Drew Crawford facts for kids

Drew Crawford, born on October 18, 1990, is an American professional basketball player. He currently plays for Maccabi Ironi Ramat Gan in the Israeli Basketball Premier League. Before turning pro, he played college basketball for the Northwestern Wildcats.

Drew earned several honors during his college career. He was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 2010. He also earned the title of Academic All-American twice, showing he was great at both sports and school. In 2019, Drew was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the Italian League.

Drew Crawford's Early Life and Basketball Start

Drew Crawford was born on October 18, 1990. His father, Dan Crawford, was a referee in the NBA.

By the time he was in sixth grade, Drew decided to focus only on basketball. He became a starter in high school as a sophomore. In his junior and senior years, he was named Player of the Year for his conference. Because his dad was an NBA referee, Drew got to see high-level basketball from a young age. He even shot hoops with LeBron James before LeBron became a pro! Experts rated him as one of the best shooting guards in his high school class. He was also an excellent student, earning A+ grades.

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Drew Crawford SG	Naperville, Illinois	Naperville (IL)	6 ft 4.5 in (1.94 m)	187.5 lb (85.0 kg)	Sep 9, 2008
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 86
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 40 (SG)   ESPN: 72 (SG)
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources:

College Basketball Career at Northwestern

Drew Crawford had a successful college basketball career at Northwestern University.

Freshman Year Highlights (2009–2010)

On December 13, 2009, Drew scored an amazing 35 points against North Carolina A&T. The next day, he was named the Big Ten Conference Player of the Week. In March 2010, the media named him the Big Ten Freshman of the Year. He was also chosen for the All-Freshman team. He finished his first season with two "double-doubles" (scoring double digits in two different stats, like points and rebounds).

Sophomore and Junior Years (2010–2012)

In 2011, Drew was recognized for his strong academic performance. He was selected as one of the top 40 Academic All-District players. He achieved his third career double-double in March 2011.

In November 2011, Drew was again named Big Ten Player of the Week. He scored 34 points in a game against Creighton in December 2011. In February 2012, he was named to the Academic All-American second team. This showed his dedication to both his studies and basketball. He was also chosen for the All-Big Ten third team.

Senior Year and Redshirt Season (2012–2014)

As a senior, Drew was considered for the Senior CLASS Award, which honors college athletes for their achievements. However, in December, he had to have surgery on his shoulder, which ended his season early.

The next year, Drew returned as a "redshirt" senior, meaning he got an extra year to play because of his injury. He started the season as the Big Ten's active career scoring leader. In November, he began the 2013–14 season with a double-double. On January 29, he scored 30 points and grabbed 8 rebounds to help Northwestern win against Wisconsin.

Drew continued to excel academically. He was named an Academic All-District player again in January. In February, he was named Big Ten Conference Co-Athlete of the Week. He was also recognized as the Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week. On February 20, he was named a first-team Academic All-America selection. By the end of his college career, Drew was Northwestern's all-time leader in games played and games started. He earned his fourth Academic All-Big Ten recognition in 2014.

Drew Crawford's Professional Basketball Journey

After college, Drew Crawford began his professional basketball career.

Starting in the NBA G League (2014–2015)

Even though he wasn't chosen in the 2014 NBA draft, Drew joined the New Orleans Pelicans for the NBA Summer League. He later signed with the Orlando Magic, but was waived before the season started. Five days later, he joined the Erie BayHawks in the NBA Development League (now called the G League). He had a strong debut, scoring 22 points and getting 9 rebounds.

Playing Overseas: Israel, Germany, and Italy (2015–2019)

In July 2015, Drew played for the Orlando Magic again in the Summer League. Then, in August 2015, he signed with Bnei Herzliya in Israel. He briefly considered playing in the Philippines but decided to try for the NBA Summer League again.

In July 2016, Drew joined the Toronto Raptors for the Summer League. He signed with the Raptors but was later waived. In November, he signed with MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg in Germany.

In August 2017, Drew returned to Israel to play for Maccabi Rishon LeZion. In November 2017, he had a season-high game, scoring 32 points.

In July 2018, Drew signed with the Italian team Vanoli Cremona. He had an amazing season, scoring a career-high 33 points in a playoff game in May 2019. He helped Cremona reach the Italian League Semifinals. For his outstanding performance, Drew Crawford was named the Italian League MVP in May 2019. He averaged 17.7 points per game that season.

Recent Years in Turkey, Italy, Andorra, and Israel (2019–Present)

In July 2019, Drew signed with Gaziantep in Turkey. He played 29 games there, averaging 12.9 points.

In January 2020, Drew returned to Italy to play for Olimpia Milano. In July 2020, he signed with Basket Brescia Leonessa, another Italian team.

In July 2021, Drew signed with MoraBanc Andorra in Spain. In August 2022, he signed with Dolomiti Energia Trento in Italy.

Most recently, in August 2023, he signed with Hapoel Holon in Israel. He then joined Maccabi Ironi Ramat Gan in the same league.

See also

In Spanish: Drew Crawford para niños