Marquette guard Wilson has chip on shoulder after tough junior season
MILWAUKEE -- Derrick Wilson tried his best to ignore it all, but he knew exactly how many perceived him during his first season as Marquette University's starting point guard.
After spending two years as a reliable backup behind the steady Junior Cadougan, Wilson's offensive limitations were magnified with an increased role. Wilson became an easy target for those looking to take out the frustration of Marquette's 17-15 season on someone.
Combine the disappointment in his personal performance with missing the postseason for the first time in his collegiate career, and Wilson didn't have to search far for motivation this offseason.
"I wouldn't say it was failure, but I would say it was not where I wanted to be," Wilson said of his junior year. "It is a big difference from going to the Elite Eight to not even making the tournament. You kind of have a chip on your shoulder.
"You hear all the outside stuff. Even though it goes in one ear and out the other, you still hear it. It puts a chip on your shoulder and it makes you want to get better."
As a sophomore, Wilson averaged 13.1 minutes per game behind Cadougan and contributed by taking care of the basketball and playing solid defense. Wilson wasn't needed to provide much else offensively, so his 27.3 percent (15 of 55) field-goal percentage wasn't a major problem for the Golden Eagles.
But when his minutes jumped to 30.8 per game last season, Wilson's inability to score or even keep the defense honest with his shot held Marquette back offensively.
Wilson still took care of the ball (second best assist-to-turnover ratio in the Big East) and played well defensively, but he shot just 39.1 percent from the field and hit just one of 14 attempts from beyond the arc.
One of the first things first-year Marquette coach Steve Wojciechowski did was give players an offseason shooting chart requiring them to take 1,500 shots per week.
Wilson didn't listen to his new coach. He instead took 2,000.
"I'm very confident (with my shot)," Wilson said. "I was shooting every day. Two thousand a week? That's a lot of shots. When you put in the work, confidence comes through your work. This is the most work I've put in during any summer. I think it has been great. Now I shoot the ball without even second guessing it."
The Golden Eagles unquestionably lacked scoring from their backcourt last season, but it would be unfair to place the majority of the blame on Wilson. It was clear he was the only point guard former coach Buzz Williams trusted to play heavy minutes, especially after freshman Duane Wilson went down with a stress fracture in his leg and eventually redshirted.
It was unreasonable to expect Derrick Wilson to take a big leap offensively after he showed everyone what his limitations were over his first two years. But there were times when Marquette needed the Anchorage, Alaska native to take an open shot and he was hesitant to do so.
With the Golden Eagles are still over a week away from their Nov. 14 opener against Tennessee-Martin, Wilson feels the work he put in during the offseason has greatly increased his confidence when shooting the ball.
"There are a lot of guys out there who people say can't shoot, but if you see them in the gym working on their game, you would be like, 'Wow, this kid can shoot,'" Wilson said. "I think that all comes with confidence. Your teammates giving you confidence, your coaches giving you confidence and you doing the work to give yourself confidence.
"If you miss a shot, you can't get down on yourself. A lot of guys miss a shot and start second-guessing themselves and say, 'Nah, I can't take this shot.' But the team is expecting you to make that shot and it messes up the flow of the offense if you don't. I think that was one of my problems last year and something I focused on a lot this past summer."
The backcourt's offensive woes last season weren't because of Wilson. Marquette simply didn't have scorers or depth at either guard position to be able to overcome an offensively limited point guard playing over 30 minutes per game.
This season, Wilson should be able to play a role more suited to his strengths. Duane Wilson is healthy and is likely to contribute, while transfer Matt Carlino is an offensive-minded combo guard capable of running the point.
Carlino, who averaged 13.7 points per game last season at BYU, is almost certain to begin the season in the starting lineup. Depending on how Wojciechowski decides to go at shooting guard, Derrick Wilson will either be the leader of the second unit or a defensive stopper in the starting lineup.
"In my opinion, Derrick is the best defender in the country," Duane Wilson said. "I've been going against Derrick every single day for the past two years, and he's the toughest one."
Regardless of his role on the court, Derrick Wilson has an important responsibility within the Marquette locker room. Wojciechowski recently named Wilson and fellow senior Juan Anderson as team captains.
"Those guys have been a part of this program and have been contributors," Wojciechowski. "As seniors, they have a real sense of urgency to go out the right way. I think they've provided great leadership thus far."
As team captain, one of Wilson's first major challenges is to get his teammates to ignore the outside perception of this year's team.
"All of us have something in us that motivates us, something that makes us want to get better," Wilson said. "That type of stuff brings your team closer and makes you want to work harder. That's what we've been doing. All of us don't read Twitter comments and all that stuff, but you hear the outside perception. It puts a chip on your shoulder.
"Everybody wants to say this is a rebuilding project, but we want to win now. I think everybody got with that and that is what we are working to do."
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