Favorite Marquette Players

[Mike Deane's Seat Belt]

Wish pieper would have made the pros he seemed like he was the chosen one out of wisconsin watching him back in high school.   


Amal was a very fun player to watch but he didnt hold up in the nba

[MuMark]

Wade
Crowder(impacted the game in so many ways and tough as nails)
Butler
Diener
Novak
Worthen
Butch
Wes
Gardner
Markus
Lucas
Bo
Lazar( loved his fire and willingness to do whatever the team needed)

Ps Sam would have been on my list if he had finished his career here.

[CTWarrior]

We had a thread on this back in May of 2011 and this is what I wrote then

My list (beginning with 79-80 season, my freshman year).

1.  Damon Key - Overshadowed by McIlvaine for some reason but was the much better college player
2.  Tony Miller - Tremendous competitor, small, couldn't shoot, but smartest player I have seen at MU
3.  Lazar Hayward - Played out of position for 4 years, but just played and gave it everything he had
4.  Michael Wilson - Forgotten guard from the early 80s, but could really play.  Tough as nails and flattest jump shot in history that was still effective.
5.  Dwyane Wade - If it was the best player, he'd be number 1
6.  Aaron Hutchins - Probably the most fun MU guy to watch that I remember
7.  Jimmy Butler - Quiet, did whatever needed to be done
8.  Mandy Johnson - Unassuming glue guy for Hank Raymonds (I love unassuming glue guys)
9.  Brian Wardle - Warrior
10.  Steve Novak - Loved to watch him shoot

Honorable mentions (Group A) -  Sam Worthen, Artie Green, Oliver Lee, Terry Reasons, Kerry Trotter, Anthony Pieper, Walter Downing, Dominic James, Jerel McNeal, Travis Diener - Colorful characters with varying skill levels that helped make following MU fun and exciting. 
Honorable mentions (Group B) - Robb Logterman, Ron Eford, Robert Byrd, Ron Curry, Trevor Powell, Amal McCaskill, Wes Matthews - unsung guys who get lost in time but who were good players who were overshadowed for various reasons during their careers.
Apologies to Tony Smith, who played in an era when I lived on the East Coast and MU was NEVER on TV, so I only saw him play a few times.

Since then, I'd add Jae Crowder to top 10, bumping Novak and would have added Markus, Andrew Rowsey, Davante Gardner and DJO to Group A.  I would not add Sam Hauser even though he was my favorite player the last few years but can't get over his departure. 

[WarriorDad]

Dean the dream
Jim Chones
Maurice Lucas
Larry McNeill
Earl Tatum
Bo Ellis
Lloyd Walton
Dwayne Wade
Steve Novak
Butch Lee
Whitehead
Toone
Rivers
Tony Smith
Markus Howard
Pieper
Matthews
Butler

[Amal Sh00k Up]

Need to see some more shout-outs for Amal.  C’mon people. 

The good news is we have many choices.

[BrewCity83]

Whoever added Vic Lazaretti--YES!!

[DoctorV]

I’ll also preface with a post 2000s list

Wade
Markus
Vander
Jae
Novak
Diener
Jerel
D James
DJO
Jfb

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not having Markus on a list that includes Rowsey and Davante is very odd. Those two guys were fun to watch, but sometimes I feel like Markus Howard is the most disrespected MU player outside of Vander Blue since I became a fan.

Again, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but.......

Don’t under appreciate what you’ve got MU friends

[TallTitan34]

Running the @MUOverload twitter account, I can see the posts involving the 1993-94 team get the most views, likes, retweets out of anything. And it’s not even really close.  People really love that team.

Is it just because it was the first success after a long stretch of bad?

[1SE]

Favourite? All the walk ons. Gotta love the kids who do all the work of the scholly players for no financial and the hope of seeing 4 minutes of court time a year. Huge contribution to the program with little recognition.

[Earl Tatum]

Bill Neary did all the dirty work for Al. Took charges, created space around the basket and scored like 1 pt. a game. Like an enforcer. One player completely forgotten was a 6-4 frontliner who could really sky named
Pat Smith. John Glaser played from 1958-1960.

[Lennys Tap]

Favourite? All the walk ons. Gotta love the kids who do all the work of the scholly players for no financial and the hope of seeing 4 minutes of court time a year. Huge contribution to the program with little recognition.

Huge contribution to the program? LOL Everybody cheers the walk ons. If anything, their "recognition" is too high.

[MU82]

Sam Worthen is high on my list as well. Marotta and Doc for personal reasons. Good list.

Ditto. Those were my guys from my time at MU. Michael Wilson and Robert Byrd, too. My friends and I used to call Worthen "God." (I wasn't an atheist yet, so that was a compliment - ha!) Of course loved Glenn, a great kid.

Too many faves over the years to list, though. I'd be listing a few dozen names ... and would worry I had forgotten to list some.

[warriorjoe]

Dean "The Dream" Meminger, hands down.

Go Warriors!

[Coleman]

Running the @MUOverload twitter account, I can see the posts involving the 1993-94 team get the most views, likes, retweets out of anything. And it’s not even really close.  People really love that team.

Is it just because it was the first success after a long stretch of bad?

I think that's probably part of it. Also Twitter seems to be most popular with that generation (Gen X).

