For TheMash
The years are few and far between that preseason rankings don’t include Marshall’s boys basketball team.
That was the case this year, though, and senior forward Vincent Garrett has been a primary reason that the Commandos won’t be omitted when postseason lists are compiled.
The 6-foot-6-inch senior forward has been Marshall’s top scorer (16 points per game) and leading rebounder (11 per game). But perhaps more importantly, he was instrumental in helping create the chip the team has had on its shoulder.
“No one looked at us very favorably before the season; no one wanted to talk to us,” Garrett said. “Coach (Henry Cotton) stapled the rankings to our practice jerseys the first day of practice. We’ve knocked off a lot of those teams since.”
Marshall (22-7) claimed 10 straight victims over the past few weeks before falling 61-60 to Morgan Park—led by Louisville-bound forward Wayne Blackshear—in Friday’s Public League championship.
Garrett was his usually steady self (13 points) in the Commandos’ 65-59 come-from-behind win over Foreman in the Public League semifinals on Feb. 17, and he recorded yet another double-double with 13 points and 14 rebounds in the title game against Morgan Park. The loss didn’t diminish Garrett’s positive outlook for the postseason, which will begin next week with the Commandos seeded first at the Class 3A Riverside-Brookfield sectional.
“The only thing we need to do is stay healthy and hungry,” Garrett said. “If we do that, we’ll be all right.”
While Garrett has led the way statistically, this Marshall team has differed from previous squads in that there’s no superstar. This unselfishness was illustrated in its quarterfinal win over Bogan in which 10 different players scored.
“We enjoy each other’s success as a team,” Garrett said. “There’s nothing I won’t do for my teammates.”
