Phantom Warrior
08-31-2017, 11:07 AM
Comments in the All-Milwaukee Metro MU All-Star Team thread got me to thinking (always a dangerous situation).
Which player improved the most during his MU career from the player he was when he entered MU to the player he was when he left?
For me, three candidates immediately come to mind: Tony Smith, Earl Tatum, and Chris Crawford.
Smith was a one-dimensional offensive player when he entered MU. He could get to the hoop and finish because of his superior athleticism. But he had no shot whatsoever outside of about five feet - kind of like George (Sugar) Frazier. But unlike Frazier, Smith developed not just into a solid outside shooter, but a very good outside shooter. He didn't shoot a lot of treys, but he did make a combined 44.4% his final two years. He also became a much better ball handler, good enough to do a solid job at point his senior year.
His freshman year was pretty respectable. He averaged 8.1 ppg on offense and was a very good on-ball defender. But no one expected him to average 23.8 ppg his final year at MU, let alone set the MU single-game scoring record, which still stands more than a quarter century later.
As for Earl, he came into MU having been viewed as one of the Top 25-30 high school players in the country in Mount Vernon, so expectations were extremely high. Al called Earl "the black Jerry West." Talk about setting the bar high. But Earl was nowhere near ready to contribute as a freshman. He played in only 16 games and averaged 1.5 ppg. That was the first year freshmen were eligible, but when he was on the court, it was painfully obvious he was in way over his head. He looked completely lost on both offense and defense.
He improved a ton his sophomore season and started every game and continued to improve as a junior. But his senior year was one of the best seasons I've ever seen any MU player have, good enough to be selected as second team A-A. After the DePaul game in Chicago, All commented that it was the best game he had ever seen any of his players ever have. Earl didn't average as many ppg his senior season as Tony Smith did, but he didn't have to not playing alongside Walton, Lee, Ellis, and Whitehead. But make no mistake, that was as terrific a senior season as any player I've seen at MU.
Then there's Chris Crawford. CC was one of the finalist for Mr. Basketball in Michigan his senior year of high school, but he did pretty much a whole lot of nothing his freshman year at MU. Like Earl, he averaged 1.8 ppg, and he played in only 18 games. Two other freshmen in his his class - Pieper and Abraham - were a ton more productive than he was. His sophomore year was only slightly better - 6.2 ppg. I doubt anyone would have predicted he'd finish hid career at a 1,000-point scorer. But he did.
His senior year was nowhere near as outstanding as Tony's or Earl's were, but he did average just a tad under 15 ppg (14.9). I would rank his progress from freshman to senior season behind Tony's and Earl's, but he did improve quite a bit over his four-year career.
I'm sure I am missing quite a few other potential candidates for "Most Improved Warrior." Anyone else care to weigh in? (I'm guessing Murff will add a few players from the 50s.)
Which player improved the most during his MU career from the player he was when he entered MU to the player he was when he left?
For me, three candidates immediately come to mind: Tony Smith, Earl Tatum, and Chris Crawford.
Smith was a one-dimensional offensive player when he entered MU. He could get to the hoop and finish because of his superior athleticism. But he had no shot whatsoever outside of about five feet - kind of like George (Sugar) Frazier. But unlike Frazier, Smith developed not just into a solid outside shooter, but a very good outside shooter. He didn't shoot a lot of treys, but he did make a combined 44.4% his final two years. He also became a much better ball handler, good enough to do a solid job at point his senior year.
His freshman year was pretty respectable. He averaged 8.1 ppg on offense and was a very good on-ball defender. But no one expected him to average 23.8 ppg his final year at MU, let alone set the MU single-game scoring record, which still stands more than a quarter century later.
As for Earl, he came into MU having been viewed as one of the Top 25-30 high school players in the country in Mount Vernon, so expectations were extremely high. Al called Earl "the black Jerry West." Talk about setting the bar high. But Earl was nowhere near ready to contribute as a freshman. He played in only 16 games and averaged 1.5 ppg. That was the first year freshmen were eligible, but when he was on the court, it was painfully obvious he was in way over his head. He looked completely lost on both offense and defense.
He improved a ton his sophomore season and started every game and continued to improve as a junior. But his senior year was one of the best seasons I've ever seen any MU player have, good enough to be selected as second team A-A. After the DePaul game in Chicago, All commented that it was the best game he had ever seen any of his players ever have. Earl didn't average as many ppg his senior season as Tony Smith did, but he didn't have to not playing alongside Walton, Lee, Ellis, and Whitehead. But make no mistake, that was as terrific a senior season as any player I've seen at MU.
Then there's Chris Crawford. CC was one of the finalist for Mr. Basketball in Michigan his senior year of high school, but he did pretty much a whole lot of nothing his freshman year at MU. Like Earl, he averaged 1.8 ppg, and he played in only 18 games. Two other freshmen in his his class - Pieper and Abraham - were a ton more productive than he was. His sophomore year was only slightly better - 6.2 ppg. I doubt anyone would have predicted he'd finish hid career at a 1,000-point scorer. But he did.
His senior year was nowhere near as outstanding as Tony's or Earl's were, but he did average just a tad under 15 ppg (14.9). I would rank his progress from freshman to senior season behind Tony's and Earl's, but he did improve quite a bit over his four-year career.
I'm sure I am missing quite a few other potential candidates for "Most Improved Warrior." Anyone else care to weigh in? (I'm guessing Murff will add a few players from the 50s.)