Memphis Roar

Jordan’s weekly column, normally titled “The Leftovers”, will be dubbed with a new name this week. Since there is nothing “leftover” about him, this week’s edition will be called “The Main Course: Chris Crawford Edition”.

With the recent commitment of Austin Hollins to Minnesota, most of the Tiger Basketball Nation’s attention has turned to the recruitment of guard Chris Crawford.

Crawford is rated a 92 in ESPN’s high school basketball player rankings for the class of 2010; he’s listed at 6’4 and 185lbs and popped on the radar of many division-1 schools after his performance this July in Las Vegas during the Adidas Super 64 AAU tournament. Crawford’s AAU team is the Memphis Magic Elite and his teammates include most notably Joe Jackson, Tarik Black, and Adonis Thomas. He is the star of his high school basketball team at Sheffield High.

Many scouting reports note his great ability to catch and shoot from beyond the arc as well as his ability to shoot on the move with a highly accurate jump shot. He is a two-guard but can play very similar roles to the ones recent tiger Antonio Anderson played. MemphisRoar’s own Clark Merriam wrote the following scouting report on Chris Crawford after watching him the June River City Showdown AAU tournament this year:

Silent but deadly threat for the Memphis Magic Elite squad. Crawford possesses an excellent long-range shot and when he is hot, not even a blindfold could stop him from hitting from deep. Crawford’s role on the Magic did not ask him to penetrate and score, but Crawford did show flashes of good athletic ability. One thing to note is that Crawford is also an excellent passer. A high percentage of transition baskets by the Magic were initiated by an excellent Crawford pass. Crawford is also a good rebounder. A few small things that Crawford can develop on is keeping a positive attitude, no matter the outcome on the offensive end, ball-handling, and honing in on some defensive skills.

My take on Chris Crawford is very similar. He has a future as a four-year college basketball player. Crawford hustles and plays harder than most of his opposition; you can constantly find him scrapping on the floor for rebounds and lose balls. He has well above average shooting abilities and can finish at the rim, but it is his ability to run the court with great vision should make him most appealing to a coaching staff who would like to play an up-tempo style of basketball.

There are seemingly three major programs involved in the recruitment of Chris Crawford: Tennessee, Memphis, and Mississippi State. Crawford has taken recent visits to UTK and Mississippi State, and has spent plenty of time in the city of Memphis in contact with the University of Memphis basketball program. With Crawford’s decision definitely coming Thursday, I thought it would be a nice time to look at the factors going into his decision. A brief examination will hopefully shed some light on all the factors that go in to a young kid’s big college decision.

1) Academics

This is not in reference to which of the three universities involved has a better academic program (I’ll let the message boards handle that topic). This is all about Chris Crawford’s current grades. This issue may have once been a big issue in the recruitment of Crawford; however, Crawford has apparently been bearing down and working hard toward much better grades. If a college commits to a recruit and the recruit commits to the university, and the recruit does not qualify, well then the university probably missed out on another recruit who would have qualified. These issues put programs in rough waters. Grades and eligibility are key issues looming over the heads of many big basketball programs.
2) Playing Time

Most every recruit sets a goal of one thing after college; a professional sports career. In order to get recognized, these kids desire the spotlight. It is probable that most recruits will get their fair share of playing time. The key, though, is WHEN they will get the playing time. Will the recruit get the opportunity to play 20+ minutes in their freshman year, or will these minutes come in a junior or senior season? Recruits who are accustomed to being the star player on their high school or AAU team sometimes find it very difficult to accept their identity as a “role player” in a very competitive program.
So, which program has the most minutes to offer? The 2010 Memphis Tigers will likely see a starting three guard trio involving Will Barton, Joe Jackson, and Elliot Williams; however, the Tigers will find themselves in need of minutes off the bench with the graduation of Doneal Mack and Willie Kemp. The Tigers may also lose Roburt Sallie due to his age, 24, at the end of the year. There will be plenty of minutes available in the Tiger rotation. The University of Tennessee and Mississippi State programs are apparently offering more immediate playing time to Crawford then the University of Memphis may initially have for him. As earlier noted by Commercial Appeal writer Dan Wolken, the playing time issue has been used by both Tennessee and Mississippi State in their recruitment of Crawford. The idea of being an immediate premier player on a Division-1 basketball program is enough to make any high school kid smile.

3) Hometown Hero Syndrome

Location, location, location. Playing college ball in your hometown makes it a lot easier for all of your friends and family to attend the games, doesn’t it? With Joe Jackson’s recent commitment to the University of Memphis, the smell of hometown hero seems to be floating in the fall air. Dreams of kids to play for their hometown basketball programs are hard to recruit against. Imagine getting a call from your favorite childhood sports team and on the other end is the coach asking you to play for them. The question may be, is that phone ringing? Feeling wanted is a life-long desire for nearly everyone. Which program is making him feel wanted? Is it his hometown program? Is FedEx Forum the place where Chris Crawford’s dreams can come true? Does that even matter to him?

Just take this topic in context. There have been many basketball recruits that dreamed of being hometown heroes only to go elsewhere. Every situation is different and the recruit must choose what situation he thinks is best for his family and future career. Being able to do what’s best for your career in your hometown, that is just a big red cherry on top.

4) The Other Intangibles

To very quickly acknowledge the other factors that may go into Chris Crawford’s recruitment and commitment:

Coaching Staff- who does Crawford gel with, who can he learn from?
Playing Style – which team will play Crawford’s style of basketball?
Teammates – picking your friends for the next three or four years is a big decision
School Academics – it really does matter to some
Publicity- who has the best market for Crawford’s future?
National Championships – every kid dreams of winning, what program gives Crawford a shot?
Family- grandmothers and parents are sometimes the most important recruitment factors

When will Chris Crawford decide? It appears Thursday is the day. Who knows his decision already? There are some and they are not talking, publicly at least.

There has been much speculation as to which college Crawford will attend in 2010. While reckless speculation abounds, others being called upon to speak are remaining tip-lipped. There is one thing everyone knows for sure: Chris Crawford’s entire camp is being extremely quiet. No public leans towards one university; no Facebook photoshopped pictures; no tweeted hints; no leaked rumors with credibility are out there. This may be the best kept secret in Memphis sports since Derrick Rose’s SAT score. As with Rose’s SAT score, the hidden shall become known. We will all find out sooner than later.

After Thursday, the speculation will finally be over, egos will either be inflated or deflated, and Tiger Nation can either rejoice or simply let it go.

I refuse to speculate where Chris Crawford will go. What I know, who I know, or even if I know anything, well that’s all pretty debatable. What I do know is that a lot of people who think they know, have no idea. Recruiting information is a very tricky business. The most valuable information hardly ever comes from the recruit (with the exception of Joe Jackson). The family and the coaches tend to know a lot more than they let on. The fun part is when they actually hint at something. My biggest piece of advice is to take it all with a large grain of salt.

The debates all are ridiculous. Just like Austin Hollins, Chris Crawford will make the decision he feels is best for him. Crawford is a tremendous basketball talent with a bright future and any Division-1 school should feel privileged to have him.

Whether Crawford is going to choose the Tigers or not, there are plenty of Memphis fans out there of the opinion that Tiger blue just look real good on Crawford (as evidenced on our message board).

Notes: The Leftovers will periodically refrain from its normal stupid commentary routine to actually address important Tiger issues. It will probably be more the exception than the norm. Hopefully, we can laugh a little more next week.