Editor’s Note: This is the third installment of WarriorsAbroad focusing on the goings-on of former Marquette players in their professional basketball careers. If you have any suggestions or have any information as to the locations of player’s whose info we do not have posted, drop us a tweet or a comment. (Players whose names are underlined have their Twitter linked) Enjoy.
You think Buzz is going to miss this guy? (Marquette Tribune Photo)
This is the last part of Paint Touches’ series breaking down each players’s 2011-2012 campaign and looking forward to next year. A big thank you to assistant coach Aki Collins, who provided exclusive, in-depth analysis on each player.
What he did well: Everything. He literally did everything well this past season culminating in a Big East Player of the year award. More specifically though, Jae led the Golden Eagles in rebounding, steals and minutes while coming in second for points and blocks. Whether Marquette needed a bucket late or a defensive stop, the dreadlocked one was there to step up.
Crowder had a knack for taking over the big moments. Whether it was taking over against the towers of UConn or his counterpart Kevin Jones, Jae was not one to back away. Take a look at the chart below, and while its not a perfectly scientific metric, it goes to show what a tremendous finish Crowder had in the Big East. Jones may have been the leader out of the gates, but Crowder’s final kick was one for the record books.
He led the team in win shares with 8.1, the most ever by a Marquette player since the metric was kept and good for 6th in the country this year.. He also finished fifth in the country with 88 steals, wreaking havoc amongst big and small players alike. On the other side of the ball, Jae was one of the best in the nation at not giving the ball away, turning it over only 7.9 percent of the time.
What he could have done better: The biggest flaw in Jae’s game last season was a penchant for accumulating a few quick whistles and getting into foul trouble. Starting at around the midway point of the season, and particularly when Gardner and Otule went out, having Jae on the bench for any extended period of time spelled doom for the Golden Eagles. Its defense was nowhere near as potent and the offense stagnated. Crowder was much better at not fouling compared to last year, though, when he had to come off the bench to prevent him from picking up quick, early fouls.
His three point shooting was not bad by any means, but when nitpicking, is something that could have used some more consistency. He shot 34.5 percent from beyond the arc, making 1.7 of his 5.1 attempts per game. This was particularly true during the final seven games of the season where he only hit 9 of 42 attempts (21.5%). Again, he was doing everything else right so this is not a critique as much as it is nitpicking. Jae had one of the best seasons in school history (and recent NCAA history as John Pudner’s tremendous value add website now shows).
From the coach: ”If I told you I expected it, it means I’m going to play the lottery tonight. No way, no how. Thought he was a good player, but after we lost Jimmy I didn’t think we’d see another player have that type of impact on both ends of the floor. And here we are a year later and Jae does the same thing. Earlier, he went six or seven weeks, and Darius and I were talking about it the other day, where you think, “Where did he come from?” All year people were asking me about he and Darius, and I’d say they’re 1A and 1B, Batman and Robin. I don’t know who Batman is, I don’t know who Robin is. They alternate. And I truly feel that way, but the last seven weeks I think he tried to stake his claim to being Batman, like I have this.
And to Jae’s credit, every time he was named player of the week, he thanked his teammates. When he won player of the year, he said, “No. We won player of the year” to his team. Like, I couldn’t be here without you guys. And both of those kids realized they needed each other. It was healthy, and they supported each other and I’ve never seen a 6 or 7 week stretch like that. He was great.
His dad played, so some of that is the pro mentality. How to conduct yourself, how to make people feel as if you’re in control and they can rely on you. And that’s a great trait to have. I think he and Darius did a great job balancing each other off and leading in their own individual way, but collectively always being a rock. No matter what was going on in their personal life, no matter what was going on on the court, they always a were a rock. For his size and what he’s been through in his life, he’s really well-grounded.”
USF stop me? LOL (Marquette Tribune Photo)
Best performance: Mar. 15 vs BYU (25 points, 16 rebounds, 4 steals)
This was truly an impossible task. How is one to pick between the UConn game that put him on the national map, the West Virginia game that locked up the Big East Player of the Year, and the BYU game that saw him do something historic in postseason play. In the end the bright lights of the NCAA Tourney made his BYU performance the best one this year. Crowder completely dominated the cougars, throwing up a first half double-double and becoming only the third player in NCAA Tournament history to record at least 25 points, 15 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals in one game.
