Boston Celtics: Jae Crowder is Becoming a Star

The 2015-2016 Boston Celtics’ roster is one underwhelming bunch. For the most part, the team is a collection of middling players, whose highest aspirations are only to have long NBA careers in contributing roles. There is, however, one particular bright spot on this Celtics’ roster. Right now, he is what’s known as a protostar, or a star in its infancy. His stardom is not yet guaranteed, but mark my words, this player is going to make it. He’s worked too hard and come too far not to do so. Celtics fans, I’d like to introduce you to your team’s next true star player. His name is Jae Crowder.

The stars in the heavens we gaze up at on clear nights are born in the humblest of places, clouds of dust. The Boston Celtics’s next star is no different. It would be vastly misleading to tell you Jae Crowder wasn’t heavily recruited by college coaches and scouts as a high-school basketball player from Villa Rica, Georgia. That’s because he wasn’t recruited at all, at least not by any college program you or I have ever heard of. Very few of today’s NBA players can say this. Given the omnipresence of modern technology, especially social media, if a young athlete has sufficient talent, he or she is bound to be discovered sooner or later and sorted out into the division I, II, and III collegiate ranks.

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However, college coaches and scouts thought so little of Jae Crowder, the high-schooler, he was forced to begin his college basketball career playing for the Jets of South Georgia Technical College, a junior college offering only one varsity sport. I’m sure you’ve already guessed what that sport is.

South Georgia Tech had never seen and never will see again the likes of Jae Crowder. He was the first and only South Georgia Tech player to be named Georgia Junior College Athletic Association (GJCAA) Player of the Year, and he led the Jets to their first appearance in the GJCAA’s version of the NCAA Tournament. The dust cloud came alive, as a turbulence began to grow deep inside it.

People finally began to take note of the muscle-bound teen’s promise, including the basketball coaches at Howard College, where Crowder transferred and played during the 2009-2010 season. Not one to simply try to fit in on his new team, Jae spurred the Howard Hawks to the NJCAA National Championship game with his stellar play. The team would fall just a basket short of the title, but not by any fault of Jae’s. He scored 27 points and grabbed 12 boards in that game, which was played on the biggest stage of his nascent career.

Crowder’s rapidly improving game could no longer be ignored, even by renowned NCAA division I college programs Georgia Tech, UNLV, and Marquette. He chose to play for the Marquette Golden Eagles, and in his senior year he was named an AP Second-Team All American and Big East Player of the Year — significant upgrades from the GJCAA Player of the Year honors he received only a few seasons before. Turbulence built into knots of mass, collapsing under a budding gravitational pull.

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This time Jae Crowder attracted the attention of NBA coaches and scouts, but he was still overlooked 33 times on the night of the 2012 NBA draft. Jae was eventually selected in the second round, 34th overall, by the Cleveland Cavaliers, but then quickly traded to the Dallas Mavericks before the draft’s final selection had been made.

As most young players’ NBA careers do, Crowder’s got off to a slow start. In his first couple of seasons in Dallas, Jae played just over 15 minutes a game, averaging a modest five points and two and a half rebounds. His minutes decreased during the 2014-2015 season on a Mavericks team very deep at his position, bolstered by offseason additions of Al-Farouq Aminu and Richard Jefferson. That was before Jae was dealt to the Boston Celtics as a throw-in member of what was at the time known as “the Rajon Rondo deal.”

Head coach Brad Stevens quickly realized Crowder’s potential and began to rely heavily on his lockdown defense and gritty style of play. Jae became a key cog for the Celtics during his first half season in green, averaging a respectable 10 points in 24 minutes of play per game. The team went on to make its first playoff appearance since the departures of Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce.

Crowder first showed signs that he might be something more than just a hard-nosed defensive specialist shortly after this season got underway. Noticing the offseason improvements to Jae’s game, pundits and fans alike started to wonder if Crowder might have what it took to become the quintessential NBA “three and D” player. What’s becoming increasingly clear, however, is that Crowder’s development hasn’t been limited to the summertime. Instead, it has extended into and throughout the season. The volatile cloud is now collapsing, and the matter at its center is rapidly heating up.

Jan 4, 2016; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Boston Celtics forward Jae Crowder (99) shoots for three over Brooklyn Nets guard Bojan Bogdanovic (44) during the first quarter at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports /

The twenty-five year old Crowder’s points per game average has increased in every month of the 2015-2016 season. In the two games the Celtics played in October, Jae averaged 10.5. In November’s games, he averaged 11.4. In December, he averaged 16.1. And this month, Crowder is averaging just under 20 points per game. This increase in his scoring has been coupled with an increased efficiency. All of Jae’s shooting percentages this season are the highest he’s posted in his career. Of the Celtics’ players receiving regular court time, Crowder’s rock solid overall 45.6 field goal percentage is second best to only Amir Johnson. Crowder’s impressive 36.0 three point shooting percentage is third best on the team.

Through a deep-rooted passion for the game of basketball and dogged hard work, in only 6 years Jae Crowder transformed himself from an un-recruited 18-year-old high-school kid to the starting small forward for the Boston Celtics. But right now, he is on the cusp of stardom, and there should be no doubting he’ll take that next step. Continuous improvement is what has defined Crowder’s basketball odyssey from a little known junior college to the pros.

Brad Stevens made the following statement about Crowder after he played a starring role in the Celtics’ recent victory over the Indiana Pacers: “You know he’s [Crowder] only been here a year and I told you last year I’m not sure I knew all that he could do, and he just keeps adding to it.”

He always has.

We will look up into the rafters of the TD Garden one day and see another star’s legacy shining brightly there. This one will be number ninety-nine.

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