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Thread: Most Improved MU Player - Ever

  1. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by Phantom Warrior View Post
    But Jimmy picked up Buzz's defensive philosophy and principles before BE play even began.. Offensively, Jimmy basically had to just stay out of the way and let the Amigos and Lazar get their shots. He simply had to keep the ball moving and crash the offensive glass - which he did exceptionally well, even as a sophomore.

    I think Jimmy's progress from year to year was consistent, but he was already a productive player his first year at MU. Earl and Chris - as well as Amal - rode the pine their first year because they weren't ready to contribute. Tony contributed off the bench, but I think his senior year he was a more dominant player than Jimmy was.
    For me, this exemplifies why I put Jimmy atop my list. He made huge strides from the start of that season through the end. I think as far as basketball IQ goes, Jimmy is one of the highest IQ players we've had here in a long time. He just got the game and learned the game incredibly well. Went from a virtual non-factor to start the season to our 6th man by the end of the year, and the next two years was a team leader.

    The word that comes to mind for me when I think of him is savvy. He just got it, and if he didn't, he was a quick student and absorbed about everything. I suppose there are other arguments for players who improved more during their stay at Marquette, but in terms of overall improvement, I don't know that I've seen anyone improve more from what Jimmy was when he arrived to what he is now. That might go for just about any player in any sport.

  2. #12
    I just thought of another player whom I think is a candidate for most improved MU player ever - Robert Byrd.

    Byrd was a freshman on the team that won the championship in '77, but he almost never saw the floor. Here are RB's stats for his four years at MU.

    Freshman: 12 games (out of 32), 0.8 ppg and 0.7 rpg

    Sophomore: 21 games (out of 21), 1.2 ppg and 1.1 rpg

    Junior: 29 games (out of 29), 5.5 ppg and 6.2 rpg

    Senior: 27 games (out of 27), 11.7 ppg and 10.0 rpg

    That, my friends, is an awful lot of progress. In fact, the only other MU player to average at least 10.0 rpg since Byrd was David Boone.

    Byrd was an incredible force on the glass as a senior, and he also was a decent threat to score on put-backs or after nice passes from teammates. He also was a tough-as-nails defender.

    I don't think there is another played I've seen at MU who transformed his body as much as Bryd did. By the time he was a junior he was absolutely chiseled.

    I can't believe I forgot about Bryd in my initial post, but I'm also surprised no one else mentioned him.

  3. #13
    Byrd looked good in practice his first two years, but he was a victim of the numbers game those years.

  4. #14
    I don't know. Looking at the forwards on the 1977-'78 team, I'm not overly impressed.

    Toone started at one forward spot and averaged a whopping 9.3 ppg. He was also a defensive liability.

    Payne was the other starting forward. He averaged 6.8 ppg and a decent 5.2 rpg.

    Olive Lee was a freshman - talented but not experienced. He averaged only 3.5 ppg.

    And Dudley was the fourth forward. He averaged 2.2 ppg and 1.3 rpg.

    Byrd couldn't beat out any of these four for minutes, even Dudley.

    Playing in only 21 of 28 games and averaging 1.2 ppg tells me that RB was simply not very good his sophomore year.

  5. #15
    Part of the problem was that Robert was very skinny. He ended up getting wiry strong. But, the talent and rebounding skills were there. He needed physical development.

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