Our second player preview is of freshman point guard Derrick Wilson. He and Todd Mayo, who we previewed in yesterday's edition, could become a formidable backcourt combination in the coming years for the Golden Eagles. The 6' 1", 215-pound Wilson comes to Marquette from The Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, CT, but originally hails from Anchorage, Alaska. As a high school senior, he stuffed the stat sheet with averages of 17 points, 6 assists, 5.6 rebounds, and 4 steals a game. Wilson committed to Marquette in November 2010, picking MU over UCLA, Oklahoma, Georgia Tech, Stanford, DePaul, and West Virginia. A multiple sport athlete, Wilson garnered scholarship attention as a football player before deciding to focus on basketball.
Minimum Expectations: The departure of guard Dwight Buycks means there is playing time available for a point man. However, junior Junior Cadougan elevated his play at the end of the 2010-'11 season and appears to be the favorite to serve as the starting point guard for the next two seasons. As the only other natural point guard on the roster, I would expect to see Wilson provide some minutes off the bench to spell Cadougan. He could see his playing time increase if he's able to handle his point guard duties in the half-court offense by aggressively attacking the opponent, limiting turnovers, and creating for others.
In My Wildest Dream: The recruiting report on Derrick Wilson states that he already boasts a Big East body and has the skill set to be a solid on-ball defender. Since Buzz has already been quoted as saying that Wilson is the best freshman on ball defender he's had at Marquette, he could be called upon early to guard other Big East point guards. If he is able to put to rest any doubts about whether he can be a true point guard, he could challenge Cadougan's starting spot by the time the Big East season rolls around.
In My Worst Nightmare: Assuming he doesn't transfer in December, leaving the team with only one point guard, the nightmare scenario for Marquette would be that Wilson is forced to play extended minutes in his freshman year because of an injury to or the ineffectiveness of Cadougan. Aside from that, I believe Wilson will be able to use his freshman year as a learning opportunity as he strives to become the point guard of the future for the Marquette Golden Eagles.