It’s counterintuitive to think that one of Marquette’s biggest wins of the season, at the always tough Kohl Hole, saw Jae’s weakest game in a Marquette uniform. Crowder picked up a few early fouls that put him on the bench early and never allowed him to get into a rhythm. He was 1-4 from the field for 2 points, he only grabbed 3 rebounds (the lowest number of the season), and he didn’t get to the line once. He would bounce back in a big way a few days later though, hitting the game winner against Washington at Madison Square Garden.
2012 outlook: Stay tuned to the continuing series on Crowder’s Path to the NBA here on Paint Touches.
Jae Crowder is looking to take his outside jumper and make an NBA career of it. (Marquette Tribune photo).
Crowder said the one area he needs to improve on most for the June 28 NBA Draft is his ball-handling. (Marquette Tribune photo).
Jae Crowder recently did 16 repetitions on a 185-pound bench press. That would have been seventh most at last year’s NBA Draft Combine. (Marquette Tribune)
You think Buzz is going to miss this guy? (Marquette Tribune Photo)
The Marquette Athletic Department sent an email Friday that Aaron Durley, a 6-foot-10 incoming recruit, would not be joining the program next season.
“It has been a privilege and pleasure building a relationship with Aaron and his family,” head coach Buzz Williams said. “We wish Aaron the absolute best in his future academic and athletic career. I believe he will be successful in both.”
Durley was a 270-pound big man from Ft. Bend Bush High School and signed his letter of intent in November 2011. He selected Marquette over South Florida, South Alabama and Chattanooga.
Durley received little playing time behind All-American Cameron Ridley, racking up more DNP’s than minutes played and averaging seven points and five rebounds.
In an an interview with the Journal-Sentinel, Durley’s coach Ronnie Courtney said he “expected more” and the big man was not as dominant as he hoped he would be.
“I would say for his physique, I think he’s struggling a little bit,” said Courtney. “He needs to work on everything. At 6-10 and 280 pounds, he should have been a force on the inside that somebody has to reckon with and I didn’t get that from him.”
We will continue updating this story throughout the day.
This is part of Paint Touches’ series breaking down each players’s 2011-2012 campaign and looking forward to next year. A big thank you to assistant coach Aki Collins, who provided exclusive, in-depth analysis on each player.
What he did well: Vander played more than 18 minutes twice in the last 13 games last season, and was often seen as a liability when on the floor. This season saw a completely different player. Blue played 18 or more minutes in the final 13 games and was a mainstay in the final minutes due to his penchant for hitting clutch free throws. Blue raised his free throw accuracy by ten percentage points (70.8%), transforming into an 85 percent free throw shooter since the game at Villanova.
Defensively, Blue was once again a stalwart perimeter defender, often drawing the toughest assignments. More impressively, Blue was an asset on the glass, averaging just under five rebounds per game this season, third best on the team. When Gardner went down for a stretch of games, Blue became even more aggressive and helped fill in the gaps.
As a scorer, Vander was no longer a liability and raised his points per game average from 5.1 points to 8.5. He wasn’t a great perimeter shooter but did hit a few big threes this season against Wisconsin and Seton Hall. Blue attacked the rim much more frequently and got rewarded with 120 trips to the line, 54 more than last year. Oh yea, he also threw down some ridiculous dunks this year. Overall, Blue showed great improvements in his all around game.
What he could have done better: When Vander drove into the paint, you could almost guarantee one of two results: he’s turn the ball over or clank a lay in off the rim. For all of the progress he has made, and its considerable, Blue still is unable to finish at the rim — dunks not withstanding. His touch is not soft enough, his english not effective enough and his feel not natural enough. Stepping out a bit further, Blue’s jumper, while not as alarming as last year’s, was still ugly. Blue has to continue improving his shooting form until he can start hitting shots on a consistent basis. With his speed and athleticism, a decent, not even great, jump shot would make him absolutely unguardable.
His turnover percentage was still too high for a guard at 20.7 percent. He averaged 2.2 turnovers per game this season. This really hurts him because Vander has terrific court vision and is a great passer. He was third on the team in assists with 91 and that number will significantly rise as he continues to improve his ball handling skills.
Aki’s analysis: “Van takes a lot of criticism, but he has matured at a phenomenal rate, on and off the court. And you just look at how poorly he shot his free throws at the beginning of the year, and at the end of the year everybody was like, ‘Hey, put Vander in. He’ll make his free throws.’ It shows what kind of kid he is and what kind of competitor he is.”
