Crawford commits to NU

Every summer, there's a handful of high school seniors-to-be whose stock skyrockets on the AAU circuit.

On Monday, one of those shooting stars decided Northwestern would be the perfect place to land.

Naperville Central's Drew Crawford, a 6-foot-5 swingman who elicits comparisons to former NCHS all-stater Anthony Parker, committed to the Wildcats.

Crawford grabbed NU's only open scholarship over offers from Wake Forest, Oklahoma State, Rice and Loyola, among others.

"He wanted to go to Northwestern," said Naperville Central coach Pete Kramer. "That went way back to his freshman year, when he sat down and thought about his goals.

"He was looking for the best academic school possible - and play basketball also."

With a 31 ACT score and a 4.2 GPA on a 4.0 scale, Crawford certainly has the report card to make an impact at Northwestern.

Then there are his basketball credentials, where his strong local reputation went nationwide after strong performances at the Peach Jam and so many other summer hot spots.

The DuPage Valley Conference's co-MVP started at point guard last season and led the Redhawks to a 20-win season, but he's just as comfortable playing on the wing or in the post.

Northwestern loves that versatility, which is just one of the qualities Crawford shares with Parker.

"To me, he has both the physical and mental attributes of an Anthony Parker," said Naperville North coach Mark Lindo, who has seen plenty of both.

"They have similar physiques. Drew handles the ball in the open floor like Anthony did. They involve their teammates. They're just very smooth."

Parker, of course, became a 1997 NBA first-round draft pick and has been a starter with the Toronto Raptors for the last two years.

Incidentally, Crawford's father, Dan, has been an NBA official for the last 24 years. He worked Game 2 of the recent NBA Finals.