Kansas basketball: Marcus Garrett changes games with his defense

Marcus Garrett has been dominating recently for Kansas basketball, and he should be in the discussion for National Defensive Player of the Year.

Kansas basketball has picked up a couple of impressive wins in a row, and a lot of the credit has to go to Marcus Garrett. The elite defender changed the course of both games, but that’s nothing new for Garrett. He’s been an elite defender for the Jayhawks all season long.

He’s averaging nearly two steals per game and, and his past two outings against West Virginia and Oklahoma have been nothing short of incredible.

Against West Virginia Garrett dominated the game playing all 40 minutes and notching nine points, seven rebounds, four assists, and five steals. The steals were timely too, with two coming at critical points in the game where Kansas was trying to make a comeback. Head coach Bill Self event went so far as to say Garrett “basically gave us the lead” after the Jayhawks came away with a win.

Garrett’s performance against the Mountaineers was huge, but it’d be nothing compared to his game yesterday against Oklahoma.

Against the Sooners, he recorded 24 points, seven assists, five rebounds, four steals, and six made three-pointers. It was a career game for Garrett, who once again changed the tone of the game with his defensive prowess.

The Jayhawks were down 27-26 with 4:44 left in the first half, and the game was very back and forth up to that point. Garrett picked up a steal which led to a Devon Dotson layup on a fast break, giving Kansas the lead. On the very next possession, Garrett picked up his second steal in a row and scored in transition.

Oklahoma would call a timeout to stop the run and score on their ensuing possession, but Garrett would come back with a three-pointer in response, giving the Jayhawks a 33-29 lead. Garrett’s two back to back steals would end up generating a 13-5 run and give Kansas a 41-32 run to end the first half.

Despite his success on the offensive end recently and this season, Garrett still has his critics. There’s an old narrative that he can’t play offense, but he’s done everything in his power to shatter that idea in the past two games, and this season.

Garrett is averaging 9.2 points and 4.5 assists per game this season, and while he isn’t amazing on the offensive end, he isn’t a liability by any means. Plus, think of it like this: every steal Garrett gets is an opportunity lost for the opponent and one gained for the Jayhawks. That means that one steal could be as much as a six-point swing, and he’s getting around two of those per game.

While each possession may not be worth three points, Garrett’s value as a defender can’t be overstated. He’ nearly a lock to win the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year based on his stats alone, and he’s got a real shot to be the National Defensive Player of the Year as well.

Look for Garrett to be a major catalyst for Kansas basketball this season in March, and next year too since he’s only a junior.