Joe Crawford (basketball player)

Infobox NBA Player
name = Joe Crawford


caption =
league = NBA
team = Los Angeles Lakers
number = 6
position = Shooting guard
draft = 2nd round, 58th overall
draft_year = 2008
draft_team = Los Angeles Lakers
career_start = 2008
height_ft = 6
height_in = 5
weight_lb = 207
nationality = American
birth_date = birth date and age|1986|6|17
birth_place = Detroit, Michigan
highschool = Renaissance, Detroit
college = Kentucky
awards =

Joseph Reshard Crawford II (born June 17, 1986 in Detroit, Michigan) is an American professional basketball player. A former shooting guard for the University of Kentucky men's basketball team, he was selected as the 58th overall pick by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2008 NBA Draft. He signed with the Lakers on August 27, 2008. [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3556514 Crawford, Lakers' lone draftee, comes to terms] ]

High school and recruitment

Crawford attended Renaissance High School in Detroit, where he led his team to a perfect 27-0 record and a state title. [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/player/profile?playerId=22100 ESPN.com Player Profile - Joe Crawford] ] He was named a McDonald's All-American in 2004. Crawford originally committed to play for the University of Michigan, [ [http://rivalshoops.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?Sport=2&pr_key=12300 Rivals.com Basketball Recruiting - Joe Crawford] ] 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.

College career

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. [ [http://sportsline.com/collegebasketball/players/playerpage/524758 CBS Sportsline Player Profile - Joe Crawford] ]

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 [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=forde_pat&id=3146892 Younger Crawford, Indiana get best of Kentucky] ] 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 before fouling out. [ [http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=284000023 McNeal, Marquette get by Kentucky, nab first tourney win since 2003] ]

References

External links

* [http://ukathletics.com/index.php?s=&url_channel_id=37&url_article_id=13140&change_well_id=2 Official Kentucky bio]