Vander has worked on his jumper. It has gotten better, but he still has some room for improvement. But Vander is a legitimate double-figure scorer next year with a simple adjustment. When Vander finishes at the rim, you can’t stop him. He has one of the quickest first steps in the game. He gets there and he learns how to finish with contact, he’s gonna get to the free throw line and knock down his free throws. There’s no reason why Vander shouldn’t average 10 and 5, 10 (points) and 6 (rebounds) next year.”
“It’s understanding, ‘This is what I am as a player.’ So I’m always going to find myself in the same position, I’m going to be really quick to the rim, there’s going to be a big guy there trying to block it. Now, I need to slow my mind down and focus on finishing. And I think what happens is you go so fast, and you’re there, and you just want to get rid of it. No, you’re going to be there every day, you’re going to be in that same position 100 times a week. What are you going to do in that moment?”
“And that’s what Vander has started to figure out is, OK, when I’m there and the defense collapses on me and I’m going to get a shot off, how do I focus on not my defender, but focus on finishing the play. And as he does that with maturity, he’s still only 19 years old. He’s a baby. He finished his sophomore year and he’s just 19. So with maturity and age, I think he’ll figure it out. He figured it out at the free throw line, which shows that he has the ability to do it.”:”
“We just have flexibility. And the more we can play guys at multiple positions, the more it can help our team. We put Van at the point sometimes with Todd and D.J. because it gives us a better defensive team. Whoever you put at the 4 and the 5, it gives you more length. When Derrick was in there he wasn’t looking to score, so it keeps you in attack mode. It’s a combination, but as a coach you want guys to play multiple positions because it gives you more flexibility. You don’t want to take a guy off the court to improve your offense or your defense. You can move him over, so Van is going to play some point, some three on the wing, because he can defend.”
Best performance: Jan. 31 vs. Seton Hall (16 points, 8 rebounds, 29 minutes)
While his breakout performance may have come earlier in the season against Winthrop, when he dropped a career high 26 points, his best all around game was against the Hall. In Marquette’s first game without Gardner, Blue went bananas on the glass, sucking in 8 boards, 5 coming on the offensive end. Just as importantly, Blue sparked the Golden Eagles on offense with an 7-0 run of his own in the second half off a a three, a deuce and an alley-oop that got LeBron and D-Wade on their feet.
Worst performance: Mar. 8 vs. Louisville (8 points, 4 fouls, 6 turnovers)
With Junior Cadougan having one of his worst games as a Golden Eagle, Marquette needed a stabilizing presence at the point to break the Louisville press and get the offense rolling. That presence was not Vander. He was just as ineffective as Cadougan, turning the ball over six times and getting trapped way too easily. Vander looked nervous and could never get the offense to kick start. While he did score 8 points, Blue was also victimized by Peyton Siva and could not keep in front of him.
2012 outlook: With two years of game-play under his belt, this looks to be the year Vander breaks out once and for all. He showed his potential in spurts, posterizing Washington at the garden, dropping 26 on Winthrop at the Paradise Jam and hitting a three in the hostile environment of the Kohl Center. The name of the game will now be consistency. With no DJO to bail the team out at the end of the shot clock this year, Vander will see his usage rate skyrocket. The key will be whether he can continue improving his efficiency with added possessions. His O-rating jumped up by 6.4 points this season. A similar jump will have people finally believing in the five-star hype.
Vander will also have a much heavier leadership burden upon him. He will be one of five upperclassmen and the returning player who saw the second most minutes. Will he be able to become a leader both on and off the court? Will his jumper ever look prettier? Will he hit with more consistency when around the rim? These are the questions Vander will have to answer in the upcoming season.
This is part of Paint Touches’ series breaking down each players’s 2011-2012 campaign and looking forward to next year. A big thank you to assistant coach Aki Collins, who provided exclusive, in-depth analysis on each player.
What he did well: After a rather inauspicious start to his Marquette career which saw limited minutes and little in the way of an offensive arsenal, Wilson blossomed into swiss army knife of player. Wilson’s defense was outstanding throughout the season, tallying a team high 47 blocks and a defensive win share rating of 2.8, second only to Jae Crowder.
His value was not limited to shot blocking, however. When Gardner went down and left Marquette without a true big man, the lanky Wilson slid in to the five spot seamlessly, guarding the Big East’s biggest and best players like Yancy Gates. When used as the high man on a full court press, Wilson was simply lethal. His length, quickness and agility made him one of the best full court press defenders in the country.
