Sam Crawford (born April 18, 1970) is an American former professional basketball player. An agile and diminutive point guard at 5 ft 8 in tall, he attended

Moorpark Moorpark is a city in Ventura County in Southern California. Moorpark was founded in 1900. The town grew from just over 4,000 citizens in 1980 to over 25,000 by 1990. In 2006, Moorpark was one of the fastest-growing cities in Ventura County. Th ...

community college for two years before transferring to a Division I program,

New Mexico State New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a Public university system, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1888, it is the state's oldest public institution ...

. In 1992–93 he led the NCAA in assists with a 9.1 average, was awarded the

Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award The Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award was an annual college basketball award in the United States intended to honor players who excelled on the court in spite of their height. The award, named in honor of James Naismith's daughter-in-law, was establi ...

for the best college player under 6 ft and was an AP Honorable Mention. He is the all-time assists leader at New Mexico State with 592. After his senior year of college he went undrafted in the

1993 NBA draft The 1993–94 NBA season, 1993 NBA draft took place on June 30, 1993, at The Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The draft had some talented players at the top, but injuries and personal problems hurt many of them. Chris Webber, Pen ...

and had a short professional career in the CBA. He also appeared in two movies: ''

Blue Chips ''Blue Chips'' is a 1994 American sports drama film, directed by William Friedkin, written by Ron Shelton and starring Nick Nolte as a college basketball coach trying to recruit a winning team. His players were portrayed by actors as well as ...

'' and ''

Forget Paris ''Forget Paris'' is a 1995 American romantic comedy film produced, directed, co-written by and starring Billy Crystal as an NBA referee and Debra Winger as an independent working woman whose lives are interrupted by love and marriage. It also s ...

''.

High school career

Crawford was born in

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

to Debra Crawford; his biological father abandoned the family when Crawford was 3, and he was raised by his mother in

Harvey, Illinois Harvey is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 20,324 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Harvey is bordered by the villages of Dixmoor, Illinois, Dixmoor and Riverdale, Illinois, Riverdale to the north; ...

, a

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

suburb. Crawford's aunt Mita married former

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

player

Ron Carter Ronald Levin Carter (born May 4, 1937) is an American jazz double bassist. His appearances on 2,221 recording sessions make him the most-recorded jazz bassist in history. He has won three Grammy Awards, and is also a Cello, cellist who has reco ...

, and Crawford usually spent his summers in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

with the two, playing in basketball camps. When he was 10, his mother decided that he should move in with Carter, in an attempt to keep his son away from a life of poverty. Crawford attended Westchester High School in Los Angeles and he was one of the best players of the team together with Zan Mason, a ''Parade'' All-American and highly ranked prospect who would later play for

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

. Crawford entered the starting five at Westchester in his freshman year, after a particularly good performance against Crenshaw, one of the top high school basketball teams in the area. Crawford and Mason led Westchester, and Crawford was named in the All-City team twice. In his junior season he averaged 17.4 points and 8.6 assists per game; in that same year, his aunt Mita and Carter divorced, and he refused to move with Carter in

Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles Sherman Oaks (founded in 1927) is a neighborhood of the city of Los Angeles, California within the San Fernando Valley region. The neighborhood includes a portion of the Santa Monica Mountains, which gives Sherman Oaks a lower population density ...

: he then spent a period living on the streets of Westchester, and sometimes at his teammates' houses, working odd jobs. During his senior season of high school, Crawford had a personally successful season, but the team only finished with a 16–6 record.

College career

He was recruited by

Texas Tech Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the flagship institution of the five- ...

and New Mexico State, but he was struggling with grades at Westchester and stopped attending classes after the end of the basketball season. At the end of his senior year he did not qualify academically, and according to Proposition 48 he could not attend a Division I college, having to sit out one year; after briefly attending

Howard College Howard College is a Public college, public community college with its main campus in Big Spring, Texas. It also has branch campuses in San Angelo, Texas, San Angelo and Lamesa, Texas, Lamesa. History Howard County Junior College was establishe ...

Big Spring, Texas Big Spring is a city in and the county seat of Howard County, Texas, Howard County, Texas, United States, at the crossroads of U.S. Route 87 in Texas, U.S. Highway 87 and Interstate 20 in Texas, Interstate 20. The population was 26,144 at the ...

, he decided to attend Moorpark College in

Ventura County, California Ventura County () is a County (United States), county located in Southern California, the southern part of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 843,843. The largest city is Oxnard, Ca ...

. Crawford immediately found success at Moorpark, and was the best player of the team, scoring 20.7 points per game and averaging 12.1 assists (411 total) in his freshman season.Statistics of Crawford's career at Moorpark were published on ''Classic'' trading cards in 1993. See trading card #22 of the ''Classic'' Draft Picks series published in 1993. He led the conference in assists and scored a school-record 49 points against

Ventura College Ventura College is a Public college, public community college in Ventura, California. Established in 1925, the college has a campus with an enrollment of 13,763 students. It is part of the Ventura County Community College District. History ...

. In his sophomore season he played 27 games, totalling 357 assists with an average of 13.2, and averaged 19.4 points. He recorded a

triple double In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. The first "double" in the ter ...

with 24 points, 19 assists and 11 steals against Glendale on January 3, 1991. His performances at Moorpark caught the attention of

Gar Forman Gar Forman is an American basketball executive who currently serves as a special advisor for the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He worked in the Chicago Bulls' front office from 1998 to 2020, starting as a scout ...

