After securing its forwards in Devin Royal and Kwame Evans Jr., as well as a shooting guard in Jake Fiegen, Villanova was in need of a new lead guard. It has found that in Illinois-Chicago guard Elijah Crawford.
The 6’3” sophomore is a former four-star recruit who played his first season at BYU. This past year for the Flames, Crawford averaged 14.1 points, 2.9 rebounds and 4.9 assists on 45.3% shooting and 75.3% from the line. Crawford did struggle from distance at 27.6%, but hopefully his free-throw percentage is indicative of potential there.
Crawford has the pedigree of a high-major player. In his final game of the season against Cal-Berkley in the NIT, the guard scored 14 points and dished out 12 assists with only two turnovers. He shot an efficient 4/9 from the floor. In the Missouri Valley Conference Final, Crawford recorded 28 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists.
Crawford projects to start for the Wildcats, either next to Tyler Perkins or Jake Fiegen at the shooting guard. Either way, the Wildcats now have a formidable five players in tow, with Matt Hodge on the mend and top-50 recruit Adam Oumiddoch. More work is yet to come, as a center (s) and depth are needed.