After the news of Noah Waterman's commitment to Louisville, BYU men's basketball coach Kevin Young had five scholarships on the roster to fill. On Tuesday, BYU landed a commitment from ESPN Top-100, four-star point guard Elijah Crawford.
The former Stanford Cardinal signee followed his assistant coach Brandon Dunson to Provo, Utah, to play for Young and BYU. Crawford is a 6-foot-1 point guard from Brewster Academy in New Hampshire. According to 247 Sports, Crawford is the 112th-ranked recruit in the country. He joins Brody Kozlowski as another four-star recruit Young has landed since taking the job.
Crawford will add to a deep backcourt and provide some much-needed ball handling and playmaking to the backcourt. Last season, Dallin Hall shouldered most of the ball-handling responsibilities and was the only true point guard on the roster. This season, Crawford can be the backup BYU needed to spell Hall last year and play off the ball if needed. Crawford averaged 13.5 points and 5.1 in his senior season at Brewster.
Crawford is a smooth criminal. Although he will be BYU's shortest scholarship player, Crawford is unafraid and uses an array of crafty finishes and separation moves to create his shot. He can also stretch the floor with his 3-point shooting. Last season, he shot 49% from 3 and 53% from the field. His shooting and scoring ability allow him to score at all three levels in ball-screen situations. His pace and ball-handling ability allow him to make the game look effortless.
Crawford's signing is another impressive notch for Young and BYU basketball, showing that things are different in Provo. In the last month, Young signed two ESPN 100 recruits. Unlike Kozlowski, Crawford is not a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and is a minority — not the typical recruit that BYU basketball has been able to land in the past. Combine Young's aggressive recruiting and the success of BYU's first season in the Big 12, the basketball program has kept the momentum rolling into year two despite Mark Pope leaving for Kentucky and Waterman's and Aly Khalifa's departure for Louisville.
BYU is recruiting a number of highly rated players in the transfer portal, and Young is making BYU believe that anything is possible in recruiting right now. With the addition of Crawford, BYU has all but solidified its backcourt ahead of the 2024 season. Another guard addition would be gravy at this point. BYU still needs a wing/forward to solidify the entire roster and there are still more coaching vacancies to be filled. BYU fans have had to be patient with how Young has been building the roster and his staff, but so far, Young has rewarded them and then some.