Former BYU star Matt Carlino may be pivotal for Marquette this season

College basketball has a transitory nature to it as players and coaches come and go onto other teams. This is nothing new for Marquette, who saw a number of players transfer in the off season.

Among those transfers was former Brigham Young University point guard Matt Carlino, who will be playing his final season of eligibility as a graduate student for new coach Steve Wojciechowki.

Carlino's road to Marquette was an interesting one to say the least. He originally committed to Tom Crean and Indiana in 2010, but later backed out and accepted a scholarship to attend UCLA.  At UCLA, Carlino suffered a concussion and through seven games did not once get off the bench for the Bruins.  By December, he announced his decision to transfer to BYU, where he placed himself in a accelerated academic program to complete his degree earlier than intended.  Last season, he received his diploma from BYU and sought a change from three seasons in Provo, Utah.

The move to Marquette for Carlino was also a boom for Wojo, who knew that he would be losing out on the players that Buzz Williams signed before he made the move to Virginia Tech. Carlino was not the only transfer brought in by Woj, who also brought in Gabe Levin, who originally committed to Hofstra, and Wally Ellenson from Minnesota.

The addition of Carlino does bring seasoned guard play to the Golden Eagles that will help pick up the offense for this season.  Last season at BYU, Carlino averaged 13.7 points a game for the Cougars and will most likely be an essential part for what could be an inexperienced Marquette offense.  He will have to pick up where JaJuan Johnson and others may struggle with their development from last season.

It is a new era for Marquette under Wojciechowski, but it is also the final act in an interesting career for Matt Carlino, whose main task will be helping out where he can to ensure that the Wojo era for the Golden Eagles gets off on the right foot.