SALT LAKE CITY β This is Lauri Markkanenβs first-ever NCAA Tournament, and almost definitely his last, but the weight of lose-and-go-home doesnβt seem to be weighing on his shoulders.
Not much does.
Not the reporters from Markkanenβs homeland who have flown thousands of miles just to watch him play at McKale Center. Not the NBA attention, even though heβs a likely top-10 draft pick. Not the pressure of delivering again after a Pac-12 Tournament that mightβve been his best work yet. He scored 20 points against Colorado in the quarterfinals, and tallied 29 points and 12 rebounds in a semifinal win over UCLA.
Not the prospect of March Madness, either.
βI try to stay neutral, not got too high, not get too low,β Markkanen said. βSo, thatβs a balance that helps me.β
Thereβs something else that helps the Finnish star: His teammates. It doesnβt matter that Markkanen is one of the only non-native English speakers on the Wildcatsβ roster, or that his fast-rising stock means college will likely be a one-year stopover.
βHe fits in,β UA point guard Jackson-Cartwright said Wednesday. βEveryone loves him. His personality is one of the best Iβve been around on a basketball team. Heβs funny. Heβs one of the funniest people Iβve been around.β
On cue, Markkanen interrupted a television interview with Kadeem Allen to make sure his teammate, and everyone else in the locker roomβ heard his go-to impression: Borat, the fictional Kazakh talk-show host.
βGreat success!β he exclaimed.
Markkanen makes his teammates, coaches β and himself β laugh. Heβs tall, heβs goofy, and on the basketball court heβs dangerous.
Just down the hall Wednesday at Vivint Smart Home Arena, North Dakota waited for practice to begin. There wasnβt much of a media horde. Those who were there, however, all wanted to talk about Markkanen. The Finnish forward made the Fighting Hawks laugh, too.
This was more nervous laughter, though.
βRight now, Markkanen is our big focus,β said Quinton Hooker, a guard and North Dakotaβs leading scorer.
North Dakota coach Brian Jones mentioned watching film of a common opponent, Northern Colorado, a team the Wildcats faced at McKale Center in November and won by 16 points.
Film from that game will show Markkanen scoring 17 points and grabbing 13 rebounds with one block, one steal, converting all four of his free throw attempts.
Those are good numbers.
It was a bad game for Markkanen.
He shot 1 for 5 from 3-point range, which, until the recent pre-Pac-12 Tournament skid, Markkanen only shot at that percentage, or worse, on five separate occasions.
On the season, heβs shooting 43.2 percent from three.
To those who follow Arizona, thatβs normal at this point. If anything, itβs worse than what it used to be.
Reminder: Markkanen is 7 feet tall. Thatβs not normal, unless you play for the New York Knicks and your name is Kristpas Porzingis.
The Latvian NBA star is referred to as a βunicornβ in NBA circles for bringing a skill set to the league that has seldom been seen before.
βI mean, everyone has heard the comparisons they make to him,β said North Dakota forward Conner Avants about Markkanen.
No, Markkanen is not Porzingis. But heβs Arizonaβs unicorn nevertheless.
North Dakotaβs Carson Shanks, a 7-footer himself with two career 3-pointers to his name, canβt think of another player like him.
βIn the Big Sky, itβs either one or the other,β Shanks said. βHe (a player) can stretch the floor and heβs 6-6, or heβs 7-foot and just stays in the paint. So itβs definitely a new mix for me personally to play against.
βIn college basketball, no, Iβve never seen it.β
If Arizona keeps moving on in March, itβll be because of Markkanen. Then heβll likely move on to the NBA.
North Dakota is up first.
The βgreat successβ comes later.
