Paint Touches

Miami’s beaches have been the source of Jae Crowder’s most therapeutic moments preparing for the NBA Draft, as well as his most challenging ones.

Following the completion of his final exams last week, Crowder left Milwaukee for Miami, where he had spent the last two months for weekend workouts at the Athletes Edge Sports Performance Training.

But the Big East Player of the Year has not had much time to enjoy the weather. Between two workouts per day, beginning at either 8 or 10 a.m., and lasting until 3:30 p.m., Crowder stays hard at work throughout the week.

“It feels better on my body and mind, and makes your day go a lot smoother,” Crowder said of the permanent move to Miami. “I’m really just sharpening up my skills, and I feel like I’ve gotten better.”

Crowder has split his days into two different sessions: one with ball handling and shooting and the other with agility and speed drills. The on-court workouts have not changed much since Crowder began training, but last week he got his first taste of beach workouts.

At the end of each week, Crowder takes to the beach with other athletes training at Athletes Edge and does a two-hour agility workout in the sand.

Jae Crowder has found Miami’s beaches to be both physically straining yet relaxing at the same time. (Marquette Tribune Photo)

“At first I was like, ‘How bad could it be?’ But all the beach work is challenging,” Crowder said. “All the lateral movement you have to do, along with pro agility drill and cone drill, all of that stuff is tough. You have to get in and out of your cuts, which sets the tone when you do it back on the court. It becomes easier.”

But as challenging as the beach has been in one sense, Crowder has also found it to be a time of reflection and relaxation in between training.

Sunday night, Crowder turned down a chance to play pick-up basketball with Brandon Knight and other NBA and International players who had returned to Miami for the off-season.

Instead, he took his girlfriend out to dinner. After, he walked along the beach with her; the same beach that two days earlier had been the location of a physically and mentally straining workout.

“I just think about everything, because that’s the only time I have away from basketball,” Crowder said Sunday night. “9 a.m. tomorrow I’ll be back on the court, so this weekend was the only weekend I really had off away from basketball, and I think it helps free up my mind.”

Crowder also has taken time to reflect on his unique path, from an out-of-shape high school senior point guard with little Division I interest to a potential first round NBA Draft pick.

“I sit on the balcony and I think about everything really,” Crowder said. “I think about this past year and all the years before Marquette, and everything goes back in your mind. I just want to take it one day at a time, and I have to take it one day at a time. Because when everything hits the ground running I have to make sure I’m the best individual I can be.”

Jae Crowder and Darius Johnson-Odom each hope to have their names called on June 28 at the NBA Draft. And while both player’s goal is to be selected, there are certain teams that would be better fits than other for the two Golden Eagles.

Jae Crowder

At 6-foot-6, Crowder has worked this summer transitioning to more of a perimeter-oriented shooting guard/small forward. He will make his money on the defensive end, with the ability to knock down mid-range and 3-point shots. Size isn’t an issue, and he will be an above average rebounder for his position. Here are the teams best suited for Crowder.

Brooklyn Nets: The mid-season acquisition of Gerald Wallace filled the Nets’ void at small forward, but he has a player option he is considering opting out of in 2012-’13. Past Wallace, Gerald Green was a mid-season call-up from the D-League, who was signed to a season-long contract in March. He played well, but the Nets need depth at small forward, with only Damion Jones behind Green.

With MarShon Brooks and Anthony Morrow signed through next season, the Nets have solid depth at shooting guard. DeShawn Stevenson is a free agent.

Jae Crowder has the Golden Eagles one win away from a Sweet 16 berth. (Marquette Tribune Photo)

Toronto Raptors: Perhaps no team in the NBA needs help at small forward than Toronto. Second year pro Alan Henderson is a free agent this summer, James Johnson is interchangeable on the perimeter, and starter Linas Kleiza has battled injury each of the past two seasons. Crowder could also contend for a reserve role at shooting guard behind DeMar DeRozan. Gary Forbes, DeRozan’s backup, is a free agent after the 2012-’13 season.

Cleveland Cavaliers: Last year’s first overall pick Kyrie Irving has given the city of Cleveland hope post-”The Decision,” and Crowder would be another young player bursting with energy for the up-and-coming Cavaliers, who have just six players under contract for next year. Of those six, Daniel Gibson, Omri Casspi and Luke Walton are the only perimeter players.

