Marquette at a glance: Crean stresses ownership

By Knight-Ridder Newspapers     Apr 5, 2003

Fourth-year Marquette coach Tom Crean demands one thing from his players. They must embrace accountability.

Crean provides the blueprint, the discipline and the exuberance, his players say. Ultimate execution rests with them. Crean calls it taking ownership of their team. One-for-all, and all-for-one.

“I try to coach the team like one I would like to play on,” Crean, 36, said. “You want to have a group of guys that care about each other, that aren’t thin-skinned. I like them to spend time together, not just on the floor and in the locker room, but off the floor. I think it is really important for our players to understand that at a school like Marquette, where there is no football, they really are a big viewing point, and I think they respect that.

“They never need to feel like they are entitled to anything. We say all the time, ‘Please and thank you will take you a long way.”‘

Crean’s working-man’s ethics has Marquette back among the nation’s elite programs and back in the Final Four for the first time since 1977 when the late Al McGuire, the school’s legendary coach, guided the program to its only national championship. Led by 6-foot-5 junior guard Dwyane Wade and a cast of unselfish, hardworking players, Marquette has sent its fans into a frenzy as the surprise entry in New Orleans.

“It would mean a lot to the city,” Wade said when asked about the significance of returning to the Final Four prior to playing Kentucky in the regional final. “To get back to the winning days that Marquette had back in the ’70s with Al McGuire, I think it would mean so much with Al McGuire passing last year.”

Marquette (27-5)

How the Golden Eagles got to New Orleans: Defeated No. 14 seed Holy Cross 72-68 in the first round; defeated No. 6 seed Missouri 101-92 (OT) in the second round; defeated No. 2 seed Pittsburgh 77-74 in the regional semifinal; defeated top-seeded Kentucky 83-69 in the regional final.

Why they got there: After bowing out in the first round the last two seasons, coach Tom Crean introduced Destination: New Orleans. He had all his players sign an enlarged photograph of the Louisiana Superdome, site of the Final Four. The photo traveled with the team all season. On the court, Marquette evolved into a dominant defensive unit and a versatile offensive team. Led by 6-5 guard Dwyane Wade, shooters Travis Diener and Steve Novak, and 6-10 senior center Robert Jackson, the Golden Eagles can attack from every position.

NCAA Tournament history: Marquette ranks ninth all-time in the nation with 23 NCAA Tournament appearances, but recent history has been difficult. This season’s Sweet 16 appearance was the first since 1994 and the first Elite Eight appearance since 1977.

Last Final Four trip: In 1977, when the late Al McGuire led the then-Warriors to the school’s only national championship, a 67-59 victory over North Carolina.

Coach: In his fourth year at Marquette, Tom Crean won his second consecutive Conference USA coach of the year award after guiding the Golden Eagles to their first C-USA championship. He is 83-40 in his four seasons as coach. Crean spent four seasons as an assistant at Western Kentucky, one season at Pittsburgh and four seasons under Tom Izzo at Michigan State, where he got his start on Jud Heathcote’s 1989-90 staff.

Star player: Dwyane Wade. The 6-foot-5 guard has amazing quickness to get to the basket from anywhere on the court. The Conference USA player of the year averaged 21.3 points, the fourth-highest single average in Marquette history. He can take over games by himself, but he is also remarkably unselfish and puts a high premium on defense.

Role player: Steve Novak. The 6-10 freshman is a pure jump shooter who provides a tremendous lift off the bench. In four NCAA Tournament games, he’s hit 14 of 21 three-pointers. Against Kentucky, he hit three consecutive three-pointers late in the first half to stem a brief Kentucky run and put Marquette up by 19 at halftime.

Trivia time: Next season, Marquette will no longer share its home floor with the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks when it moves into its new on-campus home at the $31 million Al McGuire Center.

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