Spring Break
Senior Spotlight: Chaz Crawford reflects on time at Drexel
By: James Mason
Issue date: 6/8/07 Section: Sports
Originally published: 6/8/07 at 3:11 AM EST
Last update: 6/8/07 at 3:11 AM EST
Originally published: 6/8/07 at 3:11 AM EST
Last update: 6/8/07 at 3:11 AM EST
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With over 800 rebounds and 300 blocks, Chaz Crawford definitely left his mark at Drexel on the hardwood and in the record books. With an impressive profile which includes Mid-Major Defensive Player of the Year and several All-CAA defensive team nominations, Crawford is ready to move on to international basketball or possibly even the NBA.
But first, he has to get back on the basketball court. Crawford played with a stress fracture the entire season, an injury he suffered in May of 2006. He was able to play through the injury thanks to "pure will" and "going hard."
Crawford kept the injury a secret as long as possible.
"A lot of people didn't know," Crawford said. "It was an injury I was fighting with, I didn't want to tell anybody or mess up anything. When I had the surgery [May 10th of this year] I had to start telling people what happened. I won [collegeinsder.com Mid-Major] Defensive Player of the Year with it, so imagine if I didn't have the injury."
Crawford will be off the court until late August or early September with the injury. This will prevent him from playing in the United States Basketball League this upcoming season. He was drafted by the Delaware Stars, while fellow senior Bashir Mason was drafted by the Brooklyn Kings of the same league. However, Crawford will be healthy in time to work out for some of the international and NBA teams that have shown some interest in him.
The Dragons were up and down during Crawford's four years at Drexel, with a lot of big wins and many missed opportunities for bigger things. This left Crawford with "mixed feelings" about his career here. Overall Crawford felt he did "a pretty good job" at Drexel.
"I feel like we did a pretty good job during our four years here … I feel like we put Drexel on the map," Crawford said.
During his four seasons at Drexel, Crawford seemed to improve every year. His scoring, rebounding and minutes per game all rose each year he was at Drexel. He gave coach Bruiser Flint some credit for his growth as a player. "He taught great defense," Crawford said, "I'm one of the key defensive players so I think he helped me out a little bit with that, and he always stayed on my case. He stayed on everybody's case to make them a better player and I think that helped us these past four years."
But first, he has to get back on the basketball court. Crawford played with a stress fracture the entire season, an injury he suffered in May of 2006. He was able to play through the injury thanks to "pure will" and "going hard."
Crawford kept the injury a secret as long as possible.
"A lot of people didn't know," Crawford said. "It was an injury I was fighting with, I didn't want to tell anybody or mess up anything. When I had the surgery [May 10th of this year] I had to start telling people what happened. I won [collegeinsder.com Mid-Major] Defensive Player of the Year with it, so imagine if I didn't have the injury."
Crawford will be off the court until late August or early September with the injury. This will prevent him from playing in the United States Basketball League this upcoming season. He was drafted by the Delaware Stars, while fellow senior Bashir Mason was drafted by the Brooklyn Kings of the same league. However, Crawford will be healthy in time to work out for some of the international and NBA teams that have shown some interest in him.
The Dragons were up and down during Crawford's four years at Drexel, with a lot of big wins and many missed opportunities for bigger things. This left Crawford with "mixed feelings" about his career here. Overall Crawford felt he did "a pretty good job" at Drexel.
"I feel like we did a pretty good job during our four years here … I feel like we put Drexel on the map," Crawford said.
During his four seasons at Drexel, Crawford seemed to improve every year. His scoring, rebounding and minutes per game all rose each year he was at Drexel. He gave coach Bruiser Flint some credit for his growth as a player. "He taught great defense," Crawford said, "I'm one of the key defensive players so I think he helped me out a little bit with that, and he always stayed on my case. He stayed on everybody's case to make them a better player and I think that helped us these past four years."
