John is an intimidating presence
Marquette sophomore center Theo John has a clear message for Big East foes:
Come into the paint and attempt a shot at your own peril.
MU’s defense is no longer a pushover this season, thanks in large part to the intimidating physical presence around the rim of the 6-foot-9, 240-pound John and his backup Ed Morrow Jr.
Morrow suffered an ankle injury in the first half against Seton Hall, but John came through with 10 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks in a collegiatehigh 31 minutes.
That’s the kind of effort the Golden Eagles (14-3, 3-1 Big East) will need from John if Morrow can’t play or is limited against Georgetown (12-5, 2-2) on Tuesday night in Washington.
John is the Big East leader in blocks with 34. He will have a key matchup on
Tuesday with Georgetown’s 6-10 senior center Jessie Govan (20 points per game).
It helps that John has honed his skills against another tough defender in the 6-7, 235-pound Morrow.
“Me and Ed, we’re always going against each other and competing in practice,” John said. “Coach Jud (MU special assistant Rob Judson) always says ‘iron sharpens iron.’ Just going against him every day makes both him and me better.
“And then just taking pride, knowing that this is our paint. We own this stuff. Just protecting our teammates and having their back.”
That back line of defense has been crucial to MU’s success this season. The Golden Eagles are No. 40 in defensive efficiency this season, according to the college basketball statistical analysis website kenpom.com. They finished last season at 182nd.
“Theo has had such an improvement from his freshman year to now,” MU junior guard Markus Howard said. “His defensive presence around the rim is the main reason we’ve improved drastically. “
John made critical blocks in MU’s two victories last week.
Against Creighton on Wednesday, Howard committed a turnover that led to a fast break from the Bluejays’ Ty’Shon Alexander. Creighton was leading, 79-76, with just over two minutes remaining in regulation and Alexander appeared to have an easy layup.
Except John sprinted to catch up with Alexander, then timed his leap perfectly to swat the shot attempt off the glass. MU corralled the ball and Howard made two free throws for a key swing in a thrilling 106-104 overtime victory.
Then against Seton Hall on Sunday, John had another block off the backboard when the Pirates’ Quincy McKnight found an open lane to the basket. The block ricocheted so hard that it bounced out of bounds off a Seton Hall player. The Golden Eagles got possession with their 59-58 lead intact and eventually held on for a 70-66 victory.
“Just hustle plays,” John said. “For me it just comes naturally, knowing where the ball is going to be and timing it up.
“(Against Creighton) it was just something that needed to be done. You could feel the momentum, if the ball would have gone through the hoop the momentum would have completely changed. So just knowing that and showing some urgency.”
John’s teammates appreciate those efforts.
“He cleans up a lot of stuff when we make mistakes,” junior forward Sam Hauser said. “And we’re very thankful that he’s big and athletic and he has an intimidating way of playing.
“Obviously he can block shots but he does a lot more than that. He changes a lot of shots even when he doesn’t block it and that’s a huge attribute to have as a player.”
John still gets into occasional foul trouble, an issue that cropped up frequently his freshman season. But he revels in doing the dirty work, and not just on the defensive end. He is averaging 5.9 points per game, but his screens have been crucial in helping free up the high-scoring Howard for shots.
“I just stand there and try to hit somebody and then roll to the hoop as fast as I can knowing that a shot’s probably gone up,” John said. “It’s great getting a teammate open, especially when a guy can shoot like that.”
Moving up: Marquette climbed six spots in both polls Monday to No. 13 in the USA Today coaches poll and No. 15 in the Associated Press media poll.