Lakers Select Joe Crawford from Kentucky [NBA Draft]

Lakers select guard Joe Crawford from Kentucky

Wow, another guard.

Crawford attended Renaissance High School in Detroit, where he led his team to a perfect 27-0 record and a state title. He was named a McDonald’s All-American in 2004. Crawford originally committed to play for the University of Michigan, but reopened his recruitment and chose to attend the University of Kentucky as part of a freshman class that also featured All-Americans Rajon Rondo and Randolph Morris.

Seeing minimal playing time behind Western Kentucky University transfer Patrick Sparks and fellow freshman Ramel Bradley, Crawford asked to be released from his scholarship mid-way through his freshman year. After meeting with Wildcat coach Tubby Smith, however, Crawford did an about-face and returned to the team.

Crawford became a bigger part of the team’s rotation in his sophomore season, averaging 10.2 points and 3.9 rebounds per game.

During his junior year Crawford continued to improve. He started 32 of 34 games and averaged 14 points, 4 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game. He was the leading scorer in 8 games and set a new career high in an overtime loss against Georgia with 29 points.

Crawford became the 54th Wildcat to score 1,000 points in his career on December 1, 2007, against North Carolina. As of March 20, he is the 19th all-time leading scorer at Kentucky, with 1,448 points.

On March 20, 2008, Crawford closed his career with a loss to Marquette in the opening round of the NCAA tournament. Crawford was the game’s high scorer, matching a career best with 35 points.

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