ranked KU (17-8, 11-6 Big 12) heading into Saturday’s game against No. 2-ranked BU (18-0, 10-0). He’s made 15 of 50 threes for 30% and 49 of 60 free throws for 81.7%. He also chips in 4.4 rebounds a game and has a team-leading 37 steals.
His junior numbers? Garrett averaged 9.2 points a game on 44.2% shooting. He hit 17 of 52 threes for 32.7% and 56 of 92 free throws for 60.9%. Garrett dished 144 assists to 54 turnovers and grabbed 4.5 rebounds per contest with 56 steals, second on the team to Dotson’s 63.
“You give Marcus the same shots, big guys didn’t come to try to block his shot last year. They couldn’t,” Self said. “As soon as they did, we’d throw it to Doke. Anywhere he caught it he dunked it,” Self added of 7-footer Udoka Azubuike.
Garrett says he’s been given the green light to both drive and launch deep jumpers in Self’s system.
“Coach tells me to take the open shot. He tells me that every day in practice. He says if they leave me open take the shot,” Garrett said. “I’ve tried to be more aggressive on the offensive end.”
Garrett is well aware his work on defense is appreciated.
“Coach tells me to do what I do,” Garrett said. “Go out there and compete, stick to the scouting report and defend the way I know how to defend.”
As a senior who plays 32.4 minutes a game, Garrett is considered one of KU’s main team leaders.
“Obviously the guy puts his heart and soul out there on the floor every night,” said power forward Lightfoot. “He understands he needs to lead now more than ever. We need this team locked in on the same mindset that we have to defend. It all starts on the defensive end and he is the best at that,” Lightfoot added.
KU junior power forward David McCormack noted that Garrett, “is our floor general, the leader. He does things that may not always appear on the stat sheet He knows how to dictate people to go to certain spots on the floor, how to create driving lanes, how to create open looks. He does that better than anyone else.”
Freshman small forward Jalen Wilson said it’s comforting to play next to a versatile senior guard such as Garrett.
“He gives us confidence. He does it every game whether it’s scoring, rebounding, assisting. He does it all,” Wilson said. “He doesn’t ask for anything else. He just plays for us. We try to play for him. We look to him to give us confidence and lead our team.”
Garrett said he’s confident the Jayhawks can make a strong run in the postseason. KU has had winning streaks of eight and five games in his up and down senior season.
“It kind of starts with me. I’m a senior and have got to find a way to get us to win games,” Garrett said. “I do feel we’ve all got the same mindset. We know what we need to do moving forward — lock in, trust coach, listen to coach. As long as we get out and compete like coach wants, we can win games.”
This story was originally published February 26, 2021 at 7:52 AM with the headline "Self says KU senior Marcus Garrett ‘one of the most underrated players in the country’."
