Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Guest Post: MU Alums and Fantasy Basketball

With college basketball season less than a month away, it's time to start thinking about Marquette basketball again.  Today's guest post comes from James Marks at FanDuel.  Enjoy.
 
When To Draft The Top Marquette Alums In Fantasy Basketball
 
The NBA season is just about one week away, which means that people in fantasy basketball will be crafting their team for the year. Marquette fans might be more inclined to draft former Golden Eagles, but waiting until just the right time is the smart thing to do. Here’s a preview for the best former Marquette stars.
 

Dwyane Wade

For the last several seasons, Wade has been the marquee fantasy basketball name with ties to Marquette. He is on the tail end of his career, but he is still a borderline top 50 player. Among shooting guards, he comes right in the same range as Gordon Hayward and Demar Derozan. He’s going to be limited in games played, but he will probably take on a bigger load on offense with Lebron James out of Miami.

 

Wesley Matthews

Is this the year someone passes Wade? Matthews has a chance, especially from a fantasy basketball perspective. He is a prototypical 2-guard in today’s NBA, as he can score with ease, steal passes and knock down 3-pointers at a high rate. As long as he holds onto his starting job, he should have a fine season for the Portland Trail Blazers. He won’t last too much longer than Wade.

 

Jimmy Butler

Butler was supposed to be a breakout star last year, but he really suffered without Derrick Rose playing alongside him. The Chicago Bulls are hoping that he will stay healthy enough to play efficient basketball this year. He is not going to be the main option on Chicago, but they do need points. He is also a guy who can play some pretty solid defense and pulled down about 5 rebounds a game. He slipped a bit in the draft, as he is good value in the 70-80 overall range.