It is a nondescript building that doesn't warrant a second lookfor those cruising west on I-94 near the 16th Street overpass inMilwaukee.
Officially, it is Marquette's military studies center, home of theschool's ROTC staff and students. Unofficially, it is known on campusas the Old Gym, named for the basketball court that takes centerstage inside the brick walls.
This is where Marquette's basketball teams have practiced fordecades. They shoot baskets underneath the banked, balcony track thatis so short that runners get a complimentary case of vertigo witheach mile.
College coaches competing with Marquette for prized prospectsthrough the years have used the dated facility to their advantage.That edge will disappear this fall when the $31 million Al McGuireCenter becomes the new campus home for the Golden Eagles' practices.
Still, one wonders if the Old Gym's stark surroundings weren't theperfect fit for these Golden Eagles, whose demanding daily workoutswould make any military man proud.
It was in the Old Gym that coach Tom Crean's team developed areputation for physical and mental toughness. When New Trier's ToddTownsend made his campus visit, he remembers three players almostthrowing punches during a rebounding drill, after which Crean turnedto Townsend and smiled like a proud father.
It was in the Old Gym, with its heat and humidity last summer,that the seeds were planted for the school's first Final Four trip in26 years. But those summer pickup games, which Dwyane Wade creditswith forging a bond with his teammates, got off to a less-than-promising start.
"We'd just sit around and watch [Wade] go one-on-one," Townsendsaid. We'd sit on the wing, and he'd do his thing. But Dwyane, beingthe leader that he is, would say, You have to cut, you have to move.I'll find you.' Once he did that, our pickup games got a lot better."
Marquette would not be headed to a semifinal showdown Saturdayagainst Kansas without Wade "doing his thing" to the point of beingnamed the Midwest Regional's MVP for his awe-inspiring performancesin upsets of Pittsburgh and top-ranked Kentucky.
But Townsend said it hasn't been a one-man show for us."
Without Travis Diener's astute direction of the offense andfreshman Steve Novak's accurate three-point shooting, the GoldenEagles would have landed far short of New Orleans. Same goes forTownsend's contributions, particularly during the early part of theseason.
Perhaps the biggest reason for Marquette's Final Four berth hasbeen the play of 6-10, 260-pound Robert Jackson. Many are justfinding out about the senior center from Milwaukee who had 24 pointsand 15 rebounds Saturday in the 83-69 victory against Kentucky.
Utah's Rick Majerus, a former Marquette coach, pegged Jackson'simportance about the same time those summer pickup games werestarting.
Steve The Homer" True, Marquette's radio voice, has a letter datedJuly 23, 2002, in which Majerus predicted this team "could very wellmake the Final Four." Majerus' missive said that Wade "is even betterthan Doc Rivers" and that Diener "was a real keeper and sensational,"which is why he tried to recruit him. But Majerus said "the realsecret" was Jackson, a transfer from Mississippi State. "Trust mewhen I tell you that he could be a first-round [NBA] pick, withoutquestion."
Crean said he let Jackson know what to expect if he came toMarquette.
"He's responded very well," Crean said. "And I don't think it's asurprise he's playing his best basketball right now. He spends somuch extra time now studying film and trying to continue to learnthings. It's great for him. He's so confident and so excited aboutwhat he's doing. He's going to graduate here in a month, and it'sjust incredible to see. It's worked out great for us and for him.It's been a great partnership."
Before entering into that partnership, Crean had questions aboutJackson. And they were answered during a four-hour one-on-one beforethe coach extended a scholarship.
"He just talked about the way he was building the program," saidJackson, who came to embrace the physical demands included in it. "Hetold me all the things I would have to deal with, and all of themwere positive."
There was one negative. Crean wanted Jackson to drop 20 pounds.And the Old Gym proved to be the perfect sauna.
"He told me to be successful as a player, I probably needed todrop some weight," Jackson said. "I've never been worked like this inmy life, never been pushed the way I was pushed. But obviously it'spaid off. I never felt I reached my potential at Mississippi State."
The team's potential was in doubt after Marquette's 83-76 opening-round loss to Alabama-Birmingham in the Conference USA tournament,during which the Golden Eagles set a tournament record with 30turnovers. But what looked like a negative on March 13 has turnedinto a positive.
"I was not as upset over losing as over how we lost," Crean said."We turned the ball over a ton. We allowed a ton of penetration. Wedidn't play with that fire and that fight that we needed. But itbrought a real sense of urgency to this team.
"We came home and locked the doors [of the Old Gym] and really gotafter it for a couple of days. I thought they did a great job ofresponding. The players have always been able to come back this yearfrom poor performances and really do something about it. The playersknew we really needed to improve. We took a couple of days to reallylock into ourselves. Then it was time to get ready for thetournament, and the players just continued to get better."
Marquette at a glance
Roster/Statistics
n Coach: Tom Crean
No Player Pos Ht Yr Ppg Rpg
1 Todd Townsend F 6-7 So 6.0 2.7
3 Dwyane Wade G 6-5 Jr 21.6 6.3
5 Scott Merritt F 6-10 Jr 10.5 6.5
10 Karon Bradley G 5-11 Fr 1.7 0.4
12 Jared Sichting G 6-0 Fr 0.7 0.3
20 Steve Novak F 6-10 Fr 6.8 2.1
23 Tony Gries G 5-10 Fr 0.5 0.2
32 Joe Chapman G 6-4 Fr 2.4 1.3
33 Chris Grimm F-C 6-10 Fr 0.9 0.6
34 Travis Diener G 6-1 So 12.1 3.3
40 Terry Sanders F 6-8 Jr 2.6 2.7
55 Robert Jackson C 6-10 Sr 15.4 7.5
Game-by-game REsults (27-5)
Marquette Opponent Opp. score
73 at Villanova 61
64 Coppin State-x 46
80 Texas-San Antonio-x 68
97 Eastern Illinois 74
71 at Notre Dame 92
101 Appalachian State 78
63 Wisconsin 54
89 Elon 57
105 Grambling State 74
70 at East Carolina 73
85 at Dayton (OT) 92
60 at Saint Louis 54
96 South Florida 63
85 at Tulane 73
67 at Charlotte 64
72 DePaul 51
80 East Carolina 48
82 at Cincinnati 76
68 Saint Louis 64
68 Wake Forest 61
73 at DePaul 60
70 Louisville 73
75 Charlotte 67
79 at TCU 68
78 at Louisville 73
98 UAB 87
70 Cincinnati 61
76 UAB-y 83
72 Holy Cross-z 68
101 Missouri (OT)-z 92
77 at Pittsburgh-z 74
83 at Kentucky-z 69
x-Blue & Gold Classic; y-C-USA
tournament; z-NCAA tournament.
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