Dallas Mavericks: The Mavericks have their NBA Title, but really showed their age this year after the Oklahoma City Thunder swept them in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. A major overhaul could be in store for the Mavs, including the statuses of shooting guards Jason Terry and Delonte West. Crowder would be a great fit in Dallas, and could also learn from veteran small forward Shawn Marion. Dallas prides itself on defense and likes to shoot the 3-pointer, Crowder’s two best assets entering the draft.

Darius Johnson-Odom

At 6-foot-2, Johnson-Odom will enter the NBA Draft as a scoring point guard. His ability to get to the basket will serve him well, but he will need to prove he can find open shooters and lock down on the defensive end to find a spot on an NBA roster.

Detroit Pistons:Brandon Knight was selected last year with the eighth overall pick to be the point guard of the future, but the Pistons have little depth behind him. Current backup Will Bynum has one year left on his contract, but the Pistons were 27th in scoring last year and could use Johnson-Odom’s scoring punch off the bench.

Darius Johnson-Odom will be key to Marquette keeping up with BYU’s pace. (Marquette Tribune Photo)

New York Knicks: Jeremy Lin will return next year healthy, but a gruesome knee injury to Baron Davis all but ended his career. Mike Bibby is a free agent, and rookie Iman Shumpert can interchange at shooting guard. The Knicks’ isolation-heavy, fast break offense would be perfect for Johnson-Odom to thrive in, and he would be a great change-of-pace with Shumpert off the bench.

Brooklyn Nets: Deron Williams has a player option next year he is likely to opt out of, leaving a major void at point guard. Backup Jordan Farmar also has a player option he should pick up, and Sundiata Gaines is a free agent this summer. Johnson-Odom would help a Nets team desperate for offense.

Phoenix Suns: The status of Steve Nash’s future in Phoenix hangs in the balance, and both Ronnie Price and Sebastian Telfair are free agents this summer. Johnson-Odom would be a great fit in the Suns’ up-tempo offense, and could see plenty of minutes his rookie year if everything works out.

Buzz Williams joined 540 ESPN’s Drew Olson and Dan Needles in-studio today to talk about his work as an analyst at CBS at the Final Four, and also about the happenings of Marquette basketball. You can listen to the entire segment here.

Here are Williams’ answers regarding Marquette basketball.

Trent Lockett situation, being a one-year graduate transfer:  “And some people have problems with that. There’s college coaches who are staunchly against that rule, more staunchly against that rule than kids who can leave after one year. And they’re entitled to their opinions. I don’t make the rules, I don’t set the rules, I have a hard time keeping up with the rules. And so whatever the rules are, how can we best help our program be what we want it to be on and off the floor. And I think Trent fits into that. I’m excited Trent is a part of that, but there are coaches that are against that rule.”

Davante Gardner’s off-season: ”Davante’s been OK. He’s 286 pounds today, that’s probably 8-10 pounds over where he should be. When you’re that big, when you take an extended period of time where you can’t do anything physically, it’s harder to get that weight off once it’s back on. And so he has been diligent in his work. Ernest and Todd have done a great job with him. I think this summer will be really important for Davante, just like I feel that-a-way for all our guys, but I think he’s been fine.”

Lockett and T.J. Taylor’s contributions next year: ”Obviously there’s more of a sample of evidence of what Trent has been able to do over his college career, as compared to T.J. I’ve known T.J. since he was a kid. He’s from the same county that I grew up in, so I’ve known he and his mom long before I came to Marquette. And so I have great trust and faith in who T.J. is and what his family represents.

I’m excited to have the opportunity to coach him, but also being realistic, he’s yet to play a Division I game. He’s yet to play a Division I game at the high-major level, so when you look at the teams that we play in non-conference and conference once our schedule is released, that’s expecting a lot from a kid who’s yet to do it. He’s older than your typical high school senior, and I do think there’s value in that, and I do think he will have a distinct niche on our team. But I think it’s presumptuous to go, ‘Hey, this is who he is,’ because he’s yet to do it. But I pull for him, I root for those kinds of kids. I think the combination of he and Trent will help us try to shore up some of what we lose from Jae and D.J..”

On Tony Benford’s head coaching position at North Texas: ”I’m so happy for Tony. I talk to Tony every day. He’ll be fine. He’ll be great, he doesn’t need any of my help. I’m very thankful he got an opportunity as a by-product of our success. He’s probably the best pro in every way that I’ve ever known in our business, and I have great respect for him. He took Bart Lundy, our operations guy, with him as a full-time assistant, which is outstanding for Bart and his family. So I couldn’t be happier for either of those guys. I think they’ll be great.

