On senior day Southern Miss basketball can thank Austin Crowley for turning Golden Eagles around

HATTIESBURG — A younger Austin Crowley once was bummed that his parents couldn’t attend his senior day of high school basketball.

That’s because the native of West Point, Mississippi, was 10 hours from home, playing for Sunrise Christian Academy in Bel Aire, Kansas.

It’s part of why he committed to Ole Miss, so he’d only be an hour and a half from home.

However, Crowley’s parents will be in attendance for senior day this time, but not in Oxford after the 6-foot-4, 180-pound guard transferred to Southern Miss two seasons ago.

And when Crowley's name is called during the ceremony, it surely will be received with the loudest roar as one of, if not the, face of Southern Miss basketball’s program turnaround over the last two seasons.

“I love that dude,” said acting head coach Juan Cardona. “Without AC, none of this is happening, so we as a staff are blessed to have him with us.”

How a visit to Ole Miss brought Crowley to Southern Miss

Crowley took a visit to Oxford while in high school where he met someone who would later change the trajectory of his basketball career.

It was Nick Williams, now a Southern Miss assistant coach who was a graduate assistant at Ole Miss at the time. Williams took Crowley and his family to an Ole Miss football game, where he and his family hit it off.

“I don’t know what it was,” Williams said.

Crowley committed to Ole Miss. The problem was Williams was no longer in Oxford, having taken an assistant coaching job at Northwest Mississippi Community College before Crowley's first season. Williams was a big reason why Crowley chose Ole Miss.

Crowley and Williams still stayed in touch despite being at different schools.

Crowley played three seasons with the Rebels, but never really blossomed into the high expectations of being a four-star recruit. He averaged 2.8 points per game as a freshman, 2.4 as a sophomore and 4.8 as a junior while making 14 starts.

He needed a change of scenery.

The timeline aligned perfectly with Southern Miss, which hired Williams and brought in Crowley as a transfer to reunite the two.

“When I heard my dog was coming, I was like, man, it's a win-win for me,” Crowley said.

A pillar of Southern Miss' rebuild

Southern Miss wasn’t a desirable program two years ago.

The Golden Eagles went 24-65 in coach Jay Ladner’s first three seasons, so he hired two new assistant coaches — Cardona and Williams — and added 11 new players.

The Golden Eagles went 25-8 last season, winning the Sun Belt regular-season championship and improving their win total by 18 games. Crowley was the team’s leading scorer at 16.0 points per game and was named Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year and a First Team All-Sun Belt selection. He declared for the NBA Draft, but ultimately chose to come back for a fifth season.

“I think the biggest thing was just to myself and to others to prove that it wasn't just a one-time thing and that I can do it consecutively,” Crowley said. “I think that's what a lot of people were thinking, like, was it a fluke?"

This season, Southern Miss has fought through a revolving door of injuries but still has a chance to secure a double-bye in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.

Crowley has replicated his production from last season, scoring 16.3 points per game entering Thursday’s matchup against South Alabama. His 18.0 points per game in conference play are tops in the Sun Belt and so are his 35.5 minutes per game. He’s played at least 37 minutes 11 times this season.

USM VIDEO GAME: Best Southern Miss player in NCAA football 25? Here's our prediction

He’s exhausted his eligibility and will be throwing his hat in the ring again for the NBA.

That means Saturday’s contest against Louisiana will be Crowley’s final regular-season game at Reed Green Coliseum, a place where he and the Golden Eagles have only lost thrice over the last two seasons.

“I think he's going to be remembered as one of the best 5-10 players to ever come through this program,” Williams said.

“It's crazy, man,” Crowley said with a pause to gather his emotions. “I'm just thinking about it now that we're talking about it. Just knowing it's coming to an end it's sad, but I'm ready for the next journey.”

This time, his parents will be able to witness their son’s final home game.

“I'm gonna be able to tell my kids about (how) I hung a banner in a college gym, which is crazy,” Crowley said. “And I'm going to try my hardest to hang another one for us.”

Sam Sklar is the Southern Miss beat reporter for the Hattiesburg American. Email him at ssklar@hattiesb.gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.

This article originally appeared on Hattiesburg American: Southern Miss basketball: Austin Crowley turns Golden Eagles around