Era of JJ Crawford Begins
The freshman phenom leads a loaded Vikings roster chasing another state title.
It is a couple of weeks ago, the reigning WIAA state 3A boys basketball champions are holding their first practice of the year, and already there is a major development. You’d think it was the late addition of the No. 1 prospect in the country, but that’s old news. Rainier Beach High School’s glorious hoops past, in the form of former NBA great Jamal Crawford, has just measured up with the program’s glorious future, his son, JJ, the freshman phenom who now sees nearly eye-to-eye with his father.
“He only has this much on me,” the younger Crawford says, excitedly, holding his forefinger and thumb about as far apart as yesterday and tomorrow. The past year, he has shot up about five inches, to the verge of 6 feet 5, on the way to a projected 6-8 or 6-9. The Vikings’ hopes of a repeat are equally on the rise.
The latest of coach Mike Bethea‘s nine state championship teams at Rainier Beach, he says, “is in the conversation as the best I’ve coached.” Even though it graduated its top three scorers from a squad that averaged a head-spinning 93 points a game, the young team that will defend the title could be even better, according to the Vikings head coach.