There is no shortage of opinions about Marquette point guard Tyler Kolek’s personality.

To opposing fan bases in the Big East, even from Providence in his home state of Rhode Island, Kolek is a cocky, trash-talking annoyance. To the Golden Eagles’ faithful, he is a confident, strong-willed passing savant.

At least there is consensus about his game, with Kolek earning a spot on every preseason list of first-team All-Americans, including The Associated Press.

Kolek has a brash persona with a ball in his hands, but there is another side to him that many might find surprising. Pretty much every day, he takes time to scribble down his deepest thoughts.

Yes, the guy who once trolled West Virginia fans by singing their signature song and who kissed goodbye to Villanova fans is an introspective journal writer.

“Kind of just get your thoughts down,” Kolek said. “A lot of times you can get bottled up. You can kind of go inward.

"You might not like talking to somebody else about those deep, internal thoughts that you have. But you feel comfortable writing to yourself.”

Shaka Smart promotes journal writing

Probably not surprising is that Kolek picked up his writing habit from MU head coach Shaka Smart, who often ponders the mental side of the game.

“I’m a big believer in journaling,” Smart said. “And it’s something that I’ve done since I played in college.

“It’s something I’ve done throughout my coaching career. It’s been incredibly beneficial for me in more ways than one. So hopefully start a habit. Start a pattern with some of these guys.”

Smart gave all the MU players journals in the preseason. He often gives them prompts like “what are you grateful for” and allows time for them to expound.

“Some of the guys like Tyler write in their journal more often than I ask them to,” Smart said. “Other guys, it’s only when we prompt them.

“Which is fine. Everyone is at a different station in life. But it’s a chance to get some thoughts out and maybe communicate with yourself a little bit in writing."

"Write down how you feel"

Kolek took to journaling right away.

“(Smart) always says you’re going to be glad you did this in 20 years because you’re going to go back and look at it,” Kolek said.

There is plenty of material for Kolek.

“I actually have a journal in my room,” Kolek said. “And I have a journal at the practice facility so when we want to do different things, he’ll tell us to bring our journals and give us a prompt. I write down the dates and I’m thinking like ‘I’m going to remember this. I’m going to look back at this and really cherish it.’

"Because the time really flies. I feel like I just started at George Mason.”

It has been a unique trajectory for Kolek. He was an overlooked recruit, an unheralded player at George Mason, an up-and-down shooter in his first season at MU and then one of the country’s best players last season.

“College basketball goes so quick,” he said. “Being able to take the time and really slow down and be able to write down how you feel and what you’re thinking is really good.”

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Marquette's Tyler Kolek learned about journaling from Shaka Smart