Two Players, Two Personalities, One Number

Lazar Hayward is a 6’6” forward that graduated Marquette following the 2009-10 season. Jae Crowder is a 6’6” forward who is currently playing at Marquette. Both of the players weigh 225 pounds. When Jae Crowder was first being recruited by Buzz Williams, every fan thought that he would be a great replacement for Lazar Hayward. Since Lazar was finishing up his last year at Marquette, the team needed somebody to replace him. The question was, could another player actually substitute Lazar, the star of the Marquette basketball team, or was he irreplaceable. Lazar was so versatile that he was really hard to guard. He could shoot the three, post up, and rebound against the big guys. Once head coach Buzz Williams recruited Jae, there were high hopes for him. The way he played was very similar to Lazar Hayward and there would be a huge spot to fill on the team. This position would not be an easy fill, but if there was any chance of it being complete, it was with Jae. Are these two basketball players really that similar or are they just two guys that love the same game and have the same style of play?

Jae Crowder is a former Junior College player that is in his first season at Marquette. He started his Junior College career at South Georgia Tech where he was named Georgia Junior College Athletic Association Player of the Year as a freshman. Then he transferred to Howard College and helped them to a NJCAA Division 1 national championship. Previously, Jae went to Villa Rica High School. Last year, Jae Crowder was the Junior College Player of the Year. Lazar Hayward just recently graduated from Marquette. Now he plays in the NBA for the Minnesota Timberwolves. Right off the bat these guys begin different, one played two years in Junior College and the other spent all four years in Division 1 college basketball. Either way, over their first two years, they both improved and made names for themselves. While Jae helped his team meet a great milestone, Lazar worked with three great players a year older than him so his time to truly shine was his senior year at Marquette.

Any type of stat can show a lot about someone, but in sports it shows a players strengths and weaknesses. Looking at the basic stats of Jae Crowder this year, and Lazar Hayward’s junior year stats, will say everything about these two players. Their highs and lows are as players on the basketball court will be shown. Crowder is a 62% free throw shooter while Lazar shot 82% from the line. That is a huge difference and can be a game changer, when it comes down to the last minutes of a game. Being able to be so consistent is hard to do with all the people watching, especially when you are at an away game and the opposing fans are waving their hands trying to do anything they can to make you miss. In addition, Hayward averaged 8.6 rebounds for every game and Crowder only has 6.7 per game. Jae is a better shooter than Lazar, since he shoots 5.4% higher in field goals than Hayward. He is also a higher 3-point shooter with a difference of 3.4%. These numbers don’t say much since they could change at any moment (all they have to do is miss or make a few more shots and they could be even). There could be one game when they’re on fire and another when they couldn’t buy a shot. What really sets them apart is that Jae so far has blocked 17 shots, while Lazar blocked only 9 shots. Also he has 32 steals at this point and Hayward finished his season with 35. Lazar was a huge defensive threat in the paint from all of his rebounds, but Crowder is an offensive threat with his 3-point shot and his inside out game. He is also great at getting steals and blocking shots. His blocked shots especially stand out since he’s undersized for his position.

Were the things that make these two guys similar just coincidence. Both Lazar and Jae wore the same number, which made everyone think they were more similar than they really are. There is a reporter that interviewed Jae; they asked him about his number and if he was trying to be like Lazar, he said, "actually I didn’t think about Lazar when I picked it. It was my number in high school. I wanted to wear 24, which was my junior-college number, but it’s retired. I wore 32 in high school and I felt like I need to go back to where I came from. That’s why I picked 32" (Rosiak, Golden Eagles Blog). Lazar had no influence on Jae's choice and the number situation was just happened. Jae also has feelings about the idea of him being compared to Lazar. "I’m going to let it be known that I’m Jae Crowder and not Lazar Hayward. And I talked to him about it. He said, ‘Just play your game. You’re not me; I’m not you.’ It just so happened to be that way, that everything fell into place" (Rosiak, Golden Eagles Blog). Although in a different article, he said, "I understand the role I will be taking at Marquette, and if it’s like Lazar’s then I’m all for it. I feel like I’ll step in, be fine and move on" (Rosiak, Golden Eagles Blog). It seems as though Jae wants to take the challenge of replacing Lazar, but he also wants to play his own way and make himself known as Jae Crowder, not just the replacement.

Every way you look at this story, these guys are different from each other. They both have their strengths and they both have their weaknesses, but each one is different from the other. No matter what people may say about these two players, they don’t know much until they dig deeper. All they are based off of is their same number and same position style. Jae Crowder and Lazar Hayward are similar, but different in their own unique way. I now know that Jae wants to be the best he is capable of being and he will do anything he can to make it there. He wants to be himself but he also wants to follow in the footsteps of Lazar Hayward, since he is such a good player and he’s accomplished some great things. Such as being in the NBA, which is an achievement all in its own. A life full of achievements made and ready to be made. Each one of these players is playing for success, for a win, for their team.


Bibliography
Jim Ganzer, "IWB". "Marquette Lands Jae Crowder." 3 February 2010. MarquetteHoops.com. 15 February 2011 .
Marquette Basketball 2008-09 Media Guide. 2008-09.
"Marquette Season Statistics ." 29 January 2011. GoMarquette. 4 February 2011 .
—. "Golden Eagles Blog." 7 September 2010. JSOnline. 22 2 2011 .
—. "Golden Eagles Blog." 14 April 2010. JSOnline. 22 2 2011 .
Strotman, Mark. "Crowder Looks To Fill Void." 26 October 2010. MarquetteHoops.com. 17 February 2011 .