Why Jae Crowder is even better than you think

Jae Crowder defies a lot of conventions. He’s listed as a 6-6 forward, but he’s taken the second most 3s on Marquette. In one possession on defense you’ll see him hedging up top on the perimeter and then grabbing the defensive board down low. He’s a junior college recruit, but he’s beloved by his coach and one of two emotional rocks on a team that just had a heck of a week  — winning in Madison, Wisconsin and defeating Washington on a last-second shot at Madison Square Garden. “That’s my guy,” said Marquette head coach Buzz Williams after the game at MSG. “I’ll roll with that cat no matter where he goes.” After only playing 24 minutes and scoring two points against the Badgers due to foul trouble, Crowder came back and hit the biggest shot of Marquette’s young season, a three on the final possession against the Huskies that gave the Golden Eagles the lead for good. Crowder, who had spent much of his 33 minutes b...