By Sean Brennan
Special to BIGEAST.com
You can see it every time Marcus Zegarowski steps on the floor.
The quiet confidence, a steely determination and a level of intensity that always seems to be on a full boil. In fact, those are the same traits you’d find in Zegarowski’s favorite athlete, MMA star Conor McGregor.
“I like him a lot,” said Zegarowski, Creighton’s stellar junior marksman. “I like how he believes in himself. He’s Irish and I’m part Irish and I just love his confidence. Even when he loses, the way he holds himself, the way he always looks for the good in things. He always stays positive. I just know he’s a competitor and he wants to win every time he steps in the octagon. That’s how I feel whenever I step on the floor.”
And like McGregor, Zegarowski has been successful far more often than he has not. The latest example of Zegarowski’s dazzling basketball gifts came last weekend when he erupted for 25 points in an 86-70 thumping of then-No.5 Villanova. It was a season-high scoring performance for Zegarowski, who came into the season as the BIG EAST’s Preseason Player of the Year.
But coming into the 2020-21 campaign off knee surgery, Zegarowski said there was pressure to live up to the high expectations placed on him by the preseason accolades.
“I’d be lying if I said no. Obviously it kind of puts a target on your back,” he said. “I’ve always kind of been under the radar coming out of high school and even in college. I wasn’t the most touted recruit so the spotlight was never really on me. But being BIG EAST (Preseason) Player of the Year was a different thing for me. Expectations can get to you, but now I don’t worry about that stuff. At the end of the day it’s just an opinion. My focus is on winning ball games and that’s not an opinion, it’s a statement. So that’s where my focus is and I’ll let all the other stuff take care of itself.”
After a slow start to his season as he worked his body back in playing shape, Zegarowski has been on fire of late. In the Bluejays last seven games, a span during which they went 6-1, Zagarowski has averaged 16.1 points a game and is currently eighth in the BIG EAST in scoring at an even 15 points per outing. And if you’ve noticed the “edginess” to his game, we’ll that’s due to a lack of recognition - and heredity.
“I was under recruited, I wasn’t recruited until late so I’ve always had an edge to me,” Zegarowski said. “I always try to prove myself. That’s how my dad (Zack) was when he played and how my siblings played. It’s just how we all are. We’re all just competitive. Just play with passion and try to win the game. That’s who I am and who I will always be.”
Zegarowski comes from a dynamic basketball family. His older brother, Michael Carter-Williams, currently plays in the NBA for the Orlando Magic. His twin brother, Max, plays for Franklin Pierce University and his sister, Masey, played at Bryant College before graduating. So as you might expect, there is a lot of hoops talk after ball games among the family.
“Michael is always checking in on me, especially after a loss or a bad game,” Zegarowski said. “But even when I play well and we win they still try to give me some pointers and they let me know what I need to work on. The same with my parents, they give me pointers when things go well and try to humble me so I don’t get too high. And when things get really low they try and give me confidence and belief in me and I really appreciate that. I wouldn’t be here without them.”
And just where is Zegarowski? Well, back to the form that had conference coaches dubbing him the best in the league before the season tipped off.
“I’m at a point where I feel really good out there. Things are really slowing down for me and I’m reading stuff that I was reading before,” Zegarowski siad. “My cardio feels great and my body feels great and we’re winning ball games. The camaraderie around here is really good right now and I’m just trying to add to that, continuing to build on what we’ve done and what I’ve done and try to take things a step further.”
One of Creighton’s goals as the regular season winds down is grabbing at least a share of a second straight BIG EAST regular-season title, if not taking it outright. And the win over Villanova was a giant step in that direction.
“That just gave us a lot of confidence,” Zegarowski said. “We went into that game thinking we could win it and we played the game as we should. We were unselfish and we played really hard and played with an edge and that’s what we need to get back to. Not just for big games like Villanova. We need to approach every game like that and I think we’ll be successful.”
The Bluejays are in the midst of an 11-day break between the victory over Villanova and their next game when they host DePaul on Feb. 24. With just four games remaining before the BIG EAST Tournament, just how dangerous does Zegarowski think this Creighton team can be? Better than the one that made a superb Nova team look almost average?
“I think we can get a lot better,” he said. “I think we’re as good as last year but I think we can win in more ways than last year. I think we defend better, I think we’re bigger this year and I also think we have more experience this year. I still think we have a ways to go and I think we can get better. That’s exciting, but it’s not just going to happen. We have to put in the work and we have to go out and do it.”
And with the reigning NCAA.com National Player of the Week seemingly back in elite form, no one can doubt the promise of this Creighton team.
“I think the best is still to come,” Zegarowski said. “I think I can still improve on a lot of things. I think I can be a better teammate and a better leader. I think I can pick it up on the defensive end even more and just take it up a few notches. I just believe in myself. I put the work in and I’m prepared to go out and do it. That’s my goal.”