When the calendar turned from February to March, Dayton junior Jalen Crutcher had his spring mapped out.
First, he’d lead Dayton to the Atlantic-10 tournament title and then a deep NCAA Tournament run alongside Obi Toppin, his best friend and the National Player of the Year.
Then he’d test the NBA Draft waters and face a difficult decision as to whether to turn pro.
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Instead, he’s now at home in Memphis taking the draft process day by day without knowing what comes next.
“It’s very frustrating,” Crutcher told The Athletic. “I’m trying to look at the good instead of the bad.”
When the novel coronavirus pandemic led to the cancellation of the NCAA Tournament and postponement of the NBA Draft Combine, it put college prospects testing the waters in an unprecedented situation when it comes to determining their futures. Team workouts are halted and the draft won’t take place until October. The NCAA’s deadline for players to withdraw from the draft and keep eligibility will be 10 days after the combine or Aug. 3, whichever comes first. And for players like Crutcher, the cancellation of the tournament eliminated the chance to showcase his skills on the game’s biggest stage.
Dayton entered March with a 29-2 record, was in line for a No. 1 seed, and was poised to make a deep run, thanks to Toppin and Crutcher, who emerged as Toppin’s sidekick. Like Toppin, Crutcher had a breakout season for Dayton, averaging 15.1 points, 3.2 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game on 46.8 percent shooting. But while Toppin appears set to be a high lottery pick, Crutcher’s future is in limbo as he faces an uphill battle as a 6-foot-1 floor general.
Dayton coach Anthony Grant has helped shape his fair share of NBA players over the years as he was the lead recruiter for Florida’s back-to-back national championship teams in 2006 and 2007 that produced a number of high draft picks. Grant said he thinks Crutcher could play in the NBA, but said the current draft process has made it tough for him to advise Crutcher.
“He’s a guy that I think has the ability to play at the next level,” Grant said. “As we’ve seen over the last few months there’s no telling what that process is going to look like. We’re going through this process together.”
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Dayton was in a unique position as a top-five, non-Power 5 team that had already hung with Kansas, another Final Four-contender, during the regular season. In 2018, then-Villanova guard Donte DiVincenzo turned in an impressive tournament performance and went on to be the Bucks’ No. 17 overall pick. The window for Crutcher to benefit from such a run was really only this season.
“I felt like I would’ve shown I could have played with anybody,” Crutcher said.
“I think if he was able to get on that stage and put us in a position where we could advance, he would have been a big reason why it would have happened,” Grant added.
Crutcher’s draft stock was already cloudy going into the tournament. Two scouts told The Athletic his ceiling is landing a two-way contract, and two others said Crutcher’s long-range shooting and pick-and-roll play could make him a second-round pick. There are questions about his defense, and some scouts said he should return to Dayton because he’s only 20 and would be a 21-year-old four-year player next year, which isn’t very common. Scouts aren’t allowed to publicly comment on prospects.
“He doesn’t really have a range,” one scout said.
“His stock could have definitely benefited from the (NCAA Tournament),” another added. “But he’s amazing in the pick-and-roll.”
Crutcher met with the Orlando Magic last week and has upcoming meetings with the Milwaukee Bucks and Detroit Pistons. Crutcher said he’s been selling teams on his leadership and 3-point shooting.
“Whatever a team would like me to do I can do,” said Crutcher, who shot 42 percent from 3 as a junior this past season. “I can knock down a 3, I can facilitate, I can defend, I can make hustle plays. Basically anything they want me to do.”
Because of the pandemic, not all prospects are able to undergo the usual pre-draft intensive training, where they work out with a skills coach and strength coach with their sole focus being on hoops. So Crutcher has taken the situation into his own hands and has sought out former NBA player Ian Clark, who has been organizing pickup games in Memphis with some of the city’s top players.
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Clark, who is currently playing in the Chinese Basketball Association, won an NBA title with the Golden State Warriors in 2017 and has made Crutcher a part of his pickup games along with Memphis’ D.J. Jeffries and South Carolina’s T.J. Moss and Kennedy Chandler, the No. 1 point guard in the Class of 2021 according to the 247Sports Composite. Grizzlies rookie Ja Morant has stopped by for a few games.
Crutcher said Clark, who went undrafted, has advised him as best he can on ways to improve his game and what questions NBA teams might ask him. In addition to Clark, Crutcher has worked out with local trainer Jevonte Holmes, who also works out with Nuggets wing Will Barton for more formal training.
Because the draft situation is still evolving, Crutcher said he’s hoping he’ll get the chance to show what he can do in private workouts with teams, which the league is hoping can become possible, even though league sources say the odds are low.
Instead of thinking about what could have been, Crutcher said he thinks the bizarre experience will help him handle adversity, whether it’s in the NBA or at Dayton next season.
“I’m just trying to stay positive,” Crutcher said. “We felt like we could win a national championship, that was our goal and that’s what we thought was going to happen. Then this happened. Something good has to come out of this.”
(Photo: Justin Casterline / Getty Images)