, assistant coach at New Mexico State, who called Crawford and asked him to join the Aggies for the 1991–92 season. Crawford transferred to New Mexico State and was named the starting point guard: he played 33 games, averaging 12.9 points and 8.5 assists with a field goal percentage of .420 (.401 from three). He led the nation in assists for most of his junior season, but ultimately finished second: while Crawford had the most assists (282), Van Usher of

Tennessee Tech Tennessee Technological University (commonly referred to as Tennessee Tech) is a public research university in Cookeville, Tennessee. It was formerly known as Tennessee Polytechnic Institute, and before that as University of Dixie, the name unde ...

had a better average at 8.8 per game. He was named MVP of the 1992 Big West Conference tournament won by the Aggies. His 282 assists were a single-season school record at New Mexico State at the time. Crawford's senior season in college was the most successful of his career. On December 21, 1992 he recorded 20 assists against

Sam Houston State Sam Houston State University (Sam Houston, SHSU or Sam) is a public research university in Huntsville, Texas, United States. Founded in 1879, it is the third-oldest public college or university in Texas. It is one of the first normal schools wes ...

, only 2 shy of the all-time NCAA record of 22. Crawford led the Aggies in scoring and the entire NCAA in assists, being the top player both in total assists and in per-game average (9.1). He also recorded New Mexico State's single-season record with his 310 assists, breaking his own record established during the previous season. At the end of the season he won the

for best player under 6 ft in college basketball, and he was named an All-American Honorable Mention by

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

. He is the all-time assists leader at New Mexico State with a total of 592, despite having played there only for two seasons.

College statistics

''Source''

Community college

, - , align="left" , 1989–90 , align="left" , Moorpark CC , 34 , , , , 34.4 , , .479 , , .364 , , .782 , , 3.0 , , 12.1 , , 3.1 , , 0.1 , , 20.7 , - , align="left" , 1990–91 , align="left" , Moorpark CC , 27 , , , , 35.6 , , .470 , , .392 , , .755 , , 3.2 , , 13.2 , , 4.0 , , 0.1 , , 19.4 , - , align="left" , Career , align="left" , , 61 , , , , 35.0 , , .475 , , .378 , , .769 , , 3.1 , , 12.7 , , 3.6 , , 0.1 , , 20.1 , -

Division I

, - , align="left" , 1991–92 , align="left" ,

, 33 , , 32 , , 33.8 , , .420 , , .401 , , .775 , , 2.3 , , 8.5 , , 1.9 , , 0.0 , , 12.9 , - , align="left" , 1992–93 , align="left" ,

, 34 , , 31 , , 34.6 , , .394 , , .322 , , .783 , , 2.9 , , style="background:#cfecec;" , 9.1* , , 1.4 , , 0.0, , 12.9 , - , align="left" , Career , align="left" , , 67 , , 63 , , 34.2 , , .406 , , .359 , , .779 , , 2.6 , , 8.8 , , 1.6 , , 0.0 , , 12.9 , -

Professional career

In the days leading to the

Crawford was projected as a late second round pick, and he took part in Pre-Draft camps in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

. However, he ended up being not drafted by an NBA franchise. Crawford then decided to join the

Continental Basketball Association The Continental Basketball Association (CBA), originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association, was a men's professional basketball m ...

and signed for the

Hartford Hellcats The Connecticut Pride (from 1993 to 1994 the Hartford Hellcats) were an American professional basketball team based in Hartford, Connecticut, that was a member of the Continental Basketball Association (CBA). They played in Hartford from 1993 to ...

where he started 2 of 23 games, averaging 9.0 points, 6.7 assists and 1.1 steals in 25.2 minutes per game. During the same season he transferred to the

Wichita Falls Texans The Wichita Falls Texans were a minor league basketball team in the Continental Basketball Association from 1988 to 1994. The team was located in Wichita Falls, Texas, and played their games at D.L. Ligon Coliseum, located on the campus of Midwe ...

where he was a starter (15 out of 18 games) and averaged 14.5 points, 9.9 assists and 0.9 steals in 37.9 minutes. Crawford was selected to the CBA All-Rookie Second Team in 1994. In 1994 he played in the

Liga Profesional de Baloncesto The Superliga Profesional de Baloncesto, commonly known as the SPB, is the Venezuelan first division national professional basketball league. Founded in 1974 as the Liga Especial de Baloncesto, it adopted the name Liga Profesional de Baloncesto i ...

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

where he led the league in assists per game at 11.1 (267 in 24 games), the all-time league record for highest assists per game average in a single season. His last team in the CBA were the Grand Rapids Mackers where he only played 3 games, averaging 3.0 points and 0.3 assists in the 1994–95 season.

References

External links

Profile at RealGM.comIMDB page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crawford, Sam 1970 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Venezuela American men's basketball players Basketball players from Los Angeles Grand Rapids Mackers players Hartford Hellcats players Junior college men's basketball players in the United States Marinos B.B.C. players Moorpark College alumni New Mexico State Aggies men's basketball players Point guards Westchester High School (Los Angeles) alumni Wichita Falls Texans players 20th-century American sportsmen