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Marquette coach Shaka Smart says Tyler Kolek practiced fully this week. How did he look?
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- Marquette coach Shaka Smart says Tyler Kolek practiced fully this week. How did he look?
Marquette men's basketball coach Shaka Smart didn't take long on Wednesday to deliver the news that every Golden Eagles fan wanted to hear before the team's NCAA Tournament first-round game against Western Kentucky on Friday in Indianapolis .
About 15 seconds into his opening statement at the team's send-off at the Al McGuire Center, Smart said that All-American point guard Tyler Kolek was fully back at practice. He has missed six straight games with an oblique injury , but Smart has said for the last week that the plan was for him to play in the NCAA Tournament.
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"He has gone live," Smart said. "He has gone five-on-five. Up and down, full court. He has done a lot of good things.
"At the same time, he's coming back to playing after being off for three weeks. So there's a re-acclimation period."
Marquette's Tyler Kolek has missed six games with an oblique injury, but he is expected to play against Western Kentucky on Friday.
How will consensus All-American Tyler Kolek look against Western Kentucky?
Kolek is a consensus All-American for the second straight season. This week he was honored as a second-team pick by The Associated Press and as a first-team selection by the United State Basketball Writer's Association. He was already a second-team pick by the National Association of Basketball Coaches and Sporting News.
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Only Markus Howard and Butch Lee have been consensus All-Americans in back-to-back seasons for MU.
Kolek is averaging 15 points and a nation-best 7.6 assists per game. He has been practicing in a limited fashion over the past week. Smart was asked how Kolek looked during his full-go practicing.
"He looked like himself," Smart said.
The MU head coach hasn't been told from the athletic training staff that there will be a minutes restriction with Kolek.
"We're kind of going day-by-day," Smart said. "We've had a specific amount of time that he's been able to practice. He kind of went over that (on Tuesday) in practice. Then today was relatively short for the team. So he was out there the whole time.
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"We'll see how tomorrow goes. And then, most importantly, we'll see how it goes in the game. From a standpoint of his wind, his rhythm, his timing."
Marquette's Oso Ighodaro hopes to become a first-round pick in next month's NBA draft.
Chase Ross and Stevie Mitchell also dealing with injuries
Junior guard Stevie Mitchell and Chase Ross also spent a lot of time rehabbing injuries this week.
Mitchell hurt his left shoulder against Providence in the semifinals of the Big East tournament. He wore a shoulder brace in the championship game against Connecticut.
"It's doing a lot better," Mitchell said. "Had to spend a lot of time in the training room. Just getting it healthy. Getting it better.
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"Doing a lot better. Still probably going to have a brace on. But that's just precautionary reasons, but it's definitely feeling a lot better."
Sophomore guard Chase Ross has been dealing with a left leg contusion for a large chunk of the season. He also aggravated the injury in the Big East tournament.
"Feels good enough," Ross said.
Ross also spent a lot of time with the MU trainers.
"I do just intense lasering," Ross said. "Just a lot of treatment, therapy. Just getting me ready for the physical battle on the court."
Marquette head coach Shaka Smart is cheered on by fans during the team's send-off at the Al McGuire Center before the NCAA Tournament.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Tyler Kolek had full-contact practice this week before NCAA Tournament
