OT: Jamal Crawford Wins Third 6th Man
Crawford, at age 36, has been rewarded for another great year off the bench. Finished his 16th season at 14.2 ppg, shot 90.4% from the line and 34% from 3pt. He's making a case for one of the greatest careers in the league for a MBB alum. He's 2nd in games played, 3rd in points scored (106 pts to passing Chris Webber), and first among all for free throw % at 86%. With 2 more decent seasons he could pass Glen Rice for all time scoring.
Stats found here: http://www.basketball-reference.com/friv/colleges.cgi?college=michigan
April 19th, 2016 at 12:54 PM ^
April 19th, 2016 at 12:55 PM ^
thanks for link
April 19th, 2016 at 12:58 PM ^
Man, that was a great - but brief - era in Michigan basketball. The whole student section was wearing headbands. I remember going to the game against Duke his freshman year...it was awesome. We lost, but only by a few buckets - it was a great game! Back before the real downturn of our program took hold.
Wish he could've stayed eligible!
Crawford was the scoring leader for Michigan in that game against Duke, as I recall, with nearly 30 points, followed rather closely by Kevin Gaines with 23 or something like that. Blanchard had quite a few assists in that game too.
A few yeas with Crawford, rather than just the short time he was in Ann Arbor, really seems as if it would have been just that more special.
That was a wild game. Not a lot of defense being played. It was extremely entertaining, at least until the final minutes when it slipped away.
Congrats, Jamal. He's carved out a nice NBA career.
I remember the first time I saw him and Kevin Gaines in the UM backcourt as true freshmen. Combined with a freshman Lavell Blanchard, I was uber-excited about the future of Michigan basketball. That was, what, 1999-2000? Sigh.
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But he allows the other bench players to play with whatever limitations they have because he's a one-man offense.
He's like a poor man's Iverson that way. The Sixers went to the finals by putting 4 defensive role players around a guy like that.
The Clips benefit greatly from it because it allows them to have a top-heavy roster (which you need in the playoffs anyway) without getting killed when their bench comes in.
I understand he's been a reserve most of his career but that's just criminal
He's been a valuable player for many years, but never had an All-Star quality season. His best seasons, statistically, were when he was filling it up for those atrocious mid-00s Knicks teams. Since then he's been a contributor as an off-the-bench scorer for some decent teams, but has always been in the neighborhood of 16 points, 3 assists, and 2 rebounds per game. Those aren't All-Star numbers.
I would say third sixth man equal one half man, although my most recent math class was many years ago. Half man? I bet Tyrion Lannister can dunk like a boss.
Crawford's had a great career. It's going to be very interesting to see who takes his crown as best MBB alum in the NBA when he retires in a couple years.
You could make a case for almost any of the other active players (and Caris). My opinion in order of liklihood:
- LeVert - Falling to late 1st/early 2nd may be a blessing in disguise if he lands with a good franchise.
- Hardaway - Rotation player on a playoff team who seems to be coming on, but still needs to improve 3%/defense to have a long career.
- Stauskas - Ups and downs since getting traded to the 76ers but still awful defensively.
- Robinson - Marginal player on a playoff team, but still brimming with promise in a league hungry for players like him. Shot better than Stauskas from 3 this year.
- McGary - Seems destined for a nice long career as a bench hustle guy.
- Burke - Will get another shot somewhere but the last 2 years in Utah have seen him lose his job to rookies and journeymen. Seems better suited to win big in Europe than be a 3rd PG in the NBA.
- Irvin - Mgo-whipping boy still has size and skill to be an NBA 3&D wing.
- Horford - in NBDL, trying to be a stretch 5
- Udoh - playing abroad, unlikely to return
- Walton - would need to make a big leap in finishing ability to even get a shot
- Morgan - in NBDL, hoping for a shot to be a role player
Note that list has very little relationship to how good their college careers were.
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1+. But, not OT.
Thanks for the info and especially the stats. I wouldn't have thought the numbers were so high.
How many NBA players have even had a 16-year career? He's moving into rare territory. Good for him.
Has the MBB alum record with 19
Sparty Kevin Willis sits on top with 21 years over 23 seasons. That's a long time to play hoops at a professional level.
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April 20th, 2016 at 12:28 PM ^