Harry Froling Will Not Return To Marquette Basketball

*sighs*

The news broke today that we (I) were all fearing. Redshirt sophomore Harry Froling will not be returning to Marquette next season.

The 6-11 center averaged 2.8 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1 assist in his half-season with the Golden Eagles after transferring from SMU in December of 2016.

Marquette head coach Steve Wojciechowski had this to say in a statement issued on Twitter:

“We fully support Harry and want to thank him for his contributions to our program. We wish him the best of luck as he explores the next steps in his career.”

I guess it shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone that the big, blond Aussie is leaving the program, as there were signs of that being a possibility down the home stretch of the season. Froling started playing pretty consistently after he became eligible in late December at the conclusion of the first semester, even starting in three games, but his playing time decreased drastically towards the end of the season.

He saw the floor in only five of the final 10 games, and only played a total of 25 minutes in those games. However, in one of those games, a road win against Creighton, he recorded a 6 trillion. Way to go, Harry. The writing was on the wall when this article from Fox Sports Australia debating his potential professional future popped up after Froling did not play in back to back games in late February. If that didn’t tell the story then, the lack of mention of Froling in Ben Steele’s season wrap-up/preview interview with Wojo for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel definitely did.

Froling was an excellent rebounder but was often inconsistent offensively and just didn’t translate to what Wojo needed off the bench. He had some bright spots, some of which include his 9 points, 7 boards and 4 assists in his second game with MU; the 6 points and 9 rebounds he nicely posted against DePaul; and his career high in points (11, tie) and minutes (27) in a close game against Villanova.

The departure leaves Marquette with two open scholarships for the fall of 2018, and a major need for backcourt depth. If there is a silver lining to the loss of Froling, it’s that it will help simplify the minutes distribution in the front court as Ike Eke and Ed Morrow finish up their redshirt seasons.

As an outspoken supporter of Froling and his role on the team, please respect my privacy at this time. Thank you.