Sananda Fru and Nolan Minessale represent a change in philosophy for Marquette basketball. Where can they help the Golden Eagles bounce back after a down season?
It is no secret that Marquette under Shaka Smart has attempted to stick to the traditional ‘recruit and retain’ path while the rest of the country has turned to the transfer portal. The narrative around the Golden Eagles has been that of transfer avoidance, and the numbers back it up. Even though Marquette’s most successful individual in recent years, Tyler Kolek, was an incoming transfer, he was one of the very rare transfers to join the program under Smart. He also didn’t reach All-Big East caliber until his second year in the system.
Between Kolek’s three years and Kam Jones and David Joplin both playing for four years, Marquette posted a 98-41 (55-24 Big East) record from 2022-2025, making four straight NCAA Tournament appearances — twice as a No. 2 seed.
This past season was expected to be more of the same, with Chase Ross and Ben Gold pegged as the ‘next up’ guys after Jones and Joplin graduated. But Ross’s efficiency plummeted in a larger role, Gold didn’t take the leap many expected, and injuries limited Zaide Lowery and Sean Jones to a combined 19 appearances. Even with Nigel James emerging as not just the Big East’s top freshman but as a Third Team All-Conference player, the Golden Eagles stumbled to a 12-20 (7-13 Big East) record, their worst since 1987-88.
Entering a new offseason, Marquette’s retention remained its core element. Bringing back Nigel James was massive, and Royce Parham really came on as a starter in the latter portion of last season. Adrian Stevens scored 16+ points in six of Marquette’s last 11 games as well. But they needed more around them, and Smart went out and got it...via the portal.
In Sananda Fru and Nolan Minessale, he not only found highly touted players but also two potentially exceptional fits.
