Thank You Jae Crowder

[Da 'Lanche]

For providing true leadership as a senior.
For setting an example as a teammate, a student and an athlete.
For representing the university with class.
For getting better every game and working harder every minute of every game.
For not getting baited into technicals or bad behavior by opposing teams and opposing fans rooting against you.
For staying out of the news for the wrong reasons.
For making news for the right reasons.
For working through JUCO to a major program and now on the brink of national acclaim and perhaps a dream come true in the NBA.
For sending a message with your play tonight when we needed it most.

Count me as one who has grown to consider you one of my favorite MU players of all time.

I sense the best is yet to come.

[LloydMooresLegs]

+10,000

[77ncaachamps]

IN JUST TWO YEARS!!!!

[Markusquette]

IN JUST TWO YEARS!!!!

Kind of bittersweet.  My selfishness wants him for at least another year

[MauraDay]

Imagine if we could have had him and DJO for 4 years as D1 players...

[MUMac]

Imagine if we could have had him and DJO for 4 years as D1 players...

Is this a question about how many games DJO would be suspended with another year?

[CAGASS24]

God bless jae crowder!!!!

[marquette09]

Imagine if we could have had him and DJO for 4 years as D1 players...

Or JFB.  Can you imagine him on this team?

[El Duderino]

Yea, while i've grown to have a real strong affinity for this whole team overall, Jae is my favorite player on the roster because of how smart/unselfish he's played, mixed in with with his warrior mentality and clear intense drive to win.

I still remember when Buzz signed Crowder, i'd read angst on here by some posters complaining about him being another JUCO guy. Nice to see that those complaints were yet again proven to be off base. It is pretty amazing just how good these JUCO signings by Buzz have worked out. That isn't the norm to get this kind of production as we have from Butler, DJO, and Jae.

[connie]

Kind of bittersweet.  My selfishness wants him for at least another year

Some players, like Jae, are just hard to let go.

[DoggyDaddy]

The Buzz dance was great but the best moment for me was Buzz and Jae embracing each other at the end. Real affection and respect. For all the potential recruits and their folks out there as well as us alums, it says it all.

[ort5210]

The Buzz dance was great but the best moment for me was Buzz and Jae embracing each other at the end. Real affection and respect. For all the potential recruits and their folks out there as well as us alums, it says it all.

my thoughts exactly made me tear up a little bit.....

[StillWarriors]

Completely agree with the sentiments it's a bummer he is only at MU in two years. What an impact though. So great to watch the way these guys improve from season to season, and even from the beginning to the end of a season.

There are so many things to love about Jae, but one simple little moment during March Madness this year stood out to me and demonstrated to me that we did have a leader on the team to step up. Buzz was handing out the NCAA pins or whatever it was all the players from last year received, and was having to go back to the table each time to grab more boxes and kind of struggling holding a few at a time. Without any prompting, Jae stepped out of the line with the other players and started grabbing a few boxes at a time and handing them to Buzz as he went along. I pointed out to my two sons that that was a simple little thing to do, but he went out of his way and left the pack to go help out rather than just sit back and watch Buzz struggle. LEADER/Good dude.

[Silkk the Shaka]

And he's from a JUCO no less! The horror!

He's the smartest player I've seen at MU. Buzz talked about all the film work Jae does on his own and it shows. BEast POY and All American. Great GREAT player.

[MountainCreekHouse]

The Buzz dance was great but the best moment for me was Buzz and Jae embracing each other at the end. Real affection and respect. For all the potential recruits and their folks out there as well as us alums, it says it all.

Yeah seriously, can someone explain this to me? I mean, I know it was a huge win... a really huge win, but they were embracing each other like they just got out of senior retreat in high school. Was Buzz and Jae just that emotional because they came back from being down so much?

[Silkk the Shaka]

Yeah seriously, can someone explain this to me? I mean, I know it was a huge win... a really huge win, but they were embracing each other like they just got out of senior retreat in high school. Was Buzz and Jae just that emotional because they came back from being down so much?

Buzz and the team thrive off of emotion, and how could you not be emotional after a win like that? Plus he recognizes all the work Jae puts in independently for the good of this team. Gotta respect a player like that.

[LloydMooresLegs]

Yeah seriously, can someone explain this to me? I mean, I know it was a huge win... a really huge win, but they were embracing each other like they just got out of senior retreat in high school. Was Buzz and Jae just that emotional because they came back from being down so much?

You don't get it?  Seriously??  

Jae one (w Jamil) of the only 2 of his top 6 not to screw up; he plays 40 frickin balls out minutes (down to the by last play where his help D makes the shot impossible);  crushes the previously presumptive BE POY; we win by 1 in hostile territory; and, oh yeah, we were down by 15 (again).

[Silkk the Shaka]

You don't get it?  Seriously??  

Jae one (w Jamil) of the only 2 of his top 6 not to screw up; he plays 40 frickin balls out minutes (down to the by last play where his help D makes the shot impossible);  crushes the previously presumptive BE POY; we win by 1 in hostile territory; and, oh yeah, we were down by 15 (again).

Perfectly stated. Not sure what there is NOT to get.

[MountainCreekHouse]

Sorry for asking

[StillWarriors]

Yeah seriously, can someone explain this to me? I mean, I know it was a huge win... a really huge win, but they were embracing each other like they just got out of senior retreat in high school. Was Buzz and Jae just that emotional because they came back from being down so much?

I would bet Buzz really challenged him to step up and show he is the POY. Add carrying the team with DJO, Jr and Vander out for the first half, and the hug was an acknowledgment by both the the mission was accomplished-Big Time.

[MountainCreekHouse]

I would bet Buzz really challenged him to step up and show he is the POY. Add carrying the team with DJO, Jr and Vander out for the first half, and the hug was an acknowledgment by both the the mission was accomplished-Big Time.

Yeah that makes sense. Jae Crowder is honestly just a great human being. He's going to be very successful I imagine.

[Da 'Lanche]

Plus....all the Hatfields and McCoy hillbillies in attendance were booing him every time he touched the ball (probably to make a statement that their guy is BEast POY and not Jae).

Buzz loves perseverance and toughness.   As mentioned above, Jae had the added weight of carrying the team with 3 of his starting teammates out in the first half in a tough environment (on top of the fact he may have had added attention to his duel for POY that night).   Yet, he did not play "1 on 5" in half one and stepped up appropriately with 3 fresh faces on the floor.   I would bet Buzz also has an affinity for Jae's journey to where he is today.

Loved the story above about the awards banquet...thank you for sharing it.

[LloydMooresLegs]

That's right- I forgot about the boos - and I agree that it was bc of the POY comp

[dearest friend]

Does anyone have the picture of Buzz and Jae hugging after the game? With buzz's dance, that moment got upstaged, but I think that was the best moment of the post-game celebration. You could just tell Jae and Buzz were so grateful for one another and that Buzz was so proud.

[mileskishnish72]

I think they both think of themselves as kind of underdogs and the moment was just one of affirmation for each other.