Originally Posted by
Alan Bykowski, "brewcity77"
First Team
PG - Travis Diener: James was better defensively but Diener was by far the best offensive PG of the advanced stats era. But it's more about what Marquette did after injuries that swayed my decision*.
SG - Dwyane Wade: The best player of the century, and the best I've ever seen at Marquette. Easy choice.
SF - Jimmy Butler: Tough call to edge out Wes Matthews, but Jimmy's lock-down defensive ability as a senior is the separator.
PF - Jae Crowder: Second best player after Wade. Undersized, but an absolute beast and pure winner who did it all, sometimes by sheer force of will.
C - Robert Jackson: In one year, he separated himself from the pack. Stout defending the post, and a terror offensively. We likely don't beat Kentucky without Jackson.
Second Team
PG - Dominic James: Great two-way player, but his shooting woes hurt his case.
SG - Jerel McNeal: Overrated defender because of his anticipation for steals, but still a great player. Can't ignore the all-time scoring king.
SF - Wesley Matthews: Such a complete player, culminating in his senior year when he was an absolute stud.
PF - Lazar Hayward: Edges out Novak because of his rebounding and defense. Steve was a better shooter, Lazar was a better everything else.
C - Luke Fischer: Great shot blocker, shot maker & offensive rebounder. His worst eFG% was better than Gardner's best. Not a great defender, but also not the worst.
Third Team
PG - Maurice Acker: Tough call with Howard, but Mo was a better distributor & ball protector. As good as Lazar was, Mo was the one that made the Midgets team go.
SG - Darius Johnson-Odom: DJO's consistency carries him over Blue's great year. Better defender than he was credited & one of those guys you want taking the big shot.
SF - Steve Novak: He had the size of a PF, but his tendencies to launch threes (72.2% of his FGAs were from three) made him more of a cwing than inside player.
PF - Henry Ellenson: He put up beastly numbers on a team that often felt like Henry & four other guys. I can't imagine what his rebounding numbers would've looked like after four years.
C - Davante Gardner: I could see an argument for Scott Merritt, especially defensively, but Gardner was simply magical on offense. He was spellbinding to watch, with more scoring tricks than any 300-lb man should have.
*The toughest call for me was Diener over James, but it came down to their injury seasons. Diener had two injured stints in 2005. Marquette went 1-7 during that time, including 4 losses to non-NCAA teams (they only lost 5 games to non-tourney teams all year). Without Diener, that team was dead in the water. Meanwhile, in 2009, when James went down, Acker was a clear step down, but Marquette was more competitive. Despite going 2-6, all 6 losses were to top-16 teams per Pomeroy. Without Diener, Marquette completely fell apart, and without James, they went from being a top-10 team to a still-very-good team.
Honorable Mentions: Brian Wardle, Cordell Henry, Vander Blue, Matt Carlino, Jajuan Johnson, Katin Reinhardt, Sam Hauser, Markus Howard