Devils15
-
Posts
26 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Posts posted by Devils15
-
-
I don't worry about what people say. If he doesn't play a lot this year it will be because SLU is loaded with good experienced players at his position and not because he isn't good enough. I still say he makes an impact this year and then takes off next year as a starter.Devils15, welcome to the board. I've enjoyed your reports and although I take everything personal acquaintances say with a grain of salt I have to admit your posts are exciting.
A word of warning though: over the years we've had many relatives/friends post on this board and unless they are very thick skinned eventually it ends poorly as some posters will have overly negative criticisms, etc. Please don't allow the negativity of a select few to overshadow the experience on billikens.com
-
6'4 1/2 without shoes.6'5" with shoes or barefooted?
It's hard for me to find criticism because he does everything at least pretty well. There's always room for improvement though. Like I said defensively he will need to continue to improve guarding on the ball but I have no doubt he will be fine. He just told me he went through a combine sort of thing and his max vertical was 43 inches and he benched 185 15 times. Not sure what the difference between a max vertical and a regular is but 43 is pretty good.just curious devils15, We've heard a lot of praise from you, which is understandable considering you are close to Mike, but I haven't heard any criticisms yet. I'm wondering what i you think his biggest areas for improvement are. and of course all the info you've already supplied is great
-
Thanks for all the info Devils. Defensively, how quick are his feet? Would you compare him to Barnett or more to Evans or quicker? I'd love to see him be able to play a 2 as I love the size but my experience tells me 6'4" white guys can't generally guard the 2. Love to hear your opinion
He's much improved defensively. He's very good defending shooters. Such a smart and strong player and doesn't get hung up on screens. Much better off the ball defender than on the ball at this point but I have no doubt he will turn into a very good overall defender. Great rebounder too. Also he is 6'5 and I know this because we personally measured him.
-
I coached Mike when he was in 8th grade and then moved up to HS asst when he did so I coached him for 5 years.Devils15, what is your connection to Mike, if you don't mind me asking?
Mike is a guard. He played a lot of point guard for us in high school but will be more of a 2-3 in college. He is a smart player and if he thought he had a mismatch in the post then we took advantage of that. He is a gym rat and his overall game has improved a ton over the years. He's turned himself into a really good 3 point shooter with deep range and his mid range is absolutely lethal. Finishes extremely well around the rim and through contact. Lead the state in free throw attempts and shot 84%.Are you sure this isn't a highlight of Blake Ahearn??
No seriously, thanks for posting and keeping us informed about Mike. I just renewed my season tickets again am certainly looking forward to watching him play. Unless I am mistaken, and I haven't watched the original Mike highlights in months, these clips appear to show Mike playing much more as a guard (facing the basket), much more comfortable dribbling the ball, much more comfortable shooting off his dribble (as opposed to coming off a pick) as opposed the original highlights (showing more of his catching the ball on the low post/inside and scoring, shooting 3's when left open or coming off a pick). Have you noticed any change in his game? What areas of his game has he improved the most in these past 12 months? What areas of his game is he concentrating on most now? Because he is/has been tall, is it fair to say that he played more with his back to the basket as a Soph and Junior or not?? As we all know, it is very had to evaluate and draw conclusions from only a few video clips.
-
I don't know where to start with this. If you watched the video most of the highlights were against Bowman Academy who has D1 players including Davon Dillard who has a Purdue offer. Mike had 40 pts 17 rebounds in that game. In the regional championship game that someone posted they played Wapahani a team with 2 D1 kids including an Indiana Jr all star and Wright St commit. Also Crews never came to watch him during the season, he came to watch him during the summer in AAU when Mike was playing against the best players in the country. I can also tell you Mike has lived in the weight room and is benching over 300 lbs now. I will be absolutely shocked if he doesn't make an impact right away.Unfair statement.
I hope Crawford is a player but I will hold judgement until I see him playing others who I know have D-1 talent.
