I'd never ask him to be taller...that's beyond his control, although it is something that we have to factor into our evaluation of him as a player. Even still, I don't think he needs to be any taller to be a better player. He needs 2 things to be better, IMO. One is limiting the turnovers. The problem is he just isn't a great passer. Whether it's not seeing the floor, or the inability to execute the passes, he's just not a great distributing PG. I don't think he ever will be. On top of that, like you pointed out, he also plays out of control at times and forces things. Secondly, I also wish he had a better jump shot. He's really NOT a good shooter from the outside at all. He's a good finisher around the basket, and he can get anywhere on the floor he wants to with his quickness, but he's limited in his shooting range.Globetrotter wrote:The guy can score, defend and run the offense. Does he make too many mistakes and get out of control sometimes? Sure...But the other team needs to check for him on offense and defense the entire game and he exhausts whoever is matched up with him on both sides. The only thing you can ask of him is to be taller and to slow things down and play under control a little more. I think he would be even better if we had a better 2 to go with him. My hope was that was Clarke or Henderson. Clarke has shown flashes of being pretty solid, needs more minutes.hammb wrote: I don't hate Crawford at all. I think he is what he is. A VERY inconsistent and limited player that can give tremendous energy and when he's on look amazing. I definitely think we'd be far better off if he was a first guard off the bench than as our starting PG and needing him to be our best guard. Unfortunately, we don't have that luxury. I really love watching Crawford play basketball. I love his heart, his tenacity on defense, his quickness with the ball, etc, etc. But the fact remains that he still has almost as many turnovers as assists. That's horrible for your primary ball handler. If we're going to consistently win he has got to get that ratio closer to 1.5-2.
And sure, I may bitch about Crawford for his inconsistencies, I realize he is still our best guard. Dee Brown is still a streaky/poor shooter that can't really handle the ball, Kraus is beyond terrible on the offensive end, and we still don't really know what the hell to expect from any of the youngsters.
This team will need more consistent guard play if it's going to win the MAC. Yesterday Brown was ok and Crawford was unreal in the 2nd half. That's awesome. But we need more those good moments and a lot less of the looking lost moments if this team is going to go where we want them to go this season.
He's tremendous defensively...a royal pain in the ass for whoever he's guarding.
I love him as a player. He's fun as hell to watch, and can absolutely take over the game at times. I just don't think he's good enough to be relied upon as our best guard. And that's not to say he can't be in the future, just that he hasn't been thus far. Become a more consistent shooter, and protect the ball a little better and we'll be in real good shape.
Now about that 2 guard spot...ugh...
