Wildcat Roster Part 2: Alex Marcotullio

While local recruit Drew Crawford has received the majority of the press when focusing the Wildcats recruiting for 2009-10, the Wildcats have another guard signed who might make just as big an impact. 6-3 guard Alex Marcotullio from Warren, Michigan will also join the Wildcats next year and he might find himself competing with classmate Crawford and senior Jeremy Nash for a starting spot at Craig Moore’s vacant shooting guard spot. Most experts have highlighted the increased athleticism Nash or Crawford can bring to that spot on the court, but anybody who watched NU play this season knows just how critical Moore’s long range shooting was to the successes of the Princeton Offense. While Marcotullio might not ever be the best athlete in NU’s guard corps, he does bring shooting range out to 25-feet. That is something that not many players offer. Another key point noted when ESPN’s experts reviewed Marcotullio is the fact that Alex did play some point guard in high school. According to the report, Marcotullio is a smart player who makes the right pass and has a very high basketball IQ. Considering the number of times NU struggled without Michael Thompson on the court this season, perhaps this ability to play point is the most important contribution Marcotullio can make his freshman season. Honestly, I believe Michael Thompson is seriously underrated as a point guard. If he played at another program I think he’d get a ton of press for his ability to handle the ball, score on the drive, and shoot a very high percentage from three. However, it was also evident that Thompson was exhausted at times this season. Perhaps, that is even why he had major foul troubles late in the year. If Marcotullio could play 8-10 minutes at point in order to let Juice get some extra rest, I think it would go a long way to helping NU pull out a few more late victories. Looking at the numbers, Maroctullio battled injuries during his senior season, but still impressed enough to be ranked the number two shooting guard in Michigan by insideprepsports.net. He also pulled down a major honor as the Macomb County player of the year. Macomb County is one of the larger counties in Michigan and it as a sign of great respect that Alex received the award despite an injury plagued season. I expect when he comes to Evanston in the fall Alex will be at full health and I think he will without a doubt battle for a starting role. In fact, I think he might even suprise many by winning that role. No matter what, though, he will be a key player next year.