HOOPS AND DREAMS
Can the Raptors take the next step past LeBron’s Cavs? Season preview in Section Z Opening-night roster gets finishing touches as pre-season wraps up in Washington,
WASHINGTON— On Friday morning, Drew Crawford heard the four words that millions of young basketball players dream of hearing.
“He’s an NBA player,” Raptors coach Dwane Casey said of Crawford, one of six players chasing the 15th and final spot on the team’s roster.
The thing is, at 26, undrafted two years ago before getting looks from New Orleans and Orlando, having played in the D-League, then a year overseas before landing in the Raptors training camp, Crawford’s past that. At this point, the six-foot-five, 209-pound shooting guard isn’t hearing something he doesn’t know.
“I’ve been told I’m right on the cusp since I left college. I’m kind of tired of hearing it,” he said. “I think I’m ready and I think it’s something that I deserve. Hopefully I won’t have to worry about hearing it too much longer.”
Crawford has averaged around 20 minutes a game in the pre-season and knows what Casey is looking for. DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry will handle the bulk of the Raptors offence, so Crawford has been trying to show that he can give Casey valuable contributions on defence.
“The defensive side of the ball, that’s my identity, that’s my role,” he said. “Every time I’m in there I’m trying to make things happen on the defensive end. Being strong, solid on my team defence, my one-on-one defence and making things happen. (Looking for) a steal every once in a while, disrupting things on defence.” Casey has noticed. “His defensive approach is bigtime. He plays that role as well as you want to play it,” Casey said. “Defensively, shooting the three, playing off of Kyle and DeMar . . . he can be used in a lot of situations.”
Crawford’s basketball situation is a unique one. His father is referee Dan Crawford, who is heading into his 32nd year of work with the NBA. Growing up in Naperville, Ill., he saw a lot of Bulls games and got to learn about the league in a way that few other kids would.
“It helped me to be around the game so much as a kid,” he said. “Going to games he worked, growing up and seeing the Bulls up close, learning things from the referee’s perspective too.
“Hearing the things that my dad had to say about the league and players and coaches was cool. It really helped me develop a love for the game.”
When he’s stepped on to the court for these pre-season games, he’s seen some familiar faces.
“A lot of them, those guys were like my uncles,” he said, adding that it was great to see former NBA ref Joey Crawford (no relation) meet with the team Friday morning to discuss rules and how games will be called when the regular season tips off next week.
He’ll still get frustrated when he thinks he’s the victim of a bad call, but growing up around refs has shaped his approach to dealing with them on the court.
“I’ll still get frustrated because that’s just human nature, it’s a competitive game and I’m a competitive player. I think that’s natural,” he said. “I might have a flare up (over a bad call) but I’ll realize and then I’ll go over and say something if I was out of line, apologize, something like that. I know it’s an extremely difficult job and I know I can’t do it.”
While Casey would like to have the players that don’t make the roster nearby in Mississauga playing with Raptors 905, Crawford would likely play overseas for the year.
“I think the amount I’m able to learn in a month, month and a half is unbelievable,” he said. “I just try to soak up as much as I can and continue to advance as a basketball player and learn different ways to help the team.”