Marquette led by JUCO standouts

Associated Press

MILWAUKEE

Buzz Williams knows having a roster filled with former junior college players sticks out a bit, especially when facing a program like North Carolina.

Having humble roots is a source of pride for Williams and his players, who embrace the idea that they had to work harder than marquee recruits to get where they are today.

Still, Williams would much rather talk about who his players are and where they’re going — a regional semifinal matchup with the Tar Heels on Friday night — than dwell on where they came from.

“Whether they’re junior college or high school or transfers, to endure the culture that we have here, you have to have something to you as a human,” Williams said. “Does that mean that you’re more hungry because you’ve maybe not had some of the same things that some other kids have had? There’s probably some truth to that. But I don’t ever want it to be so stereotypical.”

And with his team now commanding a little more national attention, Williams is getting more questions about his roster. Key players Jimmy Butler, Darius Johnson-Odom, Jae Crowder, Dwight Buycks and Joseph Fulce all had stints in junior college.

“I think you have to be careful, because you become very stereotypical when you start identifying guys in accordance of where they went to school, where they’re from,” Williams said.

For their part, Marquette players are grateful to Williams for giving them a shot at big-time college basketball when plenty of programs wouldn’t have given them a second look.

“I think it just makes everybody work a little bit harder,” Butler said. “Coming out of high school, going to junior college, you either didn’t have the grades or didn’t have the exposure. So now, the NCAA tournament’s just another way of trying to make your dream come true, so to speak.”