Marcus Garrett, KU’s ‘defensive coordinator,’ says his ankle is ‘ready’ for Baylor
Marcus Garrett feared the worst as he sat on the Hilton Coliseum floor writhing in pain from a left ankle sprain with 12 1/2 minutes left in the first half of Wednesday’s 79-53 victory over Iowa State.
“It felt more serious than it really was,” Garrett, Kansas’ 6-foot-5 junior guard from Dallas, said Friday.
He knows all about ankle sprains.
A high left ankle sprain a year ago sidelined him five games. And a sprained right ankle during the Villanova game earlier this season limited him to 13 minutes — all in the first half — in that KU defeat.
“It was a very different feeling at Villanova. I couldn’t move. This one felt like that but once I started moving it loosened up,” Garrett said.
He returned to Wednesday’s game late in the first half and wound up playing 20 minutes before asking out of the lopsided victory late when the ankle, “started going crazy, started getting sore.”
Garrett offered some good news to KU fans Friday, saying: “It’s getting better. I’ll be ready tomorrow.”
Yes, he figures to start at guard when the No. 3-ranked Jayhawks (12-2, 2-0 Big 12) entertain No. 4 Baylor (12-1, 2-0) at noon Saturday at Allen Fieldhouse.
“I can’t imagine him not getting jacked to play and adrenaline taking over,” KU coach Bill Self said of Garrett.
Garrett — he averages 8.9 points and 3.6 rebounds a game with 59 assists against 21 turnovers — realizes his defense figures to be especially important in the early-season, league showdown against Baylor.
Bears guards Jared Butler and MaCio Teague average 16.3 and 14.5 points a game respectively, while guards Davion Mitchell and Devonte Bandoo average 9.6 and 8.0 points.
“They’ve got some great guards there. We know how great their guards are. All of them can shoot the ball, get to the rim. It’ll be a very competitive game from a guard standpoint,” Garrett said.
It’s safe to say a healthy Garrett, generally regarded as KU’s top defensive player, will spend some time guarding Baylor standout Butler, a 6-3 sophomore from Reserve, Louisiana.
“I’d say he’s our defensive coordinator,” KU sophomore wing Ochai Agbaji said of Garrett. “The way he talks to us is different on the defensive end. The way we call switches and communicate is him leading the way.
“He will definitely get mad,” Agbaji added of Garrett correcting his teammates if they make mistakes. “Collectively everybody as a group will get mad.”
A big football fan, Garrett said he likes the “defensive coordinator” tag, which of course is common on the gridiron but not so much on the court.
“Yeah I accept it … letting us know every possession how we are doing, guarding, making sure we are always intact on defense, knowing what we are going to do each possession,” Garrett said.
Of correcting his teammates, Garrett said: “I let them know where they should have been that play, how we can fix it so it doesn’t happen again.”
KU on Saturday faces a Baylor team that has won 11 straight games since a 67-64 loss to Washington in the Armed Forces Classic on Nov. 8 in Alaska. Baylor has won at home against Texas (59-44) and at Texas Tech (57-52) in Big 12 play. KU has won at home against West Virginia (60-53) and at Iowa State (79-53).
“I’m sure I did,” Self said, asked if he voted for Baylor to place first in the Big 12 in the league’s preseason coaches poll. Coaches can’t vote for their own teams.
“When I do that, I think what most coaches probably do is based on who is returning as much as anything. Butler last year at the end of the season was as good as any guard in our league.
“Clark (Tristan, 6-10 junior, 4.6 ppg, 2.6 rpg) is as good a big we had in the league last year when he got hurt (knee injury). He’s getting his health back (averaging 16.6 minutes a game while playing in nine games). The guard from from Auburn has made it difficult (to play against Baylor) from a defensive standpoint. I think he probably is the personality of that team defensively every bit as much as Marcus is for us,” Self added of Mitchell, a 6-2 guard from Hinesville, Georgia who started his career at Auburn.
Self hopes predicted bad weather doesn’t spoil a great matchup Saturday.
“They are good. The only thing … of course you can’t control this, I hope the weather allows fans to enjoy it as much as getting a chance to watch two really good teams play tomorrow,” Self said.
KU will travel to Oklahoma on Tuesday for an 8 p.m. game against the Sooners at Lloyd Noble Center.
