March 21, 227 days ago, marked the end of an era for Marquette men’s basketball.
Monday, the Golden Eagles embark on a new one as the 2025-26 season kicks off against Albany at Fiserv Forum. Here are four things to watch for once the ball tips at 7 p.m.:
Who will be the first five?
The Golden Eagles have to replace three or more starters for the first time since 2022-23 after the departures of Kam Jones, Stevie Mitchell and David Joplin. Not only were they three-year starters that had been part of every Smart teams at Marquette, they were also top three in scoring.
“When you lose [Mitchell], [Joplin] and [Kam], who were considerable cornerstone pieces to our program,” Marquette head coach Shaka Smart said, “who we are culturally, defensively and offensively is much different.”
Sean Jones is likely to fill in for Kam at point guard. The redshirt junior guard hasn’t seen collegiate minutes in over 22 months since his ACL tear in early 2024.
Chase Ross — the only Golden Eagles to earn preseason All-Big East honors — started in all 34 of the Golden Eagles’ games last year and figures to do so again this year.
The forward positions are fascinating because all reports point to the fact that Caedin Hamilton has had one of the strongest off-seasons of anyone on the team. The redshirt sophomore big man appeared in 29 games last season but only averaged 6.4 minutes of tick in those contests.
If he finds his way into the starting lineup, it could very well place Ben Gold at the four position and either junior guard Zaide Lowery or sophomore forward Royce Parham at the three.
Where does the 3-point shooting come from?
Shooting from deep is one of the biggest question marks for the Golden Eagles this year. Marquette shot 32 percent from beyond the arc last season, its worst mark in Smart’s four years in Milwaukee.
The good news for MU is that Ross, Gold and Lowery, the only three players that shot above 36 percent from deep last season, are back.
The bad is that three of the top five players who led in total makes — Kam, Joplin and Mitchell — are gone. Despite that, the Golden Eagles know they still have a roster of capable shooters.
The main challenge could be getting some of those guys up to speed, because if Marquette is going to continue to run the drive-and-kick, pick-and-roll offense that it has in the past, someone is going to have to make up for 436 total 3-pointers that Joplin and Kam attempted last season.
“I think we’ll have more versatility, and I think we will need to score by committee,” Smart said. “I don’t see a Kam Jones necessarily out there from a scoring standpoint, and that’s good.”
How much do we see the first-years?
In case someone forgot, Marquette has an incoming class of five first-year players this season.
It’s likely that guards Nigel James Jr. and Adrian Stevens get some playing time on opening night. Smart has repeatedly tabbed them two as the most impressive first-years, and both have been described as “pests” that have a real chance to make a serious impact in Marquette’s rotation.
“I’m really excited to see them cause disruption,” sophomore forward Damarius Owens said. “They have a really high intensity of heat that they put on the ball which is going to be very special for us because they’ll have the other team throwing the ball around.”
James Jr. and Stevens will likely back up Sean, Ross and Lowery along with junior guard Tre Norman.
6-foot-11 forward Sheek Pearson and forward Ian Miletic were also part of the class and will be redshirting this year.
How does Sean Jones fare in his return to the court?
It’s been 663 days since Sean has worn the blue & gold in a game, but tonight that changes.
Emotions will likely be high for the Columbus, Ohio native as he suits up for Marquette once again. The lightning-quick point guard impressed with his defensive pressure and clutch 3-point shooting through his first season and a half with the Golden Eagles.
But it was all taken away from on a cold winter night against Butler on Jan. 10, 2024, when he tore his ACL. But, after just under 23 months, he’s slated to hear his name and number called by Marquette athletics public address announcer Mike Jakubowski once again.
“I can’t even tell you how many days I’ve had to sit and think about ‘Oh, what’s my first time gonna be like out there,” Sean said.
“On [Nov. 3] you are going to see me super ready to go. That’s what you are going to see from me. It’s not going to be no hesitation, it’s not going to be any hesitation from me.”
This story was written by Matthew Baltz. He can be reached at matthew.baltz@marquette.edu or on Twitter/X @MatthewBaltzMU.