Offensively Jamil got much better as he began gaining confidence in his shot. He was fourth on the team in made threes and tied with Jae Crowder for second at 34.5 percent from beyond the arc. While his attempts from distance were limited (29 in 34 games) he showed he has the form to be a great shooter next year. If he could get his turnaround fade away to fall more frequently, he will be close to unstoppable. (Play video from 1:09 mark)
What he could have done better: Jamil deferred to the elder statement way too often in the start of the season, and although he got better as the Big East season got underway, still was too hesitant to pull the trigger at times. He was way too tentative going to the hole as well. With his size and athleticism, Wilson should be looking to attack at every opportunity, yet only got to the line 58 times all season. In comparison, Todd Mayo got 26 more free throw attempts in almost 100 les minutes. Wilson will have to gain that scorers mentality and will himself to the hoop come next season.
Defensively, Wilson was too foul prone at time, putting his team in tough spots without Otule or Gardner. He has to be smarter with his defense, particularly in situations where the team can not afford to have him sit on the bench for long stretches of time. Aggressiveness is good as long as it does not lead to dumb fouls.
From the coach: ”I think it was more so after Davante got injured that he really stepped up. He was playing well when Chris went down, but it was still a little inconsistent. I think when Davante went down he knew it was just he and Jae. He really stepped up and had some really good performances for us.
He’s similar to Mello, where he understands everything that’s going on out there. Where Jamail can always recite it, Jamil will know but sometimes he won’t verbalize it. But he understands and he’s very smart. As a basketball player, he thinks about things differently than you would want, as a coach. A lot of times you want guys to be aggressive but think about what you’re doing. Jamil will pause sometimes, and you can’t pause in the game of basketball. It’s too fast-moving.
The thing with him, I tell him greatness is greedy. When you have opportunities to score or make a play, you have to make that play. Not being selfish, and when people hear the word greedy they think it’s a selfish connotation. You’re going up for a dunk and you pass the ball to somebody who’s 2 feet farther away from the basket. No, just go ahead and do it. So hes starting to udnertstand what that means. And everybody said it since the day he walked in, he’s by far our most talented player. Getting him to have that killer instinct that when I step on the floor, not only do I think I’m the best player, I know I’m the best player and they know I’m the best player, and then following that and coming up with a performance that’s indicative of your talent level is the key to his success.
He does some things out there sometimes where you’re like, “Wow.” He blocks shots and you’re like, “Where did he come from?” That fine line between good and great that Jamil has to overcome, he’s getting so much closer to being great, but it’s not there yet and we need it to be in order to maximize our potential as a team.”
Best performance: Jan. 21 at Providence (16 points, 7 rebounds, 3 blocks)
Dubbed Jimmy Butler’s successor by many before he had played one minute, his performance at Providence validated all the hype he had coming into the season as Wilson gave the Marquette faithful a taste of what is to come. Jamil buzzed around the court scoring a career best 16 points, pulling down seven boards and stuffing three shots in 33 minutes. If there were any questions about his game, this performance let all doubters know Wilson will be a force to be reckoned with.
With Cuse’s vaunted 2-3 zones giving Marquette fits, the Golden Eagles needed someone to step into the game to hit a few 12 to 15 foot jumpers to ease some of the pressure off DJO and Crowder. That player was not Jamil Wilson. This was the first and only game of the season where the Racine native did not score a single point. He was in over his head against the Syracuse zone and never got into any sort of rhythm, only putting up two shots all game. The 12 minutes was also the least amount of playing time he would see for the rest of the season.
2012 outlook: Jimmy Butler has been Wilson’s parallel since he first put on the blue and gold jersey. The Tomball, Texas, native went from averaging 5.6 points and 3.9 rebounds his sophomore year to putting up 14.7 points and 6.4 rebounds his junior campaign. Can Wilson make a similar leap? He averaged 7.1 points and 4.1 rebounds this year, and with the loss of the two leading scorers in Crowder and DJO, he will definitely get the offensive touches to do so.
Wilson will slot into Crowder’s spot. What will definitely change is that he won’t be stuck guarding the five position quite as often with a healthy Otule and a healthy Gardner. This should free him up both offensively and defensively. Already the team’s best help defender inside the three point arc, Wilson will get plenty of swats in with two healthy big men in the post.
Realistically speaking, Wilson has the talent and tools to surpass Butler’s numbers, but having the ability and putting it to use are two separate things. How will he respond to added leadership roles as someone who wasn’t as vocal last year? Will he be able to knock down the 15 foot jumpers more consistently? What will the added defensive attention do to his offensive numbers? There are plenty of questions still surrounding Marquette’s most athletic player, but if his progress from the start to the end of the season show you anything, it’s that Wilson is more than up to the challenge.
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