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MILWAUKEE - Soft-spoken Lazar
Hayward has been thrust into the spotlight.
If Marquette is going to do
anything beyond the putrid projections, Hayward must carry
the scoring load for the Golden Eagles, become a vocal
leader and teach nine underclassmen who've never logged a
significant minute how to win in the formidable Big East.
Just how much does he mean to
Marquette's chances this season?
"He means the world to
this team," junior forward Jimmy Butler said. "Zar,
man, everybody's hyping him about going to the NBA, but you
don't ever hear him talk about it. You never hear him talk
about nothing besides Marquette basketball and winning this
season."
It's weighty pressure placed
on Hayward, who appears to have only Butler as another
experienced scoring threat with the departures of Dominic
James, Wesley Matthews and Jerel McNeal.
Those three, along with
Dwight Burke, had accounted for 64 percent of Marquette's
points and 47 percent of the rebounds last season when the
Golden Eagles reached the second round of the NCAA
tournament and finished 25-10.
"I know I have to be a
bit more of a vocal leader than when Dominic, Jerel and Wes
were here," said Hayward, who averaged 16.3 points and
a team-high 8.6 rebounds last year. "All the young
guys, they want to see how hard I'm working, they want to
see the things I do on and off the court. That's one of the
things I wasn't used to."
Hayward isn't naive about the
burden.
"I'll be expected to do
a lot, but it's what I came here for, it's what every kid
trains for," he said. "Hard work pays off so if I
figure if I just keep working hard, always have my teammates
first, keep a positive mindset and at the end we'll see what
happens."
At least he'll have a pair of
senior guards in David Cubillan and Maurice Acker. Acker
started when James went down with a broken left foot last
season, but neither Acker nor Cubillan can carry Marquette,
meaning Hayward and Butler will be asked to score often.
"It brings a lot of
pressure because if something goes wrong, it's on us, it's
not on the young guys," Butler said. "Everybody
expects a lot more from the returners and the leaders and
the so-called star players."
Still, if someone from the
talented freshman class can step up, Marquette could end up
rising above expectations. The schedule is challenging, but
not brutal, with no teams currently in the Top 25 until
conference play.
However, Marquette opens its
Big East slate at No. 8 West Virginia and is home against
No. 5 Villanova and No. 20 Georgetown before a trip to
Philadelphia to play Villanova again.
If no one else is helping
Hayward and Butler, it could end up being a long season.
"Every player that's
back there is going to be in a position they've never been
in their entire career," second-year coach Buzz
Williams said. "They are all going to have to have a
different expectation level on a daily basis than any that
they've ever experienced."
Williams, a noted number
cruncher, but wouldn't quantify just how much better — or
worse — Marquette might be.
"As long as you're
working, hopefully you're getting better," he said.
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