This is the first match-up of the second round of the Top Season Performance Bracket. Who moves on is up to you, so vote early and share with others!
Top-seeded Dwyane Wade takes on the No. 8 seed Jimmy Butler in the second round of the Top Season Performance Bracket. (AP/US Presswire)
1. Dwyane Wade (2002-2003) vs. 8. Jimmy Butler (2010-2011)
The case for Wade: Fresh of defeating the No. 1 Kentucky Wildcats to book a trip to the Final Four in New Orleans, Wade remarked, ”I wanted to take Marquette to the next level, the same level as Al McGuire did.” That he did. This medium sized fella’ was all kinds of good in 2002-’03, submitting arguably the best single season in Marquette history. Wade scored 710 points, (averaging 21.5 per game) a single season record for an MU player, and became the first AP first team All-American since Butch Lee in 1978. As if being named Conference USA Player of the Year wasn’t enough, Wade was also named Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year, putting up 6.3 rebounds and 2.2 steals a game.
The case for Butler: Much like Lazar Hayward, Butler sat in the shadows his first two seasons at Marquette, but he really bloomed in his senior year. His numbers weren’t all that overpowering, but he was about as efficient as he could have been and stepped us a leader on a team that desperately needed one. He shot 49 percent from the field, 50 percent from beyond the arc, and guarded four positions on the court at any point in a game. He also led Marquette to its first Sweet 16 appearance since Dwyane Wade, playing superb defense on point guards Tu Holloway and Scoop Jardine in the NCAA Tournament. His offensive rating (121.2) was almost as good as Jae Crowder’s (122.1) senior year. One more from KenPom, he only committed 1.5 fouls per game.
Pretty obvious Wade’s gonna win, everybody at Marquette would consider it sacrilegious to vote against him no matter who he’s up against