ESPN Weekly Watch Mention - February 26th

[mwbauer7]

Nice shout out from Jason King in the Weekly Watch posted earlier today. http://espn.go.com/ncb/notebook/_/page/notebookweeklywatch1212/week-12

4. The Big East player of the year will come from Marquette. The problem will be choosing between forward Jae Crowder and guard Darius Johnson-Odom. The players, both seniors, have been equally valuable for a Golden Eagles squad that is 13-3 and in second place in the conference standings. Johnson-Odom averages 18.4 points a game while Crowder chips in 17.4 along with a team-high 7.6 rebounds. Crowder is averaging 26.3 points in his past four games.

[cheebs09]

I think the fact Crowder didn't get suspended for a half of a big game on the road should break any tie he has with DJO. I love DJO and a week or two ago I would have said he was our best player, but Jae is on such a tear and affects the game in so many ways.

PS. I think Jason King has been our biggest fan in the media this year.

[96warrior]

I think the fact Crowder didn't get suspended for a half of a big game on the road should break any tie he has with DJO. I love DJO and a week or two ago I would have said he was our best player, but Jae is on such a tear and affects the game in so many ways.

PS. I think Jason King has been our biggest fan in the media this year.

Agree with first and third sentence, especially about breaking the tie.

Disagree with second sentence. Jae has been stronger for weeks. DJO is flashier but Jae is just plain solid. With that drive at the end of the WVA game, it sealed in my mind that DJO is a tremendous player but has a showboat aura. Jae just puts his head down, does his work and wants to win. I don't count hollering "and one" as showboating, I count it as high emotion. Going for a dunk with one hand to make a splash is showboating, and if DJO misses another one I'm going to lose my mind.

[Norm]

DJO a "showboater"? He's about the last guy on the team I'd accuse of showboating. He leads the team in scoring and he rarely even shows much emotion out there. I'd say the missed dunk at WVU came more from pressing becuse he was trying to make up for sitting out the 1st half.

[96warrior]

I just think the dispositions of the two players are different.

[dwaderoy2004]

Yeah, Jae would never do any showboating like throat slashing an opposing team's bench....oh wait.

[Canadian Dimes]

The missed dunk at Wvu was just a mistake

My issue with djo and i belive the OPs is on 3 separate occasion Djo has tried to 1 hand tomahawk dunk an alley oop .

Catch the F'ing ball with two hands and assure the two points..

Personally very disappointed in how djo responded in the second half felt he was flat on both ends Vander n junior showed up djo didnt put it past him til almost the end

[Goose]

What does Big Daddy think?

[Goose]

Hey, I was just kidding? I know Big Daddy is watching the uniforms for next road game and could not post.

[96warrior]

The slashing was an emotional response, as is the "and ones". I don't find it to be showboating. Just my opinion, maybe semantics, but I don't think those are the same as overdoing a play to be flashy. What's worse is, DJO's antics caused missed points on what could have/should have been guaranteed points.

I'm not saying DJO isn't of utmost importance to this team. He obviously is, and is a tremendous athlete. He's carried the team on more than one occasion.

But Jae just gets it done. He played 40 full minutes in Morgantown and competed the entire time. DJO sits half the game for silly off the court behavior and turns in lackluster performance when he does get in. He had key 3 pointers but Jae is all over the court, getting it done. Bringing it back to the topic - which of the two is POY - hands down it's Jae.

[AZWarrior]

I love em both, but if I had to choose one to be without, it would be DJO.

[dwaderoy2004]

You say tomato...

Regardless , both indispensable, but jae is POY.

[brewcity77]

You say tomato...

...I say touring bus.

I think the award deserves to go to Jae. Up until about 2 weeks ago, I would have said DJO in a heartbeat for his consistency, but the way Jae has taken over down the stretch can't be ignored. I realize he may not have the pro upside of some of the younger guys around the country, but I think he deserves to not just be BEPOY but also a first-team All-American. He's an incredible college player.

[muwarrior69]

In the comments section one Cuse fan said this....

Jacksonville_Jones

Even as a Syracuse fan, I'll say that if Crowder does not win the BIG EAST POY award then he got robbed.

I guess there are few Cuse fans that show respect.

[bamamarquettefan]

Guys, we just had a major media guy basically say we had the 2 best players in the league and let's not fall into criticizing one or the other for showboating.

The opponents here are Cooley and jones, not each other.

Statistically jae is more valuable because he does so many things. That's why he is the only BE player in pomeroy's top 10 poy list and 2nd in the country in my value add, but ...

Djo has the WOW factor that gets him more highlights, not because of whatever celebration he does but because he can draw the attention of three defenders and weave through them to make things happen as shown on the sports science, etc. And yes, a guy who makes that much happen does turn it over some. Like when wade had 4 turnovers along with his triple double to beat Kentucky.

I do think the suspension could have hurt djo because I'm sure everyone who votes on pyo was watching the only game Friday night and saw crowder double up jones. Bubeven then espn's highlights the Ned day showed djo more prominently and referred to him as our best, so I don't think it knocked him out.

