BOULDER — In basketball, there are guys, and then there are Guys.
Casey Crawford is a Guy.
At Blue Valley North High School in Overland Park, Kan., he was Mr. Basketball in the state, the Gatorade player of the year, a first-team all-state selection and his school’s all-time leading scorer, rebounder and shot blocker. He averaged 22 points, 10 rebounds and four blocked shots as a senior and took those talents to Wake Forest.
But Wednesday, he stood in a hall just outside of the Colorado men’s locker room at the Coors Center, having transferred to CU a year ago, talking about himself not as the guy, but just another guy. Coach Jeff Bzdelik’s system doesn’t create stars or highlight individual players, but Crawford will help make the 3-point shooting, back-door cutting philosophy of his coach run.
“It’s interesting,” Bzdelik said. “Every time we’ve had practices with defenders, Casey has drilled a few 3s in just a couple of minutes. And that stretches defenses out.”
And that is the point.
By all rights, at 6-foot-9 Crawford is an undersized center. But that might not matter much. In Bzdelik’s offense, the center is frequently at the top of the key. If that player is a must-guard 3-point threat, it takes the opposing team’s big man out of the paint, which then opens up back-door cutting lanes.
And after just three weeks of practices, Colorado players say they’ve already seen a difference with Crawford in the rotation.
“Definitely,” said guard Cory Higgins, CU’s leading returning scorer from last season. “It opens up all sorts of cuts. If the big man does help off of him, they’ll quickly learn not to because he’ll knock it down.”
Added guard Dwight Thorne: “Casey brings the big man at the top of the key that we were missing last year that can hit open jumpers and facilitate the ball a little bit better. I think with him it kind of brings the offense together even more than last year.”
Crawford shrugs and smiles.
“I fit in real well with the system,” the sophomore said. “Coach likes big men who can shoot the ball, so that’s what I do. I fit the bill.”
A combination of wanting more playing time, being far from home and other factors led to Crawford’s transfer from Wake Forest in 2007. Colorado was not on the initial list of schools he was interested in, but that quickly changed when Bzdelik called.
The CU coach and assistant Derrick Clark recruited Crawford out of high school when they were at Air Force. Also, assistant Steve McClain expressed a desire to sign Crawford while he was the head coach at Wyoming.
“So I kind of knew them,” Crawford said. “It ended up being between CU and Northwestern.”
After a year of sitting and learning, Crawford is ready to play. He’ll get his first chance Friday night in the season opener against Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
“It kind of really hasn’t sunk in yet,” he said. “I’m sure it’s going to sink in as soon as I get out there on Friday night. That’s when it’s going to hit me, actually being out there, not in a polo on the end of the bench.”
Chris Dempsey: 303-954-1279 or cdempsey@denverpost.com
The Crawford file
After sitting out a transfer season, Casey Crawford is ready to boost Colorado’s offense with his long-range scoring ability:
Class: Sophomore. Ht: 6-9. Wt: 235.
Skill set: Crawford’s shooting threat from outside will force opposing centers to follow him out of the lane, thus allowing the openings required for the Buffaloes’ back-door cutting.
Resume: Transferred from Wake Forest after playing in nine games. . . . Was Kansas’ Gatorade player of the year and all-state as a senior in Blue Valley North in Overland Park, Kan.
