 |  |  |
After staying out of the transfer portal for five offseasons, Marquette Head Coach Shaka Smart has made the necessary adjustment and reentered, securing a commitment today from 6'11'' forward Sananda Fru from Louisville.
From Berlin, Germany, Fru started 29 of 35 games for Louisville last season, averaging 9.0 points and 6.1 rebounds in about 22 minutes a game. Sanu only averaged about five shots a game on a Louisville team that had some perimeter shooters in Mikel Brown, Ryan Conwell and Isaac McKneeley, though he shot 75.3% from the field.
During a first round victory against South Florida in the NCAA Tournament, Fru had 10 points and 10 rebounds in 22 minutes. Against Michigan State in the second round, he had 2 points, 6 rebounds and 5 fouls in 18 minutes. Fru scored in double figures 17 times last season, with a career-high 19 points against Boston College on January 10th.
With one year of remaining eligibility, Fru seems like a nice fit with Marquette junior forward Royce Parham, who showed a lot of improvement last season driving the ball to the rim. Fru fits the profile of a rim running big who should be able to thrive in the pick-and-roll/lob game and get some baskets cutting from the dunker spot while adding some needed offensive rebounding and shot blocking.
Will Fru fill a similar role of Kur Kuath, a rim-running and shot-blocking big from Oklahoma whom Smart secured a commitment out of the transfer portal prior to his first season at Marquette?
Smart had a lot of success with the portal that season bringing in Kuath, Darryl Morsell from Maryland, Olivier Maxence Prosper from Clemson and Tyler Kolek from George Mason. Amazingly, Smart has not added a transfer portal since this 2021 class!
Of course, the transfer portal has changed a lot since that initial class, with Smart placing a greater emphasis on internal development and culture rather than compensating players who are merely chasing the highest bag and potentially bringing questionable personality fits. While that philosophy worked wonders during the Kolek, Oso Ighodaro, Cam Jones, Stevie Mitchell and David Joplin years, Marquette struggled this past season as seniors Chase Ross and Ben Gould did not develop along the lines of those past upperclassmen.
Give credit to Smart for making this adjustment and supplementing his roster with the portal, which is an out-of-control mess but a necessary evil. Smart is smart enough to find guys who can still fit within the type of program he is running.
Below are some highlights of Fru during his lone season at Louisville.
In other portal news, departing Marquette guard Sean Jones has found a new home at Toledo. Jones struggled with serious injuries the past two seasons and made a wise decision to move on from Marquette with Smart turning the offense over to a similar jitterbug guard in Nigel James Jr.
Best wishes to Jones, who was at his best for Marquette during the team's run in Maui two seasons ago before suffering a torn ACL in January of 2024. As a senior, Jones would have been foolish to come back to Marquette where his minutes would have likely been limited. A fresh start at a lower level is the wise move for Jones at this point in his career as nothing is guaranteed after missing two straight seasons with injuries. Here's hoping Jones can find his health at Toledo and have a productive season for the Rockets.
From Berlin, Germany, Fru started 29 of 35 games for Louisville last season, averaging 9.0 points and 6.1 rebounds in about 22 minutes a game. Sanu only averaged about five shots a game on a Louisville team that had some perimeter shooters in Mikel Brown, Ryan Conwell and Isaac McKneeley, though he shot 75.3% from the field.
During a first round victory against South Florida in the NCAA Tournament, Fru had 10 points and 10 rebounds in 22 minutes. Against Michigan State in the second round, he had 2 points, 6 rebounds and 5 fouls in 18 minutes. Fru scored in double figures 17 times last season, with a career-high 19 points against Boston College on January 10th.
With one year of remaining eligibility, Fru seems like a nice fit with Marquette junior forward Royce Parham, who showed a lot of improvement last season driving the ball to the rim. Fru fits the profile of a rim running big who should be able to thrive in the pick-and-roll/lob game and get some baskets cutting from the dunker spot while adding some needed offensive rebounding and shot blocking.
Will Fru fill a similar role of Kur Kuath, a rim-running and shot-blocking big from Oklahoma whom Smart secured a commitment out of the transfer portal prior to his first season at Marquette?
Smart had a lot of success with the portal that season bringing in Kuath, Darryl Morsell from Maryland, Olivier Maxence Prosper from Clemson and Tyler Kolek from George Mason. Amazingly, Smart has not added a transfer portal since this 2021 class!
Of course, the transfer portal has changed a lot since that initial class, with Smart placing a greater emphasis on internal development and culture rather than compensating players who are merely chasing the highest bag and potentially bringing questionable personality fits. While that philosophy worked wonders during the Kolek, Oso Ighodaro, Cam Jones, Stevie Mitchell and David Joplin years, Marquette struggled this past season as seniors Chase Ross and Ben Gould did not develop along the lines of those past upperclassmen.
Give credit to Smart for making this adjustment and supplementing his roster with the portal, which is an out-of-control mess but a necessary evil. Smart is smart enough to find guys who can still fit within the type of program he is running.
Below are some highlights of Fru during his lone season at Louisville.
In other portal news, departing Marquette guard Sean Jones has found a new home at Toledo. Jones struggled with serious injuries the past two seasons and made a wise decision to move on from Marquette with Smart turning the offense over to a similar jitterbug guard in Nigel James Jr.
Best wishes to Jones, who was at his best for Marquette during the team's run in Maui two seasons ago before suffering a torn ACL in January of 2024. As a senior, Jones would have been foolish to come back to Marquette where his minutes would have likely been limited. A fresh start at a lower level is the wise move for Jones at this point in his career as nothing is guaranteed after missing two straight seasons with injuries. Here's hoping Jones can find his health at Toledo and have a productive season for the Rockets.
| | | |
RSS Feed