Notebook: Lewis declares for NBA Draft; NAIA POY transfers to Marquette

Originally posted on WI Sports Heroics | Last updated 5/1/22

It is typically not a time of heavy news for most programs in college basketball. The transfer portal has changed that. Marquette and coach Shaka Smart continue to be active in the transfer portal and that keeps the flow of news about the Golden Eagles flowing. Here are some recent relevant happenings regarding Marquette:

Justin Lewis declares for NBA Draft

Justin Lewis was Marquette’s top player this past season. Lewis averaged 17 points and nearly 8 rebounds per game. On April 12 he declared for the NBA Draft. Lewis on average is projected as a second round pick. Lewis will be signing with an NCAA-approved agent to maintain his college eligibility. This allows Lewis to go through the NBA Draft process by working out and interviewing with teams, attending the NBA Draft combine to try and improve his draft position. Lewis would need to withdraw his name from the draft by June 1 to maintain eligibility.

pic.twitter.com/Q6mGopTUht
— Justin Lewis (@jusbuckets_5) April 12, 2022

Zach Wrightsil commits to Marquette

Marquette quickly addressed targets in the transfer portal. One was NAIA Player of the Year Zach Wrightsil. Wrightsil, a 6-foot 7 forward, came to Marquette for an official visit on April 14 and quickly committed on Easter. Wrightsil is an undersized power forward, but by all accounts is a tough, slashing player. He isn’t a three-point shooter but is aggressive taking the ball to the rim and Marquette needs some rebounding help badly.

I am humbly blessed to announce that I will be continuing my collegiate career with @MarquetteMBB. Not done yet let’s work‼️ pic.twitter.com/T9imQed7pT
— Zach Wrightsil (@ZachWrightsil) April 17, 2022

Greg Elliott to continue playing elsewhere

Greg Elliott has been at Marquette five years, including his redshirt year. Elliott has decided to take advantage of the extra year allowed due to COVID. He won’t be continuing his career at Marquette, though. Elliott entered his name in the transfer portal.

Elliott is a sharpshooter from distance, shooting 38.6 percent from 3 this past season. The previous two seasons he shot over 40 percent from 3, including 45.5 percent in 2020-’21.

Marquette guard Greg Elliott is in the transfer portal.

Elliott, a 6’3” senior averaged 7 points, 2 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game for the Golden Eagles. Shot 39% from 3 on an average of 3 attempts per game.
— PortalUpdates (@portal_updates) April 13, 2022

Marquette will be in loaded Maui field in 2023

The Golden Eagles will be in an absolutely stacked Maui Invitational in 2023. The nonconference tournament will have a number of blueblood programs including Kansas, Gonzaga and UCLA. The other teams are Tennessee, Purdue, Syracuse and Marquette and host school Chaminade. That is an incredible field that has me contemplating breaking out the Hawaiian flower shirts and heading to Maui!

This article first appeared on WI Sports Heroics and was syndicated with permission.

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