Hope he is a great player but I have seen other 6'3" to 6"4" players who SLU has signed who were much more highly rated than Crawford turn out to be mediocre players at best (Maguire, Diener). Let's hope that Staff has really has come up with a top-notch under the radar player. He certainly appears to be a smart kid with a good head on his shoulders and that is always a good start. He looks like he can shoot. So it gets back to my first question. Can he handle the ball in the open court and can he defend (or learn to do these things. Deiner and Maguire couldn't.
-
New highlight of Mike
-
This is not true at all. Mike is in the 6'5-6'6 range. He hasn't been 6'3 since 8th grade-frosh year. He can play the 1-3 in college. He's a much better player than Drew so that could be a reason Drew was shown the door.That may be. However Crews reportedly said the other day that Crawford was 6'3". Suddenly I'm not so sure we will be using him at the 3 spot.
-
Gardner Webb, Yale and Lamar offered as well. If he would have waited until the spring he would have had several high major offers. As you mentioned he is an incredible golfer and went to State 3 years in a row so that hurt him on the AAU circuit. He has decided not to play this year to work on his game and in the weight room. I would be very surprised if he doesn't contribute next year.This is NOT TRUE.
He had other offers but no huge offers. Stetson, New Orleans, Nevada were some offers.
Had you researched and I believe it's been posted, but Mike is an all-state caliber golfer. He missed several BIG AAU tournaments because of his golf schedule.
If you're not expecting much, you'll be pleasantly surprised. He's a scorer (and more)
This is just dumb. If you read the article, his best games were against great competition. One team it doesn't mention is Columbus North who was ranked 2nd in 4A and had an all D1 front line and Mike single handedly kept his team in it and had 32 pts and 14 rebounds. Also he is really smart and takes what the D gives him. Theres games he scores all his points from outside and there is games he gets them all getting to the rim. His midrange might be his best thing. He's a really good 3 point shooter and a great free throw shooter.Watched his videos posted to this board. I think any D1 scholarship player would light up the scoreboard facing his shorter "suburban looking" competition. How many 5'9" kids with comb overs did he face?
-
Zak Irvin wins Mr. Basketball followed by Demetrius Jackson and Mike Crawford. Was hoping Mike would win but #3 isn't bad. Congrats Mike!
-
Well all-state includes all classes and Blueitt and Lyles are 2 of the top juniors in the nation. With that said he still should have been on the first team. Hope he wins Mr. Basketball but I'm afraid they'll give it to Zak Irvin who is headed to Michigan next year.final 4 for player of the year but cant make first team?
-
Great high school career came to a close for Mike. He put the team on his back and had a 3 to tie it at the buzzer and may have gotten fouled but Bowman Academy is loaded. 40 points 17 rebounds. Here is a quote from Bowman Academy's coach:
"He's an Indiana All-American, Rea said, stretching it a bit. We tried to contain him and make the other guys beat us. He was unconscious."
-
Mike is a finalist for Mr. Basketball. Here is an article and a few 4th quarter highlights.
-
Mike Crawford hit a buzzer beater to win the Regional Championship tonight. He had 28 points and now has 2,065 career points and 92 career wins. Could be the front runner for Mr. Basketball now. Definitely the most clutch player I have ever seen. His team has a rematch with power Bowman Academy in next weeks Semi State.
-
Hope you enjoyed your trip to the Inferno. Mike finished with 38 points and 15 rebounds.
-
This was Tipton's first game being ranked #1 and their first game in 2 weeks. The break definitely hurt them as did not having one of their starters due to an ankle injury. Although Mike uncharacteristically struggled from 3 he still had 38 points and 15 rebounds. He actually had a tip in at the buzzer to tie it that got waived off that would have given him 40 and sent it to OT. Tough break but I expect Mike to lead his team to a deep tourney run and hopefully a State Championship.