Just remember, notre dame is the only school to ever have a losing record and a heisman, and some voters just look at points and rebounds, so I will be perfectly happy if jae or djo is picked.

[96warrior]

To be clear, I think DJO is a phenomenal player and I know that we wouldn't be where we are this year (or last year, or even the year before that) without him. I'm just tired of seeing him miss dunks because he's trying to slam them with one hand. I don't like hearing a member of the team got suspended for a violation of team rules at this point in the season, let alone a starter, let alone a senior, let alone a starting senior who has been suspended for the same reason earlier this season. I don't like seeing him make boneheaded decisions at crucial points in close games, like driving to the rim with under a minute left with a single digit lead. Leaving the showboating discussion out of this, Jae is a more solid player who puts his head down and his heart in, and gets it done. Period.

Again, we have two incredible studs on this team and both are clear candidates for POY. Agree with AZWarrior and dwaderoy - love them both, both are indispensable but if I had to be without one, I'd rather have Jae.

[CTWarrior]

Asking which one we can do without is like asking which leg you'd rather lose.  We're pretty much up the creek without either one.

The one thing you need to consider about Crowder is that he is not a creator.  The vast majority of his points are of the catch and shoot variety (often under the basket).  He has an uncanny knack for finding the right spot on the floor to make himself available, but he is dependent on the other guys finding him.  DJO can create for himself, which makes him very valuable IMO.  That drive, pull up and pop from 15 feet that he does once or twice a game is a thing of beauty and pretty much unstoppable.

We have used up our recoverable injuries at this point.  Besides Crowder and DJO, Cadougan and J Wilson have become indespensible.  The biggest reason we've been able to withstand the loss of Gardner is because of the speed at which J Wilson allows us to play.

[MerrittsMustache]

Jae Crowder should be the Big East POY. I wouldn't have said that a month ago but right now, there is no question in my mind about it.

However, let's remember that Jae is a better, more efficient offensive player with DJO (and Cadougan) on the floor. Jae's strength is not creating his own shot and a lot of his points come as a result of drives and dishes/kicks. He made 9 shots at WV and 8 of them were assisted. He shot 3-8 with 3 TOs in the 1st half and went 6-9 with 0 TOs in the second half. I'm not saying that as a knock against him. He finds the openings, puts himself in good position and often finishes in traffic. It's not as simple as saying that Crowder is more indespensible than DJO because he fills the stat sheet more. They are tremendous compliments to each other.

[frozena pizza]

As for the WVU game, it is really disappointing to have a player like DJO get suspended.  However, his dunk off the Vander Blue missed layup was big time and he followed it up with a clutch 3 that made it a one possession game.  It looked like his steps were a little off on the missed dunk and he made a bad decision by not running some clock at the end, but we still don't win that game without him.

Nonetheless, our POY at this point has to be Crowder.  He is playing at an extremely high level in all areas right now and I just hope he can keep it up through the rest of the season.

[bilsu]

Jae is easily MU's best player. When was the last time you heard an announcer say that was great defense by DJO. DJO is an explosive offensive player. What I thought was interesting in the West Virginia game was DJO sitting on the bench with his shoe off rolling his foot on a ball. It would seem to indicate he has some kind of foot problem. I wonder if this is why it takes him awhile to get going in games. It might be something that is sore to start, but loosens up as he plays.

[MerrittsMustache]

Jae is easily MU's best player. When was the last time you heard an announcer say that was great defense by DJO. DJO is an explosive offensive player. What I thought was interesting in the West Virginia game was DJO sitting on the bench with his shoe off rolling his foot on a ball. It would seem to indicate he has some kind of foot problem. I wonder if this is why it takes him awhile to get going in games. It might be something that is sore to start, but loosens up as he plays.

That ball-rolling is likely to help with plantar fasciitis.

[Skatastrophy]

That ball-rolling is likely to help with plantar fasciitis.

He's been limping around campus, so that would make sense.  Hopefully he can get that sorted out in time to explode during the tournament

[96warrior]

Point taken about shot creation. DJO is superior at creating his own shot for sure. Having said that, I don't think we're within 11 at the half if it's Crowder on the bench for the first 20 minutes at WVA.

I'll stop belaboring the point though, it's stupid. Both are phenomenal players for this program and I hope they continue to carry us into April.

[MuMark]

I would say Jae is defintely a creator.


He creates steals......

He creates charges......

He creates blocks........

He creates extra possessions by his hustle and toughness on loose balls......

He rarely creates turnovers and bad shots

In short he creates wins for his team.........

[Windyplayer]

I would say Jae is defintely a creator.


He creates steals......

He creates charges......

He creates blocks........

He creates extra possessions by his hustle and toughness on loose balls......

He rarely creates turnovers and bad shots

In short he creates wins for his team.........

AND, he provides an excellent forehead for bongos.