Marcus Garrett likes KU’s chances in 2021-22: ‘Best team in the country now’
Marcus Garrett, who has elected to begin his professional basketball career rather than accept the NCAA’s offer of a “super senior” fifth year at Kansas, admits he misses life in Lawrence.
“I still talk to my teammates. We’ve got a close bond. I talk to them every day. Coach (Bill) Self … I probably talk to him every week or two,” Garrett, a 6-foot-5, 22-year-old combo guard from Dallas, said Tuesday afternoon.
He was speaking to media members via Zoom after a pre-NBA Draft workout with the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco.
Garrett was well-aware that Jayhawks guards Ochai Agbaji and Remy Martin had, earlier Tuesday, revealed plans to remove their names from the 2021 NBA Draft pool and play for KU in 2020-21. KU’s Jalen Wilson had exited the draft on Friday.
“Best team in the country now,” Garrett said of the 2021-22 Jayhawks. “That’s what it is. I told those guys if they could do it for me, win a national championship for me. They know that’s what I wanted when I was there. I’m going to definitely be rooting for them next year.”
Garrett — he is considered a possible second-round pick in the July 29 NBA Draft — had checked in with fellow 2020-21 starters Agbaji and Wilson numerous times since the end of the past season. Martin played four years at Arizona State before joining KU for his final college season this year.
“I didn’t talk to them about going back (to KU) or their decision. I was asking them how their process was going, what teams they worked out for, what they liked about the process and things like that,” said Garrett. He indicated his workout with the Warriors “went pretty well. (We) worked on pick and roll, a lot of things with guards — shooting, 1-on-1, 2 on 2 (drills).”
NBA coaches, scouts and front office members have been studying Garrett’s shot after a senior season in which he hit 45.9% of his total attempts. He made 23 of 66 three-pointers for 34.8%.
“Improve my perimeter shooting,” Garrett said of his main focus in workouts leading up to the draft. “That’s kind of been my biggest thing going into these workouts that teams want to see is just my ability to knock down an open jump shot.
“It’s just making sure it goes in the goal. That’s the biggest thing that teams have been talking about. As long as it goes in the goal, that’s the best thing that can happen,” he added.
Garrett noted that “shooting has been my thing through this whole process, whether coming off screens, being able to catch and shoot, make moves into my jump shot. Being able to create my own shot is the biggest thing I’ve been working on.”
Garrett, at the urging of Self, has tried to play rugged defense during the NBA drills.
“He’s telling me defense is my calling card. He’s been telling me that through this whole process, go in there and defend, do what I do,” Garrett said.
“That’s kind of what I live on,” Garrett, who won the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Award after his junior campaign, added. “Every time I go into a workout it (defense) is what I want to make stand out.”
Garrett sees similarities in his own game to a certain NBA player.
“I feel when I first come into the league I can be a guy like Bruce Brown,” he said of the 6-foot-4 Brooklyn Nets shooting guard. “I can be a guy that defends multiple positions, does little things on the court, makes winning plays.”
Garrett’s defense could get him selected on draft night.
“To be on a team ... that’s my goal,” Garrett said. “Knowing that’s my dream to play in the NBA, if I’m able to be on an NBA team, that’d be a dream come true. Getting drafted would be a blessing. That was a dream since I was little, getting my name called. But if it doesn’t happen I know the world isn’t over.”
That’s because if he isn’t picked he’s a likely candidate to be signed as a free agent to play in the Las Vegas summer league and maybe earn a 2-way contract.
“Right now I’m having fun with it. He (Self) told me to relax and be who I am,” said Garrett, who said his next workout would be in New York, presumably with the Knicks. Garrett is making up for lost time as he was unable to compete at the G League Elite camp because of a concussion.
“I’m healthy now,” he stated. “People get hurt in sports. That’s kind of how I take it, just knowing I’m going to feel better and eventually feel back to myself.”
This story was originally published July 7, 2021 at 7:59 AM with the headline "Marcus Garrett likes KU’s chances in 2021-22: ‘Best team in the country now’."
