Most Improved Player

[AlaskaSU]

There is a whole host of the usual suspects and they are well deserving. For eg. remember the Dome laughing when a raw Rony blew an open dunk?
I would add Waiters to the list of most improved players. Anyone remember how bad he looked in the Jordan all star game? Makes me smile how the pros now speak with their wallets that Waiters is now better than all those Mickey D's and Jordan ball hogs that were his peers.

 

[EastCoast2]

Rautins. 2 start recruit to NBA draft pick

 

[Gabjon]

Etan Thomas,Warrick, Dnic, J Hart, O Hill,

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

Etan Thomas,Warrick, Dnic, J Hart, O Hill,

Dnic and Hart were pretty well regarded

Sent from my Vortex using Tapatalk 2

 

[Cuse4]

There is a whole host of the usual suspects and they are well deserving. For eg. remember the Dome laughing when a raw Rony blew an open dunk?
I would add Waiters to the list of most improved players. Anyone remember how bad he looked in the Jordan all star game? Makes me smile how the pros now speak with their wallets that Waiters is now better than all those Mickey D's and Jordan ball hogs that were his peers.

I can't agree with Waiters at all... Ya he didn't have a great Jordan game, but had 2 very nice Elite 24 games before that... and could have been a McDAA. He was a top 25-30 recruit everywhere. To be honest I was waiting for him to get here more than any recruit in the last few years. And he did not have a bad freshman season by any means. Yes he improved, but I feel a lot of that had to do with paying time... That being said, more bigs have improved here than guards... Fab, Rick, AO, Thomas, Warrick, Otis, Dnic, JOSH PACE

 

[Gabjon]

Dnic and Hart were pretty well regarded

Sent from my Vortex using Tapatalk 2

yes but they still struggled early and improved greatly

 

[AlaskaSU]

I can't agree with Waiters at all... Ya he didn't have a great Jordan game, but had 2 very nice Elite 24 games before that... and could have been a McDAA. He was a top 25-30 recruit everywhere. To be honest I was waiting for him to get here more than any recruit in the last few years. And he did not have a bad freshman season by any means. Yes he improved, but I feel a lot of that had to do with paying time... That being said, more bigs have improved here than guards... Fab, Rick, AO, Thomas, Warrick, Otis, Dnic, JOSH PACE

To go from top 30 to top 5 is a big jump as the competition gets stiffer the higher you go. Few people recognize the full extent of Waiter's improvement. I think that he belongs in the discussion of most improved players even though our list is long. As an erratic frosh he only shot 41% from the field. If he would have had a Jr year he could have been the Nations best player.

 

[OttoMets]

yes but they still struggled early and improved greatly

Nichols, yeah.

Hart improved over four years, but what really changed was that his supporting cast greatly improved. He went from a freshman who couldn't really shoot and played alongside these guys (including Etan "I fouled out in the first half against Georgetown" Thomas and without Burgan, the best player, for almost a quarter of the season) to a senior who couldn't really shoot but played alongside these guys (including Etan "About to be a top-15 draft pick" Thomas and five additional guys who would be game high-scorer at some point during the year).

I like Warrick and Rautins; Etan also improved tremendously.

 

[Gabjon]

Nichols, yeah.

Hart improved over four years, but what really changed was that his supporting cast greatly improved. He went from a freshman who couldn't really shoot and played alongside these guys (including Etan "I fouled out in the first half against Georgetown" Thomas and without Burgan, the best player, for almost a quarter of the season) to a senior who couldn't really shoot but played alongside these guys (including Etan "About to be a top-15 draft pick" Thomas and five additional guys who would be game high-scorer at some point during the year).

I like Warrick and Rautins; Etan also improved tremendously.

Hart had no clue how to run the offense as a freshmen and because a floor leader by his senior year but your right he could never shoot.

 

[OttoMets]

Hart had no clue how to run the offense as a freshmen and because a floor leader by his senior year but your right he could never shoot.

Certainly became a better floor leader with time. He was still making a number of those freshman mistakes in 2000, though. Big difference: he didn't feel the need to shoulder the scoring burden. In 1997, bad Hart decision = empty possession. In 2000, bad Hart decision = opportunity for teammate.

But he did improve, and he certainly learned and limited those mistakes.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

Nichols, yeah.

Hart improved over four years, but what really changed was that his supporting cast greatly improved. He went from a freshman who couldn't really shoot and played alongside these guys (including Etan "I fouled out in the first half against Georgetown" Thomas and without Burgan, the best player, for almost a quarter of the season) to a senior who couldn't really shoot but played alongside these guys (including Etan "About to be a top-15 draft pick" Thomas and five additional guys who would be game high-scorer at some point during the year).

I like Warrick and Rautins; Etan also improved tremendously.

Did you know that as a Jr., Hart's 3 pt % was better than Janulis'. Jason had to take a lot of forced shots @ the end of the clock b/c JB slowed that team down because they couldn't shoot.

Sent from my Vortex using Tapatalk 2

 

[Gabjon]

Certainly became a better floor leader with time. He was still making a number of those freshman mistakes in 2000, though. Big difference: he didn't feel the need to shoulder the scoring burden. In 1997, bad Hart decision = empty possession. In 2000, bad Hart decision = opportunity for teammate.

But he did improve, and he certainly learned and limited those mistakes.

Agreed! people under value good decision making. It literally got him a 10year NBA career good decision making and good defense!

 

[OttoMets]

Did you know that as a Jr., Hart's 3 pt % was better than Janulis'. Jason had to take a lot of forced shots @ the end of the clock b/c JB slowed that team down because they couldn't shoot.

Sent from my Vortex using Tapatalk 2

Hmm, not seeing it. In Janulis's worst year as a full-time player (1998), he was 39.6% from three. In Hart's junior year (his best from three), he was 36.6%.

Jay did have to take a lot of forced shots (to what extent he did take them versus had to take them could be the source of some debate). And 36.6% is quite respectable. But not better than Janulis. Hart was a quintessential example of the Syracuse point guard whose teams do better when he distributes rather than scores (Scoop is another good one).

 

[OttoMets]

Agreed! people under value good decision making. It literally got him a 10year NBA career good decision making and good defense!

Very good defense, in an era when our guys didn't take that as seriously.

Easy to root for a hard worker.