Former Whiteland star Carter Crowe has grown into a starting role during his junior season at Franklin College.
The lone player on the Franklin College men’s basketball roster with Johnson County roots won’t try to deceive when it comes to his value — initially, at least — to the Grizzlies.
Said junior wing Carter Crowe: “I would say I’m playing college basketball because I can shoot.”
There it is. Blunt. Refreshingly truthful.
At the same time, some sort of wakeup call was necessary if the 6-foot-5 Crowe, a former Whiteland player, was going to develop into the type of multifaceted talent worthy of meaningful minutes at the next level.
Having crossed the midcourt stripe of his Grizzlies career, Crowe, a starter for second-year coach Brian Lebowitz in three of the past five games, continues that journey. He averages 6.3 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.4 assists this season, but he’s scored 43 points in just the last three games after tallying a total of 20 points in the first seven.
“I’m a junior, so starting is no more difficult to me than coming off the bench,” said Crowe, who first broke into the lineup on Dec. 8 when Franklin College won at Spaulding, 64-55. “The first few minutes, as a shooter, I’m just trying to get in a rhythm. But I’ve also had to expand my game as I’ve gone on.
“Defending is more of a focus now. That was the thing that definitely limited my playing time in the past.”
As a freshman playing for longtime coach Kerry Prather’s final Grizzlies squad, Crowe took part in seven games, averaging 2.1 minutes. Last season’s COVID-abbreviated 15-game slate saw him on the floor in 13 contests, averaging 10.8 minutes and even starting twice.
Crowe’s norm this season is 17.3 minutes, which means he’s definitely continuing to trend in the right direction.
Athletes oftentimes mature physically at different stages of their college careers. Crowe is no different, with his offseason work in the weight room, coupled with an improved knowledge of what Lebowitz wants done at both ends of the floor, greatly helping his cause.
“Carter has earned everything he’s been given,” Lebowitz said. “The rap on him was, could he physically compete? Could he rebound? Could he defend? I think he’s worked at getting stronger and being more physically assertive. I’m really proud of the way he defends right now.”
Franklin College is 6-4 and back in action today when it hosts Earlham. The team’s last outing, a 67-61 loss to Juniata in a consolation matchup at the Wittenberg Holiday Classic, included Crowe springing for a career-high 21 points in 31 minutes of court time. He drained five of his six 3-point opportunities in what was his best performance of his career.
Other notable performances this season were Crowe’s 11 rebounds in FC’s 76-65 triumph at Manchester and his 15 points and four assists in a 23-point romp at home of Berea.
“Carter is your classic finesse perimeter player who has worked hard to round out the rest of his game,” Lebowitz said. “The next level for him is getting more aggressive around the basket and shooting more free throws.”
Which, most certainly, will lead to more minutes.
