Since Marquette hasn’t made the NCAA Tournament since 2013, there isn’t much postseason experience on the roster. Only one player has tournament experience, and his name is now attached to a bit of NCAA trivia.
When Marquette’s name was called Sunday, Katin Reinhardt joined Derrick Gordon as the only players to make the tournament with three different programs. The graduate student transfer previously played in the big dance with UNLV in 2013 and USC last season.
Reinhardt said having postseason experience helped him prepare this year’s team for what it takes.
“When you have games you’ve got to win you ramp up the intensity,” he said. “Just taking every game like it’s a tournament game, really, is how you’ve got to approach the season if you want to play in March. I’ve done a good job of being a leader on this team in terms of ramping up the intensity in practice.”
“It’s something we’ve encouraged him to talk about with our group,” head coach Steve Wojciechowski said. “His experience is going to be big this week. As we head into this, it’s uncharted territory for all of our guys expect Katin.”
Now his focus turns to passing on his knowledge and experience to the younger players on the team.
“There’s going to be a lot of media. There’s going to be a lot of people trying to talk to you about going to the NCAA Tournament,” Reinhardt said. “I know that it’s a big thing, but we’ve got to focus on what we’ve got to do.”
“I think we all will (lean on Katin),” Markus Howard said. “We all have from the beginning of the season knowing his experience in the postseason. We’ve looked to him for great guidance and leadership. I know me personally, I ask him what it’s like just to be in that position. We’re definitely going to look to him for experience and advice on how to deal with it.”
Reinhardt’s leadership isn’t confined to locker room talk, either. He’s been pivotal in multiple of Marquette’s resume-building victories. He scored 19 points in Marquette’s road win against then-No. 7 Creighton, then followed that up with a 21-point performance and game-winning free throws against No. 1 Villanova. Down the stretch, he scored double-digit points in both Marquette’s road win against Xavier and home victory against Creighton. It’s something Luke Fischer said comes from his experience.
“He always steps up in big moments,” Fischer said. “You always see on TV in March that big moments stick out. We hope Katin can do it for us again.”
Despite multiple appearances, Reinhardt still has unfinished work to do. He is looking for his first NCAA Tournament victory. While with UNLV, the fifth-seeded Rebels were upset by No. 12 California, and last season No. 8 USC fell at the hands of No. 9 Providence.
He stressed a business-like attitude this week in order to finally get over the top.
“It’s a big accomplishment for us, for the program … but now we get back to work,” Reinhardt said.
