FORT WAYNE – With the shared roots from Indiana’s midsection, the dishwater blond hair, the slight, under-6-foot frame, the IPFW across the jersey, they could be brothers; or at least cousins. But no – and for the final time – that’s not who you think it is.
“I would go with the team somewhere, and they’d say, ‘Are you Ben Botts?’ And I’d say, ‘No, I’m the new freshman, Jonny Marlin.’ ”
Yes he is, although Mastodons coach Tony Jasick isn’t buying any of the comparisons of the 5-foot-10 Marlin, from Center Grove, and the graduated Botts, from Muncie.
“Completely different players; not even close,” Jasick says. “Ben was a wing. Ben was a catch-and-shoot guy. Jonny is a true point guard.
“The biggest comparison is between him and (Zach) Plackemeier. Plackemeier was our starting point guard for years.”
In their four seasons beginning in 2008, Botts and Plackemeier were as inseparable as Jif and jelly. Together, they played a record 122 games and went out the same way they came in – together – leaving the IPFW backcourt vacant for the new freshman, Marlin, who, like it or not, is being squeezed by both legacies.
“I’m not sure if it was the first day, but it was shortly after when coach said, ‘We don’t expect you to be Botts. We don’t expect you to be Zach,’ ” Marlin said. “That set the tone for me – not having high expectations of filling their shoes, but to do what I can. My role’s going to be different than what they had last year.”
Like Botts, and unlike Plackemeier, who didn’t start until his 14th game as a freshman, Marlin has been in the starting lineup from Day 1, when he played 38 minutes, scored five points and handed out nine assists in the Mastodons’ season-opening victory over Nebraska Omaha.
And while the physical similarities are evident between Marlin and Botts, the numbers are also somewhat alike.
Marlin has 69 assists. Botts, after 16 games as a freshman, had 69 baskets.
Marlin has 20 baskets. Botts had 15 assists.
“The coaches were really excited about the basketball IQ that (Marlin) brings to the team,” said Plackemeier, now a telecommunications regional manager out of his St. Louis home. “He reminds me of me and Ben – the way he plays smart basketball, and how he keeps himself in the game.”
While Jasick, indeed, draws the comparisons between Marlin and Plackemeier, Marlin is ahead of the curve offensively. Plackemeier had 22 assists and 23 turnovers through his first 16 games. Marlin, who averages 12 minutes more, has 28 turnovers against his 69 assists.
“It’s a pretty tall order, but so far he’s done a pretty good job,” Jasick said of the comparisons. “My expectations were for him to come in here and help the team, and he’s done that.”