[Cheese_Ed]

If you want to read what people thought on this topic in:

2007 - https://www.muscoop.com/index.php?topic=2690

2012 - https://www.muscoop.com/index.php?topic=30056

[Goose]

It was so much nicer on here back in the day!!

[Coleman]

So much Diener love in 2007

[We R Final Four]

I believe Terry Reason is the only player to run from the Clybourn Gym to the Arena for a game.  That should count for something.

When I witnessed Terry steal the ball and go in for a 360* dunk in a close 6 point game......Then I knew. 

[Galway Eagle]

So much Diener love in 2007

Someone who also only made 2 NCAA appearances 🤔 I guess that's only held against Howard

[Coleman]

Someone who also only made 2 NCAA appearances 🤔 I guess that's only held against Howard

There was that Final Four

[Coleman]

And this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travis_Diener

Travis Diener played for the Golden Eagles in the 2018 edition of The Basketball Tournament. In 5 games, he averaged 8.6 points, 4.2 assists, and shot 43 percent from the field. The Golden Eagles reached the semi-finals before falling to Overseas Elite. He rejoined the Marquette Alumni team for the "Championship Weekend" of the 2019 tournament—hitting two consecutive three pointers while wearing cowboy boots without socks to win in the semi-finals vs Team Heines while drunk on 12 cans of White Claw.

[BrewCity83]

And this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travis_Diener

Travis Diener played for the Golden Eagles in the 2018 edition of The Basketball Tournament. In 5 games, he averaged 8.6 points, 4.2 assists, and shot 43 percent from the field. The Golden Eagles reached the semi-finals before falling to Overseas Elite. He rejoined the Marquette Alumni team for the "Championship Weekend" of the 2019 tournament—hitting two consecutive three pointers while wearing cowboy boots without socks to win in the semi-finals vs Team Heines while drunk on 12 cans of White Claw.

Fake news.  Travis drinks PBR or High Life.

[Skatastrophy]

Fake news.  Travis drinks PBR or High Life.

And he only goes after freshmen girls.

[jefffla01]

Have not posted for a long time---I am an Mu fan since around 1960 so here goes my list
Meminger
George Thompson
Chones
Gary Brell
Mo Lucas
Pat Smith
Butch Lee
Brian Brunkhorst
Jerome Whitehead
Bo Ellis
Doc
Earl Tatum

[brewcity77]

Favorites that I've watched extensively would go back to when I enrolled in 2001. I watched Marquette passively before then, but didn't have the same passion as I did once I attended there.

1) Jae Crowder -- Was he the best player I saw? No, but no one played with more passion, more raw emotion, and more tenacity. He was one of the best players and put in a level of effort that no one else I've seen ever put forth.

2) Dwyane Wade -- He was such an immense talent and gave me so much pride in the program while I was going to school there. I remember thinking when we went to the Final Four that it could always be like that. Of course, it wasn't, but he made young me believe otherwise.

3) Markus Howard -- When he's on, he just makes it look so easy. He has that ability to make it clear that, at least in that moment, he is the best player in the country. He is such a uniquely gifted scorer. We shall never see his like again.

4) Travis Diener -- Need a bucket? He's got you. Need an assist? He's got you. Diener was such a complete offensive player, and played with so much spirit. It's a shame we missed the tourney his last two years, though we likely would've made it had he stayed healthy his senior year.

5) Wes Matthews -- For my money, always the best of the Amigos. Even as a freshman, he was the one who you just knew could translate it to the next level. Watching him develop the way he did was incredibly rewarding.

6) Sam Hauser -- It's hard to include the guy that left, but Sam was so smart out there, always made the right decision, and just got it from the first moment he stepped on the court. The kind of guy you trust completely. I think he's going to be fantastic at UVA.

7) Lazar Hayward -- One of the best collegiate players I've seen. All-around better than some of the names ahead of him in the sense that he did everything. He could be a complimentary scorer or take the game over himself, he was a great rebounder, and he could guard just about anyone despite being 6'5". That the 2010 team made the tourney is a testament to how well he carried that team.

8) Darius Johnson-Odom -- He was Markus before Markus. The guy who could hit shots from anywhere, get to the rim and to the line, drop 20 in a half, and do it all while flashing a grin. I know they were different players, but DJO had that same electric ability to get a bucket. He was also a game-changer for that 2010 team after the Amigos left. Of course, his shot against Syracuse also helped.

9) Vander Blue -- He wasn't what we expected early on, but developed into such a nice player. He always played tenacious defense and could lock guys down on the perimeter. He didn't score a ton early, but when he needed to as a junior, he took that mantle. I still wonder what might have been if he'd come back in 2014.

10) Jimmy Butler -- Hard to put him this low, but I always kind of felt he was in someone's shadow. Whether it was the Amigos as a sophomore, Lazar as a junior, or even Jae and his tenaciousness in his senior year (Jimmy was the leader, but Jae was clearly becoming "that guy"). Dude also had a crazy work ethic and ability to lock up his defensive assignment. Man, everyone was talking about how Tu Holloway was going to run all over us in 2011, then Jimmy just locked him up like Chinese finger cuffs.

Almost famous -- Robert Jackson, Davante Gardner, Dominic James, Steve Novak, Cordell Henry