On Saturday, Marquette announced that sophomore Sacar Anim will redshirt the 2016-17 season.
“It was a discussion that I had with Sacar and his family and I think it was in the best interests for his development,” Marquette head coach Steve Wojciechowski said Saturday’s exhibition win, according to Matt Velazquez of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “He’s a young guy — he’s over a year younger than the other guys in the sophomore class. We have a lot of perimeter players and I think he’s a guy who can be a valuable asset to our program, but he needs to use his year to continue to get better as a player, stronger as an athlete.”
This move partially alleviates a logjam on the Marquette perimeter. Duane Wilson, Jujuan Johnson, Traci Carter, Sandy Cohen III, and Haanif Cheatham all return while Andrew Rowsey, who redshirted last season, Katin Reinhardt, a graduate transfer, and freshmen Markus Howard and Sam Hauser join the program.
Anim, rated as a three-star recruit by Rivals (but a four-star recruit by ESPN), appeared in only 17 games last season, averaging 1.2 points per game. The 6-foot-5 shooting guard played the four for the Golden Eagles last season. When you look at the projected top teams in the Big East, all of them will play a variation of small ball. And with playing time on the perimeter at a premium, Johnson and Cohen -- both who saw time at the four last season -- should be expected to get those minutes alongside Luke Fischer.
Marquette opens the season on Friday against Vanderbilt in the Veterans Classic in Annapolis, Maryland.