North Texas is the job I grew up wanting as a kid. It was about 45 miles from the little country town I graduated from. And if you were smart enough to go to college when you graduated, that’s where you went to college. And I wasn’t smart enough to go there, but in my discussions with the (UNT) athletic director prior to them hiring Tony, I said, ‘In my whole life, there were only two jobs I wanted: the head coaching job at Navarro College, because I worked for coach Orr, and the head coaching job at University of North Texas. And I’ve yet to accomplish either of those goals, but I can’t imagine there’s a better person that will represent your institution than Tony.’ He’ll be great. It’s a really good job, it’s surrounded by really good players, and they’ll be really good this upcoming year, and they’ll be good as long as Tony is there.”

On replacing Benford: ”I’ve returned every text, every call, every email from everybody that’s called. It’s amazing. I use these as opportunities to learn, use it as opportunites to grow and build relationships. On a deeper level or to begin a new relationship, NBA guys call, fired coaches call, guys that you would not imagine call. Agents call, search firms call, and I love listening to all of that. I don’t necessarily  subscribe to all that, but I listen to all of it beause I think it’s healthy, relative to my career and plight to be able to connect dots. And sometimes when you have jobs open, guys will reveal things to you that they won’t tell you when you do’t have a job open.

So similar to when I got this job, I was undeserving of the opporuntity, I understood that, and once I did get the job there was a mass concern of, ‘Well Buzz, we think we know who you are, but who are you gonna hire?’ And I was very slow and deliberate about who I hired, and not to be arrogant but I think I put together a really good staff, and what we’ve been able to do during our tenure together speaks for itself.

And which direction I go, I don’t know. I’ll pray about it, I’ll think about it, I’ll study it. Until we finish recruiting I’m not making any decisions. I think players are always more important than coaches, and because of the chair I sit in, the most important relationship is always with the guy that subs them in and out of the game. And so getting Trent was a big part of that, and we’ll see how it plays out from a recruiting perspective as the spring and summer unfold. But I had great respect, trust and relationship with Tony and with Bart, and as weird as I am and as unique as how we operate, I’m not real big on someone jumping on the boat because they think we’re good and they think they wanna be a part of our success yet they havent earned the ability to be part of our success.

Addressing junior college criticisms: ”When it comes to the perception of junior college players, I really like to hear the criticism, because I then know who those people are and what their stance is, relative to people’s lives. I was a non-qualifier out of high school. I could not have attended a D1 institution. Was it because intellectually I couldn’t have? No, it was because I never got the right ‘intel’ in the little country town I was from, that this is what you do to be admitted into a four-year, Division I institution. And so does that mean I was given a second chance? I don’t know.

How about Jae Crowder, who weighed 260 pounds as a high school senior. He went to a non-accredited junior college. He didnt know that. He had no idea. He was 260 pounds, he was a fat kid. So he was happy somebody would give him room and board, and then a year into his freshman year he goes, ‘These classes don’t count?’ So technically, did we give Jae a second chance? DJO was never cleared through the Clearinghouse. I know exactly why he wasn’t cleared through the Clearninghouse. It was not DJO’s fault. The high school he attended, it was not their fault. It was a clerical  error.

So if you think of all the guys we’ve signed, we have only signed two junior college players. Two straight up, didn’t qualify out of high school palyers. Dwight Buycks, MPS alum. And Jae Crowder. So Buycks, first MPS kid to play here since Terry Sanders. You gonna say now you can’t come back here because you didn’t qualify out of high school? I’m not doing that.

And then the second thing is Crowder, his first year nothing counted toward any four year diploma at any level, and three years later he’s player of the year. And not saying that the other two weren’t important, but he was player of the year in one of the best conferences of all-time. So are we gonna say, ‘Hey Jae, here’s the deal. You made a bad decision when you were a senior in high school, and you didn’t have the right people around you and you went to a non accredited school. We don’t want you to come to Marquette because of the perception, not that you were player of the year, not because you’re an NBA draft pick, not because you helped us to back-to-back Sweet Sixteen’s, but because before I knew you and you knew me, you made a decision that you didn’t know.’

And so I, kind of in a demented way, like it when people have the perception of, ‘Wow, there’s too many junior college guys on that team. Really? There was only one on our team last year. There’s only one, but they attended a junior college. So is it a second chance, because they could have attended a Division I school? No Division I school recruited DJO.

So again, like Oprah says, ‘everybody has a story.’ And so do I have an edge about answering that question? I do, I do. But i also have an edge in how I live and how I coach.”