-
Not sure where you saw Crawford was ranked 27th but he made the Jr All Star team so he's top 12. As for his game against Kokomo(one of the best teams in the entire state) he just flat took over. He hit clutch shot after clutch shot including a deep 3 to send it to OT. He followed it up with a 25 pt 11 rebound performance against Hamilton Heights. Heights features former Kansas St commit Alex Etherington who is also the brother of Indiana player Austin Etherington. In the game Etherington had 13 in the first half then Tipton moved Crawford to Etherington. Crawford held Etherington scoreless and once again took over in the 4th. Not sure where people got that he was a front court player either. He plays a lot of PG for his hs team but will be a 2/3 in college. His stats through 17 games are 28.5 ppg and 9.8 rbg. People are now talking about him for Mr. Basketball. If he leads his team to a State Championship then that might happen.
-
I have seen Drew quite a bit and would be very surprised if he is ahead of Crawford next year.
-
Update on Crawford: His team went 3-1 at the Richmond holiday tournament losing to the 4th ranked team in 4A(highest class). They had a lead with 2 minutes to go. He finished that game with 32 pts and 12 rebounds. He broke the Richmond tournament record for most points in the tourney. He went into last weekend needing 41 points to break the school scoring record. He got 34 points on Friday then broke the record the following night with 24 points. He passed former Purdue standout Matt Waddell. His team is now 12-1 and ranked 3rd. He's averaging 29 ppg and 10 rbg. Tough game this weekend against another ranked 4A team in Kokomo. So anyone questioning the level of competition should stop. Here's an article on Mike.
http://m.kokomotribune.com/kokomo/db_264991/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=tNGoi3kv
-
Big weekend for Mike. Had 28 pts 11 rebounds to lead his team over a ranked Lafayette Catholic team then had 43 pts and 13 rebounds last night over Westfield, a big 4A school. His 43 pts included a 3 with a few seconds left to send the game into OT.
-
I can tell him that after the season haha. He rebounds his butt off. He could play the 4 if needed but it wouldn't make much sense with his perimeter skills. Very smart kid by the way, #1 in his class academically.Devils, Thanks for the response. Here at SLU we like to send anyone 6'5" or taller who have ever had more than 3 rebounds a game to Backhand and muscle em up to be 4's.
We don't like 6'5" guards unless they can't rebound. Then and only then out of neccesity will we allow them to be a guard. Please ask Mike to rebound a little less if he wants to be a 2 or a 3 here
-
He actually never played AAU until the summer before his Junior season because of golf. He still only played in the summer the past few years because of golf meets. So he has kind of flown under the radar. When SLU offered schools like Butler, Clemson, South Carolina, Wake Forest and Nevada were in on him.Devils, any speculation why some more prominent basketball schools weren't recruiting him? Did he play AAU ball?
-
Tipton is 2A but actually 2A is tougher than 3A because of the privates. A few 2A Indiana players you might know.
Yogi Ferrell-IU
Derek Elston-IU
Deshaun Thomas- Ohio St
Dejuan Marrero- Depaul
James Blackmon and Trevon Blueitt-2 of the top players in the nation for 2014
Mike being ranked 23rd is a joke. He made the All-Star team which is top 12. Mike has been playing a lot of PG so far but will project as a 2 or 3 at SLU. He can absolutely go off from outside but is great at getting to the rim as well. Mid range could be his best thing.
-
Crawford had 29 pts 7 rebounds in his first game and followed that up with a 33 pt 10 rebound game last night.
-
Yes I was a little confused thanks for clearing that up.For Devils15 (in case you didn't know or were confused), this means that Jimbo LOVES your post.
Yes it's a good 4 hours north of Evansville.For the record, Tipton is 225 miles or so from Evansville, so this would be outside Crews' "80 miles radius" as someone suggested.
The official SLU Heights and Weights
in Billikens.com Main Board
Posted
I measured Crawford myself in high school and with shoes he was a shade over 6'5. I'm guessing these measurements are without shoes. Looks like he has also lost a little weight but probably good weight because I know he has gotten stronger.