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Joe Crawford

retired
Drafted #58 in the 2008 NBA Draft by the Lakers
RCSI: 15 (2004)
Height: 6'4" (193 cm)
Weight: 213 lbs (97 kg)
Position: SG
High School: Renaissance High School (Michigan)
Hometown: Detroit, MI
AAU: The Family
College: Kentucky
Current Team: Erie
Win - Loss: 11 - 5

Articles

D-League Pre-Draft Power Rankings / Allocation List

Jonathan Givony
Jonathan Givony
Nov 07, 2008, 12:23 am
Crawford has league-leading potential as a scorer, as he’s blessed with an outstanding stroke from beyond the arc, a potent mid-range game, as well as the ability to put the ball on the floor and make his way to the basket. He wasn’t always a consistent performer at Kentucky, as his focus and intensity level seemed to waver at times, but he managed to show enough at Portsmouth and the pre-draft camp to earn a selection in the late second round. He needs to improve his shot-selection and decision making skills and prove that he can defend his position at the next level, but you’re looking for call-up candidates at the shooting guard position, this might not be a bad place to start.

Las Vegas Summer League Day Five

Matt Williams
Matt Williams
Mike Schmidt
Mike Schmidt
Jul 16, 2008, 10:23 pm
Crawford had a breakout game today. He’s not a great ball handler or passer, but is a gifted scorer. Though he lacks great consistency from NBA range, Crawford got the roll on the only three he attempted. It will be essential for him to improve his range if he wants to stick in the NBA. Though Crawford doesn’t handle pressure well with the ball in his hands, he’s got some nasty moves, and make on hesitation move that left his defender turned around as he went to the rim for a lay in. He’s not tall enough to be an overly effective defender, but he plays tough and is relentless when his man gets the ball. He’ll have a hard time contesting shots and dealing with longer more athletic players, but he’s a capable defender on this level. Crawford will have a chance to stick with the Lakers since they like his scoring ability, but may not be on their roster right away.

Orlando Recap: Second Team All-NBA Pre-Draft

Rodger Bohn
Rodger Bohn
Jonathan Givony
Jonathan Givony
Joseph Treutlein
Joseph Treutlein
Jun 05, 2008, 08:36 pm
Crawford had yet another good camp here at Orlando, following up his solid showing at Portsmouth by showing us once again that he can score the ball and do a few other things as well. He only measured out at 6’4 in shoes in the combine, as expected, with average length at 6’5 ¾, but his 36 inch max vertical is promising. Looking at Crawford’s four years in college, there’s a clear trend of him noticeably improving both his points per game and field goal percentage every season (up to 18 points on 47% shooting this year), which is encouraging, though his career free-throw percentage is around 70% and he’s never shot better than 36% from behind the arc.

Offensively, Crawford has a balanced attack, mixing in perimeter shooting with a dribble-drive game, though not really especially excelling with either. Off the dribble, he can pull up for a jumper or take it to the basket, being able to go left or right, slightly preferring the right. He doesn’t have the best first step in pure isolation, but does a good job coming off screens or catching and going on the move with the ball. In the lane, he has a decent repertoire of moves, making use of crossover, jab steps, and spin moves, weaving them together well and pulling off some impressive sequences. Despite his size, he finishes well at the basket as he takes contact well and makes good use of his vertical leap. Crawford is also comfortable shooting off the dribble from mid or long range, and has a right-handed floater in his arsenal, though it’s inconsistent.

Crawford’s spot-up jump shot has very good form, boasting a fairly deliberate release (but not in a bad way), with near textbook mechanics and a high and consistent release point. It’s important to note, though, that this is only talking about his spot-up jumper, as his mechanics don’t stay quite so great when he’s pulling up off the dribble, contested, or coming around a screen. He doesn’t do a great job keeping his feet underneath him when coming around a screen or when he’s contested, throwing his balance off and resulting in some questionable shots. He also can rush his mechanics at times when contested, and is prone to not holding his follow through in these situations. His shooting percentages fall off considerably when he’s contested, though not very much when he’s pulling up off the dribble in space.

In terms of the rest of his offense, Crawford does a good job finishing off cuts and in transition using his leaping ability and ability to adjust in traffic. He’s a decent ball-handler and a decent passer, though is by no means a point guard, and it’s questionable if he stands out enough in any one area to find a niche in the league.

Defensively, Crawford plays a fundamentally sound, focused, and aggressive game, doing a good job with both on and off ball defense. Off the ball, he doesn’t give up and always contests shots, though he has some trouble getting around screens, as most college players do. On the ball, he has good lateral quickness and reflexes, while doing a very good job moving his feet and pressuring his man, rarely getting beat off the dribble or giving up an open shot. At 6’4, he could have some trouble guarding 2’s at the next level.

Crawford is someone who could sneak into the second round if a team really likes him, and he should have some chances to go up against more highly touted wings in private workouts. Regardless, he’ll have an opportunity to make a team in summer league, and would likely be a top call-up candidate if he went the D-League route. At this stage of his development, though, he may not do one thing well enough to find himself a niche in the league, and it may take a few more years development before he does.

NBA Pre-Draft Camp, Day Three

Jonathan Givony
Jonathan Givony
May 30, 2008, 08:35 am
Last, but certainly not least, Joe Crawford again had another very strong game (15 points, 6-11 FG) as the go-to scoring option for his team. He got to the rim very effectively, shot the ball well from mid-range and long-range, was excellent coming off screens and played fairly well in transition. His defensive effort was good, particularly in terms of pressuring the ball, and he showed absolutely no hesitation in anything he does, which people here have to like. He needs to become a little bit more efficient with his ball-handling (he pounds the ball a little too much), but it’s hard not to like what he brought to the floor today.

NBA Pre-Draft Camp, Day Two

Jonathan Givony
Jonathan Givony
May 29, 2008, 08:10 am
Joe Crawford had a very strong game with 19 points on 6-11 shooting, thanks to an extremely hot and aggressive start that kept his team in the game. He took the ball to the rack extremely well, showing smoothing body control, solid ball-handling skills and impressive overall scoring instincts, and also knocked down a number of shots from outside. He needed to play some defacto point guard minutes because of the injury to Jamar Butler. Defensively he was nothing special, and his size and physical tools probably don't put him at the top tier of this draft, but he does have a very specific NBA skill—and that's scoring. He helped himself for sure today.

NCAA Tournament: Washington Bracket NBA Draft Prospects

Jonathan Givony
Jonathan Givony
Landry Fields
Landry Fields
Mar 12, 2006, 10:51 pm
A sleeper to watch is emerging shooting guard Joe Crawford. Crawford was among the nation's top recruits in 2004, and was a high school teammate of Oregon's Malik Hairston. A slow start keeps the Detroit native under the radar, but he has improved his shooting as the season has come to a close. In the SEC tournament, Crawford proved valuable as a deep threat, though he is prone to disappear for stretches. He's no threat to go pro yet, but with several senior guards departing, the starting shooting guard spot is Crawford's next year. In the meantime, Crawford's improvement from deep could be key to Kentucky's tournament hopes, and could get him some more exposure in the bright spotlight of the NCAAs.

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