Catching Up With ...Scott Monarch

Harry · July 17, 2013

LNJ: Youve coached great JUCO transfers at Marquette, such as your top two scorers, Darius Johnson-Odom and this years Big East Player of the Year, Jae Crowder. What does it mean to you to see a JUCO guy succeed considering you have such a strong JUCO background?

SM: Its huge for me because I recruited them. Jimmy Butler came with us (from Tyler) and he was a first-round draft choice. Jae Crowder I recruited out of Howard (College). Both of them are Texas junior college guys. Jaes father (one-time NBA player Corey Crowder) and I are good friends. His father was National Player of the Year at Kentucky Wesleyan when I was playing in high school (in Owensboro, Ky.). Jaes father and I would play pickup games in the parks. Thats one of our strong points at Marquette. We were able to really do well (recruiting) in our state and pull some of the nations best junior college players in, and theyve done a great job obviously with the success weve had.

LNJ: Youve beaten three Sweet 16 teams this season. Has your tough schedule prepared you for what lies ahead this weekend?

SM: Absolutely. When we first got here we werent playing the schedule we played this year. Weve done it that way because we felt that we had a veteran team and wanted to prepare ourselves for this tournament.

LNJ: What do you think about your matchup with Florida?

SM: To be honest, I dont know a whole lot about them. Louisville was my scout. I did watch them yesterday (Sunday). I think its going to be a high-scoring affair kind of like Murray State was. I think they shoot the ball well and their interior guys are good. Theyre the kind of team thats going to shoot a layup or a three, and we dont play a lot of Big East opponents like that. Louisville is probably the most comparable. I feel like its a good matchup. Itll be a good game for fans, anyway.

Read more: http://m.news-journal.com/mobile/sports/from-region-xiv-to-sweet-catching-up-with-scott-monarch/article_776d3fde-3f29-5664-874a-c7cca0ffa6aa.html