Kevin Young feeding fans with news of Elijah Crawford signing
It’s kind of funny how anxious BYU fans have been for new basketball coach Kevin Young to deliver them some news on hires and recruits. On Tuesday, Young flipped them a morsel.
It was as if some drought had encompassed their offseason break and they’d been unfairly starved since a Utah big man transferred to town.
Well, that drought ended Tuesday with the signing of four-star point guard Elijah Crawford, a Stanford signee out of the famed private national powerhouse Brewster Academy in New Hampshire.
The Crawford news comes just days after popular forward Noah Waterman signed with Louisville and several highly sought-after recruits officially visited Provo.
The addition of Crawford addresses a big weakness in BYU’s backcourt — depth at ball-handling point guard skills alongside or behind established veterans Dallin Hall and Trey Stewart, with 6-foot-4 Dawson Baker as another choice.
The 6-foot-2 Crawford is an ESPN Top 100 recruit and will be one of the highest-rated recruits the program has ever signed. His arrival helps offset the loss of Kentucky-bound Collin Chandler, who signed with BYU before serving a church mission and returned home earlier this month.
The addition of Crawford gives BYU the No. 24-ranked recruiting class of 2024 according to 247Sports.com and the No. 6 class in the Big 12 behind No. 1 Arizona, Baylor, ASU, TCU and Colorado and just ahead of Kansas at No. 7.
Crawford is a guy who has played against Wasatch Academy players who are in a similar private school realm in the high school universe.
Former Cougar guard Anson Winder now is an assistant coach at Wasatch Academy and coached against Crawford and Brewster Academy this past season. Winder likes the fit.
“He’s a tough competitor and a crafty guard,” Winder told ESPN 960 radio on Monday.
“He’s a guy who can come in and learn from Trevin Knell, Dallin Hall and Richie Saunders on what it takes to play early. I think he can contribute early.”
Crawford is a ball-handler who can penetrate, dish and get to the rim off the dribble. He’s a solid shooter who was recruited to Stanford by BYU’s newly hired assistant Brandon Dunson. He followed Dunson to BYU despite recruiting interest from Kansas and Florida, schools who wanted him to visit their campuses prior to Wednesday’s NCAA recruiting dead period for on-site school contact, according to Robby McCombs of Vanquishthefoe.com.
Mentioned in the article, but Kansas and Florida REALLY wanted to get Elijah on campus for a visit before Wednesday’s dead period. They offered him schollies. He told them no and only visited BYU. Dunson’s relationship with Crawford won out.
— Robby McCombs (@rtmccombs) May 21, 2024
What Young now has is a third top-tier signing if you count USC signee 6-7 Brody Kozlowski out of Corner Canyon, a multistate championship key player, along with one of the Pac 12′s best rebounders and shot blockers in Utah, transfer center Keba Keita.
BYU needed backcourt help after last year’s campaign in the Big 12, where the league’s point guard talent and depth proved a challenge for the Cougars. Hall ranked among the top players in the league in assists, but he needed help.
The Cougars were challenged hard in the first-round NCAA tournament loss to Duquesne, a team that featured a tough backcourt that could pressure, defend and score. Hall, a four-star high school recruit himself, needed some help and relief that Crawford can provide.
The loss of Waterman will hurt because of his 6-foot-11 size, hustle and development over the past year. His chemistry with other returnees will be missed. Kozlowski, however, could be an adequate replacement because of his athleticism, rebounding and shooting range, including both outside and mid-range acumen, and his ability to score at the rim.
Young had Chaz Lanier, an explosive shooting guard from North Florida, on campus this past Monday and he immediately left for a visit to Kentucky before Wednesday’s deadline. Tennessee is also recruiting Lanier.
Love what I am seeing for Kevin Young. Doesn't need fanfare or hype. Doesn't float what he is doing to the media. Just literally does his job. Putting some nice talent together next year in Provo.
— Tim LaComb (@tlacomb) May 21, 2024
That Young got Lanier to Provo for a visit is a sign that he is swinging hard at the fences. Lanier is considered one of the top transfer targets in the portal this year because he was the No. 1 offensive efficiency player in the country this past season.
It also speaks to BYU’s NIL capability. Crawford and Lanier wouldn’t have made trips to Provo unless NIL discussions were in their respective ballparks.
BYU fans may savor this trickle of basketball news out of Young’s camp. It’s not a drink from a firehose, but it will suffice.
For now.
