Crawford Finds Hoop And Hope In Big Ten -- Ex-Beach Star Turns Heads At Michigan

ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Jamal Crawford is a two-slaps-to-the-forehead kind of basketball player. He will take a shot that seems so ill-advised, you want to slap yourself in the forehead . . . and then it will go in, and you will slap yourself again in disbelief. Maybe that's why his die-hard fans at Michigan wear headbands - not to emulate him, but for protection.

In a 104-97 loss Saturday to Duke, Crawford scored 27 points, raising his season average to 18.9 points. At one point, he sank an improbable floating bank shot, then came down on the next possession and made the same shot again.

"It seemed like any shot for Crawford is a good shot, because they go in," Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "He really kind of creates shots. He's a difficult kid to defend."

He's also a gifted and willing passer. And a fearless shooter. In short, he's both supremely confident and trusting of others - qualities he sometimes lacks in life.

But that's understandable. Crawford has found basketball easier than his other life.

When Michigan offered him a basketball scholarship, he jumped at it, sure that he could be a star in the Big Ten. But when it actually came time to leave his residence in Renton, uncertainty crept into the former Rainier Beach High School star's head.

"Toward the end, when I was close to coming here, the last two weeks, I was kind of like . . . `I don't want to go,' " Crawford said. "It started hitting me that I was going to be away from my family, my mom, everybody else."

There were also the memories. Crawford had left Seattle before.

Before his freshman season in high school, Crawford moved to Los Angeles to live with his father, Clyde. He enrolled at Dorsey High School in south-central L.A. Then he made a horrible, life-threatening mistake.

He wore blue.

At Dorsey, the Bloods gang rules. Bloods wear red. The rival Crips wear blue. And Jamal Crawford, 14 years old, fresh from Seattle and innocent to the warfare of L.A. gangs, was labeled the enemy in his new school, just for getting dressed in the morning.

"In Seattle we don't have to worry about colors or anything," he said. "In L.A., it's (different). I didn't know that at first. I just wore any color I felt like wearing that day."

He doesn't like to talk about what happened next. He said he tries to keep it all "a distant memory." But how can he? He was harassed, insulted, and finally, he saw a friend shot right in front of him. Eventually, Crawford moved back to Seattle. He was not the same kid who had left. It took a while to straighten out his grades and his life. Eventually, Crawford led Rainier Beach to the state Class 3A title in 1998 and then was granted a fifth year at the school through Washington's special-hardship rule. The Vikings placed seventh in his final season.

"When he first got back, you could see that his confidence was a little bit shaken," said Mike Bethea, Crawford's coach at Rainier Beach, who has known Crawford since the player was 7. "He wasn't as trusting. . . . Even when he was little he wasn't afraid to come up and talk. When he came back he was kind of standoffish."

Communication still isn't his strongest skill. Last summer, Crawford was selected to play in the Pacific Northwest Shootout, the best seniors in Washington against the best in Oregon. After being pulled from an exhibition game, Crawford took off his uniform and quit the team without even an argument.

"It was real bizarre," said Pat Fitterer, Washington's coach. "I've been coaching for 23 years and I've never seen anything like that. We'd had no problem with him. He was the best player on the team."

Crawford said he was ill that day and upset with his playing time. (Fitterer said Crawford played more than anybody else.) Unable to explain his frustration to a coach he didn't know well, he quit.

"I kind of wish I would have stuck with it," Crawford said. Frustration "just kind of built up. It was definitely a product of being shy and not being able to express myself."

Being quiet made Crawford's first few weeks on campus tough. Other than his two-hour phone conversations with his girlfriend, Ginnie Powell, back in Seattle, Crawford's days didn't have many highlights.

Basketball practice hadn't started, games seemed months away, and Crawford found himself with too much time to think. And as he thought, he wondered if Ann Arbor was right for him. He considered transferring, but he wouldn't let himself do it.

"I said, `I signed, I have to do at least one year. That's my commitment.' I missed home terribly. I did want to leave at first. But I had to look at the big picture. This is the best place for me. I'm glad I stuck with it."

In time, Crawford created a new family in Ann Arbor. Michigan Coach Brian Ellerbe and assistant Kurt Townsend are father figures. And after struggling at first, Crawford made some close friends at Michigan.

"It's kind of hard for me to trust people," Crawford said. "I don't just trust anybody. I have to have a good feeling about you. I didn't really want to go through (making new friends) again. It made me be alone a lot. Nobody really knew what I went through like I do."

A few weeks after he arrived, Crawford met David Terrell, Michigan's star receiver. The shy Crawford didn't have to introduce himself to Terrell. Terrell came up to him - and immediately started talking trash.

Terrell said he was a better basketball player than Crawford. And he and fellow receiver Marquise Walker could beat Crawford and fellow freshman guard Kevin Gaines in two-on-two. And, oh, by the way, nice to meet you.

From this odd introduction, the two hit it off, the mercurial sophomore receiver shepherding the freshman guard around campus.

"He can't do anything but trust me," said Terrell, who grew up in Richmond, Va. "I play well, I'm a big football player. There is nothing he can give me but a friendship.

"I grew up the same way he did. That's one thing I try to do is talk to him and say I went through the same thing and I'm doing good and I'm making it and he can do it. You can do something positive. You can make something out of your life. He's realized that now."

Crawford also realized something after Terrell beat him, 10-9, in one-on-one. His explanation: "Dave cheats."

Terrell has helped Crawford make the transition to Michigan, and Crawford says he no longer thinks about leaving. He's the leading scorer on a 6-1 team. His trademark headband has become so popular that a group of students wears headbands to every home game.

Five years ago, Crawford was terrorized at one of the nation's toughest high schools. By next season, he might be the most popular student at one of the country's most prestigious public universities. And if this is just because of basketball, so what?

"Go Blue," the masses cheer.

Right they are. Jamal Crawford can go blue without worry now.