In about a minute-and-a-half, Drew Crawford showed he can take over a game at the Big Ten level. And it came in only his third conference contest.
“I’ve started to develop a comfort zone,” the freshman guard said. “I’m beginning to adjust to the strength of the game. I’ve still got to get a little bit stronger, a little bit quicker, but that point where I’m at now, I think I’m starting to reach a comfort level.”
At times this season, the highly-touted recruit lived up to the hype, like the night he drilled eight 3-pointers en route to a Big Ten freshman record 35 points against North Carolina A&T.
Along with the good games came all the nights he looked lackluster. In his first three games against major conference opponents, he scored zero, four and two points, respectively.
“You probably said after the first few games, ‘Who is this guy Drew Crawford?'” coach Bill Carmody said. “He wasn’t really impacting the games early.”
But Sunday against Michigan was Crawford’s Big Ten coming-out party. After scoring 11 straight points in the first half to cut a 17-point deficit to six, he finished with 25 points and eight rebounds.
Michigan coach John Beilein called Crawford the most athletic player Northwestern has ever had after the game, and Carmody credited the team’s comeback and eventual victory to the freshman.
If Crawford plays older than a freshman, it might be because basketball has played a major role in his upbringing from a young age. His father, Danny Crawford, has been an NBA referee since the 1984-85 season.
“I’ve always been around the game,” Crawford said. “That’s helped me develop a love for it. He supported me with it, and he’s helped me along the way with the mental side of the game, when to be aggressive with it, and staying confident.”
The younger Crawford estimates his dad travels 20-25 days per month during the season. This past Sunday, though, the NBA schedule synced with NU’s. Danny reffereed the Philadelphia-Detroit game Saturday night, which allowed him to catch the Wildcats in Ann Arbor, Mich., Sunday afternoon.
“It’s awesome to have him around,” Crawford said. “He wasn’t at home all the time, but when he was at home, it was nice.”
The elder Crawford made his son feel more at home in the third road game of his collegiate career, and the freshman responded by leading the Cats to victory. The outburst didn’t faze his freshman classmate.
“I wasn’t surprised,” guard Alex Marcotullio said. “I’ve seen Drew go off a couple of times and once he gets going, he’s really tough to stop.”
Crawford brings a combination of skills that make him a difficult matchup. He’s shown the ability to stick to defenders and, at 6-foot-5, is second on the team with 14 blocks. He can make 3-pointers-Crawford is second on the team among rotation players with a .385 3-point percentage, including 4-of-5 shooting against Michigan. But what stands out is the way Crawford uses his athleticism to score on closer looks, as he’s shooting 68 percent from inside the arc.
Not to mention he can dunk. Crawford has thrown down on several occasions, including a highlight reel tip slam against Michigan to cut the Wolverines lead to one.
Crawford appears to be adjusting to play at a Big Ten level-and that’s not a good thing for conference opponents. Crawford and the Cats next play Wisconsin on Wednesday night.
“He’s still going to have those freshman nights,” Carmody said. “But as he becomes more and more comfortable he’ll be more consistently good.”[email protected]
