Tyler Kolek's fame, Kam Jones' outfit highlight scenes of Marquette players at Big East media day
NEW YORK - The last time the Marquette men's basketball team was at Madison Square Garden, confetti was falling from the ceiling and the players accepted the Big East tournament trophy before heading off to a raucous celebration in the locker room.
The Golden Eagles were back inside the World's Most Famous Arena on Tuesday for the conference's annual media day, this time in an unusual spot as the coaches' pick to win the conference.
MU garnered seven first-place votes and Creighton received four. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own team.
"Even just going back that way towards the locker room that we were in just brought back memories," MU guard Kam Jones said. "It feels great to be in here general."
It is a much different position for the Golden Eagles than the last two seasons, when they were picked to finish ninth and exceeded expectations in each season under head coach Shaka Smart.
The last time MU was the preseason choice for Big East winner was the 2013-14 season.
The Big East has generated buzz for the season, with MU, defending national champion Connecticut and Creighton in the top 10 of the preseason AP top 25. St. John's also hired legendary coach Rick Pitino to jumpstart its program, and he drew a big media crowd.
"I think it's in a position of strength in the college basketball landscape," Smart said. "And when that ball goes up in the air in 13 days, I think our league and the teams in our league are in uniquely positioned to win."
Tyler Kolek is Big East preseason player of the year
It has been a dizzying few years for MU senior guard Tyler Kolek. He was off-the-radar as a freshman at George Mason, but since transferring to play for Smart he has become one of the faces of college basketball.
After winning the conference player of the year award last season, Kolek was an obvious pick by the coaches to be a repeat winner. Earlier this week, the 6-foot-3 guard was named a first-team All-American by the Associated Press and a finalist for the Bob Cousy Award given to the nation's top point guard.
That hype meant Kolek was a popular interview subject at Madison Square Garden, especially after his profane proclamation after MU was picked ninth last season became a rallying cry for the team.
Becoming a quasi-celebrity has taken some getting used to for the Rhode Island native, though the brash guard does like to welcome a firestorm like when he posted a picture on social media with the Big East championship ring on his middle finger.
"Honestly, in some cases you feel you deserve it," Kolek said. "But in some cases, you don't want the attention, you don't want the eyes on you.
"You may think that you do, but once it finally comes it's tough. It's tough to deal. I'm sitting over here and everybody wants to talk to me. There's so much media here and so much attention on the Big East. And so it's fun, but you just got to be able to focus and lock in when the games come."
Kolek and big man Oso Ighodaro are the only MU players with the extra season of NCAA eligibility. Ighodaro has said he is unlikely to use it, while Kolek said he hasn't thought about it yet.
"I'm just trying to be in the moment," he said. "Trying to be where my feet are, not thinking too far ahead.
"If the NBA is an option or if professional is an option, then so be it. Maybe I take that step. Or maybe I come back again next year. It's all in the flow of things."
Marquette goes from hunter to hunted
The popular question for MU players, one that will surely be asked many times throughout the season, was how they will maintain their edge while being the favorites.
The MU players at media day - the presumptive starting lineup of Kolek, Ighodaro, Jones, David Joplin and Stevie Mitchell - all said that nothing changes.
But Jones also said that the Golden Eagles aren't changing their approach after last season's success.
"I've been asked, how do we go from the hunters to the hunted?" he said. "How I feel to that question is we're always hunters.
"So it's no matter where we're at. I think we did some things last season, even in this building, as a team. I think a big mistake that's being made is people thinking that we're content."
Stevie Mitchell gets love from Smart
Ighodaro and Jones were both named to the preseason all-Big East second team. Joplin was last season's sixth man of the year in the conference.
Mitchell is the glue player who doesn't garner many outside accolades, but the team appreciates what the scrappy defender and energy guy adds to the lineup.
"He's a flat-out winner," Smart said. "I want him on my team.
"There's some guys you want to play against. Like, sometimes we'll be recruiting and be like, man, I want to play against him. And it's no disrespect, but that guy doesn't really care about winning. And there's other guys, like, I want that guy on my team. That's Stevie Mitchell."
Joplin echoed those sentiments.
"I know we always talk about Stevie's energy," Joplin said. "But it's really a real thing.
"You see him do something, you see him pressure the ball really well or takes the ball from somebody, it just ignites you. And you want to do the same. I think just watching him play just gives everybody more energy and more want-to to be able to do things on either end of the floor."
Kam Jones wins the fashion award for day
Another big talking point was Jones' attire: Flashy pants with suspenders and sharp glasses.
"I didn't just buy this fit," Jones said. "So I kind of had this stuff already, most of it. I guess I planned it out when Coach said he was bringing us, a month ago or three weeks ago. It's a little something I put together."
The left-handed gunner never lacks for confidence.
"That's part of his personality," Mitchell said. "Clothing, style, swag. Any opportunity he gets, he's going to put it on. Even if there aren't any cameras on."
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Marquette's Tyler Kolek is Big East preseason player of year
