March 5, 2010

By Dan McGrath, '72

Lazar Hayward, David Cubillan and Maurice Acker will be center stage when the Golden Eagles hold this season’s Senior Day ceremony in conjunction with Saturday’s Notre Dame game. Have the Kleenex ready---it could get emotional.

Hayward, a four-year starter, is already Marquette’s career leader in games played (133) and becomes a stronger presence in the record book each time he takes the floor. Cubillan and Acker have been supporting players throughout their careers, but unforeseen circumstances dictated they do more this year. Their response is largely responsible for one of the most surprising, satisfying seasons ever at Marquette, which coach Buzz Williams acknowledged after the Golden Eagles made it five straight 20-win seasons with Tuesday night’s thumping of Louisville.

“Mo and Cooby have been solid as a rock,” Williams said. “I hate to think where we’d be without them. They’ve done everything we’ve asked of them and more --- and we asked a lot.”

Cubillan, one of four Venezuela-born athletes playing college basketball in the United States, arrived from St. Benedict’s Prep in Newark, N.J., a year behind “the Big Three” -- the three guards in Marquette’s three-guard offense. Consequently, he had a hard time getting on the floor, averaging 4.2 points in 16.3 minutes over 99 games in his first three seasons. And at an even 6 feet (barely), it’s not like he could switch to another position.

Rather than complain, Cubillan worked hard in practice, maintained an upbeat demeanor and a team-first attitude and kept himself ready for more playing time when it arrived this season. Starting all 29 games, he has averaged 6.2 points and 2.8 assists in 30.4 minutes, all career-best numbers. But his contributions go beyond statistics. Cubillan is an active, eager defender in any deployment, and his calm veteran’s presence has helped the Golden Eagles survive and thrive through one nail-biting game after another.

Doubted? With replacements required for 80 percent of their starting lineup, the Golden Eagles were picked to finish 12th in the 16-team Big East. With 11 wins in conference play, they’ll finish fifth, and those five straight road wins practically assure their participation in March Madness.

“We’re not that surprised,” Cubillan said. “We believe in each other.”

Though the Golden Eagles hope to keep playing for another four weeks, the arrival of Senior Day inevitably sparks a flood of memories. The Seton Hall game of Feb. 28 will be recalled as one of Cubillan’s most satisfying. He had 16 points, four rebounds, three assists and no turnovers in 44 minutes of an 84-83 overtime victory in Newark with dozens of friends, family members and former teammates in the stands watching.

“That was nice,” he said with his trademark smile. “It was fun to have a good game in front of so many people who have supported me and helped me. It was even better to win a game we needed to win.”

Cubillan interned with Milwaukee’s ESPN Radio affiliate last summer, and broadcasting is one option he’ll consider when he graduates with his degree in corporate communications in May. Another is playing pro ball in Venezuela. For now, his top priority is extending a memorable senior season as far as possible.

“I’m trying to make the most out of every game, every shoot around, every practice, every meal,” Cubillan said. “Four years already---it’s amazing. But Marquette has been a great experience for me, and I’m blessed to have had it.”

Maurice Acker’s Marquette experience was nearly limited to two years---three if you count the season he sat out after transferring in from Ball State. Though Acker played in 68 of the Eagles’ 70 games over those two years and started seven times after James went out with a broken foot last season, he left the team over the summer.

Fortunately for both parties, he stayed sharp by helping his buddy McNeal get ready for pro ball, and he was ready when injuries and defections resulted in a callback and another opportunity.

“The decision of the year,” Williams said.

Acker credits assistant coach Tony Benford with making his comeback possible.

“Coach Benford called and we met and talked about what was expected, then I met with Buzz and the team and we went from there,” Acker said. “I’m thankful for the opportunity and I want to make the most of it.”

Acker, from Country Club Hills, Ill., was McNeal’s teammate at Hillcrest High School. He’s a little on the small side by any measure, though he insists his program height of 5-foot-8 is accurate. Regardless of whether he carries 165 pounds, as advertised, there’s no doubt Acker is one of the toughest players pound-for-pound in a tough guy’s league.

“Mo and Cooby, they just have this attitude that nobody’s going to outwork them, nobody’s going to out-tough them, and it spreads to the rest of the team,” fellow senior Hayward said. “I have tremendous respect for that.”

Having started 16 of Marquette’s 29 games, Acker is not merely a change-the-pace bench player, no gimmick. He has been among the national leaders in assist-to turnover ratio (3.1/1) all season, a remarkable statistic in that his relentless push-the-ball style gives the Eagles their offensive energy and makes them hard to defend. His 47.7 percent three-point shooting, including a 6-for-6 effort against Providence, has been a major weapon, and his cold-blooded free-throw shooting down the stretch has often been the difference the tight games that have been Marquette’s specialty this season.

“We’ve always had close teams at Marquette, but this team is especially close,” Acker said. “We play for each other, we leave it on the floor for each other. That’s why we’ve been successful.”

Hayward was Marquette’s one known commodity going into the season, and his broad shoulders have been up to the task of carrying an inexperienced team. Averaging a career-best 18 points per game, Hayward will likely finish as the No. 2 scorer in Marquette history, behind McNeal, and at 6-6 he’s a consistently strong presence on the boards for a small team that needs every rebound it can get its hands on.

“ ‘Zar is a man,” Williams said simply. “Offense, defense, rebounds, leadership---he’s done it all for us this year.”

Hayward’s experience and maturity made him a natural team leader, but the role required some adjustment---the James Gang, after all, had been around forever.

“It was kind of strange not having those guys here after all that time,” he said. “It was like your brothers went off to college. Now I have new brothers.”

Hayward, from Buffalo, N.Y., was the centerpiece of Tom Crean’s 2006 recruiting class. Any thoughts he might have had about transferring after Crean’s departure were dispelled by his first meeting with Williams.

“He didn’t say much the year he was here as an assistant,” Hayward recalled. “When he gave the scouting report, it was obvious he knew what he was talking about, but I didn’t really feel as though I knew him. The first time we talked, he said, ‘You’re a little crazy, aren’t you? I like that.’ Why would you say that to a guy you barely know? But by the time we finished we were like old friends.

“Now, I love the guy. We all do. Buzz is straight-up honest. He’ll always tell you the truth, not what you want to hear, and I respect that. That’s one of the reasons we play so hard for him. He’ll get on us good in practice, but afterwards you can talk and laugh and joke with him about anything. He’s there for you. He’s just a great guy.”

Hayward says his only regret about his Marquette experience is that it’s nearing the end. “The four years have just flown by,” he said. “But I’ve been blessed to be around so many great people.”

Hayward will graduate in May with a degree in social welfare and justice. Pro ball, somewhere, is in his future. He’ll have more than a dozen people at Senior Day, and he’ll be cited as one of the most accomplished players in Marquette history, with good reason. His own sense of it all is very simple.

“We’ve been fortunate to win some games and accomplish some things,” Hayward said. “But what I’d like to be remembered for is that I brought it every day. I did the work and never took shortcuts. I’d like that to be the impact I had on Marquette.”

Duly noted.

Dan McGrath, sports coordinator for the Chicago News Cooperative and former sports editor of the Chicago Tribune, has worked at newspapers all over the country since graduating from Marquette in 1972.