MILWAUKEE – Marquette coach Shaka Smart says star guard Tyler Kolek has been practicing 5-on-5 drills this week as the 2023 Big East Player of the Year prepares to return from an oblique injury.
Kolek has missed Marquette's last six games, but Smart has expressed confidence that the Associated Press second-team All-America selection would return for the NCAA Tournament. Marquette (25-9), seeded second in the South Region, faces Western Kentucky (22-11) on Friday in Indianapolis.
“He got going, played 5-on-5 all over the court,” Smart said Wednesday before the team left campus. “He has done many good things.”
Kolek has 7.6 assists per game to rank second among all Division I players. The 6-foot-3 guard also averages 15 points and 4.7 rebounds.
He injured his oblique during a 91-69 win over Providence on February 28. Marquette went 3-3 in the games Kolek missed, with two of the losses coming to NCAA Tournament No. 1 seed UConn.
Smart noted there would be an adjustment process for Kolek after missing three weeks, but the coach was encouraged by what he saw in practice.
“He looked like himself,” Smart said.
Kolek's health was also an issue in last season's NCAA Tournament. He injured his thumb in Marquette's first-round win over Vermont. Kolek continued to play but was not as effective as usual in the second-round loss to Michigan State.
