Crawford's evolution into a more complete player may be biggest key in Iona's latest title defense

Now a junior, E.J. Crawford's transformation into more than just a scorer has been most integral part of Iona's hot start to MAAC play as Gaels seek fourth consecutive conference tournament championship. (Photo by Vincent Simone/NYC Buckets)

NEW ROCHELLE, NY -- From the moment he arrived at Iona in 2016, E.J. Crawford served notice that he would be making his presence known and felt in each game over the next four years in New Rochelle.

A go-ahead basket that turned out to be the game-winning shot in the 2017 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship game was just one of many instances in which the Hartford, Connecticut native would be counted upon to provide a lift for the Gaels, and he continued his prowess for clutch heroics into his sophomore year, when he and his Iona teammates defended their conference crown yet again. Now in his third campaign wearing maroon and gold, his role took on a seismic shift just days before the season began, as the dismissal of Roland Griffin -- thought of to be a MAAC Player of the Year contender -- left a gaping hole in the Iona interior that Crawford, not necessarily a rebounder by trade his first two seasons, was left to take on the lion's share of filling.

"I think my role got a lot bigger without Roland," Crawford, fourth in the MAAC in scoring at 16.8 points per game, said of his increased responsibility. "That's a big piece we're missing. He probably would have been the best player on the team, so I gotta step up and do more than score this year. This summer, I put a lot of time in diversifying my game."

Averaging nearly five rebounds per contest -- second on the team behind Tajuan Agee -- to supplement his dynamic offense, Crawford has done exactly that for Iona, and has become more well-rounded in lockstep with the Gaels' improved team chemistry, the product of a long non-conference road trip that has fused team camaraderie with a common goal of becoming the first school in MAAC history to win four consecutive league tournaments, something he and his teammates will be trying to do this March.

"Oh, man!" Rickey McGill proclaimed when asked of Crawford's evolution. "This kid right here? I've seen him grow from a little kid to somebody that's being tougher. I told him he had to change it up in his game, that he had to stop crying and be a little tougher. That's what he's doing, and I'm proud of him. He's going to keep it rolling."

Crawford's head coach was even more effusive in his praise of the one-time shooter who has now become an all-around threat, highlighting his growth in all facets of his game.

"He's been really important," Tim Cluess gushed. "And he's scoring in some other ways. He's not as athletically explosive as Roland to get to the rim, but he's just been able to get to the rim in a different way and get to the foul line, little post-up, little jump shot, a little in-between game. He's made big shots when we've needed him to, in parts of the game, kind of stem the tide of an opponent, and I think he's just growing and growing as a player."

And while Iona knew what it would get from McGill, its four-year bedrock of a point guard, and even to an extent with the junior college newcomer Agee, what the Gaels have received from Crawford transcends even the most optimistic of predictions.

"Pretty much everything he's doing," said Cluess when asked what had changed from Crawford's game that was not present his first two seasons. "In year one, he didn't do anything but take jump shots. Year two, he only began to actually drive the ball a little bit, he wanted nothing to do with the post. When we would work him in the post in practice, he didn't want to be there, and now, he's like, 'I want to go work half with the bigs, half with the guards,' because he wants to be an all-around player. Now when you're talking to him about it, he has comprehension of what you're talking about. For two years, it was kind of like a blank slate, in all fairness. So I've seen a lot of growth in him, and I'm really happy with his progress."

"He's transformed that, and I think he's transformed his body tremendously. I think (strength and conditioning coach) Kelly Shaver has done a great job with him in that area, and the two of them together are helping to bring his game to another level."