SALT LAKE CITY — This is Lauri Markkanen’s first-ever NCAA Tournament, and almost definitely his last, but the weight of lose-and-go-home doesn’t seem to be weighing on his shoulders.
Not much does.
Not the reporters from Markkanen’s homeland who have flown thousands of miles just to watch him play at McKale Center. Not the NBA attention, even though he’s a likely top-10 draft pick. Not the pressure of delivering again after a Pac-12 Tournament that might’ve 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.
“I try to stay neutral, not got too high, not get too low,†Markkanen said. “So, that’s a balance that helps me.â€
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There’s something else that helps the Finnish star: His teammates. It doesn’t matter that Markkanen is one of the only non-native English speakers on the Wildcats’ roster, or that his fast-rising stock means college will likely be a one-year stopover.
“He fits in,†UA point guard Jackson-Cartwright said Wednesday. “Everyone loves him. His personality is one of the best I’ve been around on a basketball team. He’s funny. He’s one of the funniest people I’ve been around.â€
On cue, Markkanen interrupted a television interview with Kadeem Allen to make sure his teammate, and everyone else in the locker room†heard his go-to impression: Borat, the fictional Kazakh talk-show host.
“Great success!†he exclaimed.
Markkanen makes his teammates, coaches — and himself — laugh. He’s tall, he’s goofy, and on the basketball court he’s dangerous.
Just down the hall Wednesday at Vivint Smart Home Arena, North Dakota waited for practice to begin. There wasn’t 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.
“Right now, Markkanen is our big focus,†said Quinton Hooker, a guard and North Dakota’s 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, he’s shooting 43.2 percent from three.
To those who follow ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥, that’s normal at this point. If anything, it’s worse than what it used to be.
Reminder: Markkanen is 7 feet tall. That’s 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 “unicorn†in NBA circles for bringing a skill set to the league that has seldom been seen before.
“I mean, everyone has heard the comparisons they make to him,†said North Dakota forward Conner Avants about Markkanen.
No, Markkanen is not Porzingis. But he’s ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s unicorn nevertheless.
North Dakota’s Carson Shanks, a 7-footer himself with two career 3-pointers to his name, can’t think of another player like him.
“In the Big Sky, it’s either one or the other,†Shanks said. “He (a player) can stretch the floor and he’s 6-6, or he’s 7-foot and just stays in the paint. So it’s definitely a new mix for me personally to play against.
“In college basketball, no, I’ve never seen it.â€
If ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ keeps moving on in March, it’ll be because of Markkanen. Then he’ll likely move on to the NBA.
North Dakota is up first.
The “great success†comes later.
Contact:zrosenblatt@tucson.com or 573-4145. On Twitter: @ZackBlatt