Majerus calls Maurice Ager a “non-athlete”
If you watched Monday afternoon’s telecast of the Michigan State-Chaminade game, you probably heard Rick Majerus refer to Spartan guard Maurice Ager as a non-athlete.
Majerus:
“I think the best perimeter player on the floor has not been Ager, has not been Brown, I think it’s been the Chaminade kid… Let me explain something to you about Ager. Ager has just 39 steals as a collegiate; that’s a theft every 51 minutes. That is so below average, and that exposes Ager almost as the non-athlete that he is.”
Majerus’ statistics about Ager are in fact, correct (according to his bio at MSUSpartans.com).
Minutes per steal data for various players
Andre Miller 15.8 (Utah, 1996-99)
Ray Allen 18.9 (Connecticut, 1994-96)
Michael Jordan 18.9 (North Carolina, 1984-86)
Vince Carter 23.5 (North Carolina 1996-98)
Reggie Miller 24.3 (UCLA, 1984-87)
Dwyane Wade 25.2 (Marquette, 2002-03)
Morris Peterson 25.8 (Michigan State, 1996-2000)
Tayshaun Prince 36.5 (Kentucky, 1999-2002)
Rasheed Wallace 42.9 (North Carolina, 1994-95)
Data taken from basketball-reference.com
While Rick Majerus certainly possesses an educated opinion, he should have asked J.J. Redick about Maurice Ager’s athleticism before making such a bold statement.