Marquette rookie Oso Ighodaro makes Milwaukee return

MILWAUKEE - The Marquette men's basketball program has two rookies going strong in the NBA this season. One of those guys, Oso Ighodaro, made a recent visit to town – and thoroughly enjoyed his homecoming.

What they're saying:

On the first night of April, former Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer made a highly publicized return to the place he used to work, Fiserv Forum, as the coach of the Phoenix Suns. One of his players was also coming back to where he used to work.

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"It was great. Had my people there, coach courtside. It was a blessing just to see everyone," said Ighodaro. "I wish we had gotten the win, obviously, but I have so many memories in this gym, so it was great just to be here."

The coach Ighodaro referred to is Shaka Smart, who arrived at Marquette after Ighodaro was already on the Golden Eagles' roster.

Oso Ighodaro

"I was going to stay with coach no matter what," Ighodaro said. "We had a good thing going over there – we still do."

Ighodaro's foundation in college helped make him a first-round draft choice of the Phoenix Suns, and he is proving to be a professional with an upside.

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"He's fearless out there, he's talented, he's obviously learning," said Bucks center Brook Lopez. "He couldn't be playing with any better players to learn from."

"As a draft pick for us, he's come in with a maturity, a work ethic, an unselfishness that I think has been really good for our team," Budenholzer said. "Just couldn't be happier with Oso and the way he plays and the teammate that he is. You know, we're very excited about him, what he's done so far and what he's going to do in the future." 

Oso Ighodaro

Ighodaro was an achiever scholastically, as well as on the court at Marquette. He is putting his observational skills to use to help his play, and he's still trying to please Smart.

"All the little things we talked about at Marquette, I felt I had to to because I felt like coach was right there watching me," he said. "Understanding NBA defenses, the drop coverage, playing with superstars is a skill in its own, the rebounding, it's a little bit different than college. I think in all those areas, I've grown."

Big picture view:

The Suns are trying to fight their way into the playoffs in the Western Conference. Marquette's other rookie, Tyler Kolek, is a contributor for the New York Knicks, who will be in the Eastern Conference playoffs.