The roster isn’t the only thing that’s changed for Marquette men’s basketball this season.
Head coach Shaka Smart’s individual awards, which he hands out to select players after every win, also got a summer revamp.
Smart added in the “Ant Man Award,” “Jrue Holiday Award” and “Multiplier of the Week” to go along with “Domino of the Week,” “Deflection Champion,” “Offensive Rebounding Champion” and “EGB Champion.”
“I mean part of culture is promoting and encouraging what you want, reinforcing it when the guys do it,” Smart said. “And so we’ve tried to do that over the years with deflections, offensive rebounding, some of the EGBs. And so we just added to that.”
Here’s a breakdown of what each of the new awards mean, and who’s won them in practice:
Jrue Holiday Award
Named after former Milwaukee Bucks guard Jrue Holiday, who is known for his scrappy and suffocating defense, the award goes to whoever has the highest percentage of defeated screens from that week of practice.
“Jrue Holiday, in my mind, is as good as there is at defeating screens,” Smart said. “So we keep track of the percentage of screens that guys defeat, and whoever defeats the most in the preseason gets the ‘Jrue Holiday Award’ for the week.”
So far the award winners are:
- Week 1: David Joplin
- Week 2: Zaide Lowery
- Week 3: Zaide Lowery
- Week 4: Tre Norman
- Week 5: Chase Ross
Ant Man Award
Named after Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards, the award goes to whoever had the most “vicious” play in transition in practice that week, either offensively or defensively.
Junior guard Chase Ross, someone who has made a name for himself with high-flying, acrobatic dunks, aptly has won the award the most. This week though, Al Amadou won the award, the first time someone other than Ross has earned the honor.
Congrats @CaedinHamilton, @chase4xx, @realdavidjoplin, @d1_sann & @trenorman04 – the Week 5 award winners!#WeAreMarquette pic.twitter.com/DJYQCuDAGS
— Shaka Smart (@CoachShakaSmart) October 28, 2024
Multiplier of the Week
Once the season begins, it will become “Multiplier of the Game,” and it is awarded to whoever has the best +/- at the end of every win.
“We’re making a huge deal out of the fact that bottom line is, on the offensive end, when you’re in the game you’re evaluated by, does Marquette score?” Smart said. “And then the defensive end, when you’re in the game, you’re evaluated by, are we able to keep the other team from scoring?”
So far the award winners are:
- Week 1: Chase Ross
- Week 2: Chase Ross
- Week 3: David Joplin
- Week 4: Caedin Hamilton
- Week 5: David Joplin
This article was written by Jack Albright. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter/X @JackAlbrightMU.