Get to know: Q&A with Marquette guard Andrew Rowsey

The Journal Sentinel's Ben Steele caught up with Marquette Golden Eagles guard Andrew Rowsey before the team left for Hawaii to talk about growing up in Virginia, his free-throw shooting routine and his shooting move that became an MU favorite. Rowsey is averaging 24 points per game for the Golden Eagles (1-1) while shooting 45.5% (15 of 33).

Marquette will play three games in the Maui Jim Maui Invitational, Monday through Wednesday.

Q. You were born and raised in Virginia and spent your first two collegiate seasons at UNC-Asheville. How do you like living in the Midwest?

A. I'm really enjoying it. It's something I've never been accustomed to. I never really visited the Midwest. I'd been out here one time for an AAU tournament, but other than that everything is new to me. I'm getting adjusted to the cold. I'm really not a big fan of the cold, but other than that I like it a lot.

Q. You are from Lexington, Va., about an hour outside of Roanoke. Two of college basketball's all-time three-point shooters, J.J. Redick and Curtis Staples, are also from the Roanoke area. What is it about that part of Virginia that grows great shooters?

A. Troy Daniels, too. I really don't know why. But for me when there is one shooter that comes through there, kind of like J.J., it kind of inspires kids to want to shoot like him. Other than J.J., in that area, just the Roanoke Valley, we really didn't have that many big basketball players coming up when I was growing up. Of course, Virginia Beach, Richmond, that whole area (has a lot of basketball talent). But Roanoke Valley, we had J.J. come up. So seeing J.J. shoot like that, seeing all the stuff he did in high school, I think that really inspired the younger kids and people who were coming up to shoot the ball like that. I know for me it did. Seeing J.J. play like that, I was like 'Man, it's fun to shoot and play like he does.' So that influenced me a lot.

Q. MU coach Steve Wojciechowski helped develop Redick at Duke. Does he tell you stories about J.J.?

A. I hear a lot from him and (MU assistant) Coach (Chris) Carrawell, because Coach Carrawell is really close with him, too. Just how relentless he was on offense and how he was always trying to find his shot coming off screens. How he was always a threat on offense, how he moved without the ball and how he was always in the best shape, conditioning-wise.

Q. Allen Iverson has the highest-scoring season in Virginia prep history with 948 points in 30 games at Bethel High School. You are No. 2 at Rockbridge County High School with 931 points in 26 games in 2013. I've heard you mention Iverson as one of your favorite players. What do you like about him?

A. Just the way he plays, just the way he gets after it. Just his mind-set. The way he comes out on the court, he knows he's the best player on the court no matter who he's playing against. Whether it was his rookie season when he was playing MJ (Michael Jordan), he thought he was the best player on court. The legend of Allen Iverson, he's really the GOAT in Virginia. I just look up to him a lot. I look up to his game, the way he played with a chip on his shoulder, all that.

Q. You spent two years at UNC-Asheville before transferring to play at a higher level. Has the competition been tougher than expected?

A. It's been about what I expected. I knew coming into Marquette with Coach Wojo that I knew what I was getting into. On a daily basis we have the motto "Win Every Day." So I knew every day was going to be a challenge, especially in my off-seasons. So it was a challenge I wanted to take.

Q. You're a career 88.7% free-throws shooter. Every great free-throw shooter has a routine; yours is three dribbles and then shoot. When did you start doing that?

A. I started doing that in middle school. I used to do a bunch of stuff before free throws. Then my dad, he was my shooting coach growing up, he got that out of me. He said, 'Look, simplify it. Do whatever you got to do but simplify it.' So I did three dribbles and shoot and I've stuck with it since middle school.

Q. You've gained a cult following among MU fans with your pump-fake-to-draw-a-foul-while-shooting-a-three-pointer move. Where did that come from and why is it so effective?

A. It actually came about when I got to my freshman year at Asheville. I really didn't use my shot fake a lot in high school, just more or less when I got to college. I started integrating that into my game. It just kind of clicked with me, just jump into the guy and get your free throws. And my dad kind of hinted at me, 'Next time you get a guy in the air, just jump into him and get your free throws.' So it just kind of turned into a thing that I picked up and ran with. (Shooting with the left hand came about) just because when I jump into him with my (right) shoulder it's hard to shoot with my right hand. I can kind of shoot anyway with my left hand, so I thought, 'Let me just get the ball on the rim and if it goes in, then it's extra points.'

Q. MU fans call it #thething on Twitter, as in "the thing that Rowsey does." You have drawn fouls with the pump fake on two three-point attempts in two games this season. Do you think you will have more or less than 20 times when you draw a foul while pump faking a three-pointer this season?

A. I can get 20. I can get maybe one a game.

Q. You and Markus Howard are one of the top-shooting backcourts in the nation. Do you look at your stats after the game to see who shot better on three-pointers?

A. No, we don't do much of that. But we do compete against each other in practice and stuff like that. But it's never a jealousy thing between me and him. If he's hitting, I'm finding him, I want him to make as many as he can while he's hot. And it's vice-versa for me. We really complement each other and look out for each other.

Q. Coach Wojciechowski is very demanding of his guards. What have you learned from him in your time at MU?

A. Just his competitiveness and his eagerness to win and be great. He always expects more out of us. We could have a really good practice or really good game, you know that next day or whenever we meet again that he wants more out of us. So for me, it's just the aspect of growing each and every day. Not being content with what's happening.

Q. I know you're a big music guy. If you could pick some songs to play during warmups at the Bradley Center what would they be?

A. Not specific songs, but it'd definitely have to be by Drake or J. Cole. Those are my two favorites before a game.

Q. You're the only senior on a team with four freshmen. Do you ever feel like an old man around those guys?

A. On the court, just seeing where they're at and knowing where I'm at now, I kind of relate back to when I was a freshman at Asheville and I can see myself in their shoes like it was yesterday.