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Well, it's certainly a good thing that I didn't write this before Monday afternoon, huh?
John Dawson comes to Marquette from Clovis, New Mexico, where he led his Clovis High School team to a 23-7 record and an appearance in the state championship game in his senior year. While the 6'2", 195 lb. guard averaged 15 points, four rebounds, and five assists his senior year, the team advanced to at least the state semifinals each of the last three seasons.
Dawson comes in as the only one of the four freshmen to not be a RSCI consensus top 100 recruit, and yet he may turn out to be the one that's most crucial to Marquette's success this season. With Duane Wilson sidelined due to a left leg stress fracture, it's unknown when - or if - we'll see Wilson on the court this season. Marquette's backcourt was already a glaring question mark for the 2013-14 season, and taking a hit to the presumed backup point guard isn't the best way to go about things. But Dawson is there, and with no one else with a serious reason for head coach Buzz Williams to trust them with the ball, Dawson will undoubtedly get first crack at spelling Derrick Wilson when he needs a breather.
Minimum Expectation: As Tom Hanks said in That Thing You Do: It's very important that you don't stink today. Here's Derrick Wilson's freshman year stats: Averaged 9 minutes a game in 33 appearances with two starts (Wisconsin & West Virginia, both wins), 24 assists and 9 turnovers for a ratio of 2.7/1. Just be good enough on defense so Buzz keeps giving you minutes.
In My Worst Nightmare: He gets hurt, too. Or worse, he stays healthy but Buzz can't trust him out there and he sits on the bench instead of providing depth in the backcourt until the coaching and medical staff can figure out what's going on with Duane Wilson.
In My Wildest Dream: Given the low expectation on Dawson a week ago, it's hard for me to really assess a Wildest Dream scenario for him now. How about this: shoot better than Derrick Wilson's freshman year: .371 from the floor and .471 from the charity stripe. And how about less fouls, especially in light of the increased focus on handchecking? Wilson averaged 7.0 (!) fouls called per 40 minutes played his freshman year. Don't do that. Please.