The University of Memphis basketball team has been searching for consistency from the backcourt all season, but coach Josh Pastner may have finally found an answer.
Markel Crawford has been one of the most consistent backcourt players over the last few weeks after a rough start to his first season playing in Tiger blue. His 39 percent from three point range is the second highest on the team and Crawford has been contributing on the defensive end with one steal per game.
The 6’4’’ guard is a local product out of Melrose High School. Tagged as the heir apparent to Joe Jackson and Chris Crawford in his junior year of high school by those that followed the program after committing to play under Pastner. A knee injury in his senior of high school threatened to derail his budding basketball career.
“Markel is as cerebral player as there is in the country especially from the perimeter spot,” Pastner said in 2013. “He has a tremendous understanding and feel for the game. He can play and defend multiple positions.”
After sitting out his senior season of high school ball, Markel came into the U of M with several good guards ahead of him. Combine that with his previous knee injury and he was redshirted for his freshman year.
The redshirt gave Crawford a chance to completely heal and learn behind four seasoned and tested guards.
Coming into the season, Crawford said he was feeling great and his body was back to normal after taking two years off from organized basketball.
After starting the season off strongly his minutes started to decrease then he was injured against Oklahoma State. The left knee sprain sidelined him for three games and put Crawford’s status in question. But as he tends to do he bounced back to be better than ever.
He may not always put up the big point totals, but his impact on offense cannot be overstated. Shooting 47 percent from the floor and 39 percent from three-point range makes him one of the Tigers most efficient perimeter threat. He also averages only 1.3 turnovers a game, which is huge for a team that turns the ball over as much as the Tigers do.
The Tigers have put an emphasis on defense this season and it’s paying off in most games. The blue and gray are currently ranked 30th in the nation in three point defense.
“We said over the summer we were going to focus on defense,” Pastner said. “We wanted to avoid those avalanches of points that just splintered us in the past.”
The Tigers want consistency and toughness with their perimeter defense and Markel Crawford has those in spades. He consistently guards the opposing team’s best scorer or perimeter threat.
“We’ve tried to instill some toughness in our squad,” Pastner said. “They look at that as our identity. In those games where we haven’t been able to score the things that keep us together are our defense and rebounding.”
