Crawford takes charge

NBA starter leads Seattle club to Dolphin Park title

Don Fennell, Sports Editor

The emerging National Basketball Association star, who netted 50 points in a game for the Chicago Bulls against the Toronto Raptors last season, scored almost at will down the stretch in the final of the Dolphin Park Classic to lift the Gentlemen's Club of Seattle past the Meralomas, a group of Lower Mainland players, 78-71.

Originally encouraged just to come up and watch the action by Ed Haskins, coach of the Gentlemen's Club and a friend from Rainer Beach High School in Renton, his desire to play eventually led him to want to suit up.

The 24-year-old Crawford didn't let his teammates --or the crowd down, single-handedly taking charge of the second half to erase the Gentlemen's Club's 38-36 deficit. He hit seven three pointers in the game, five of them part of a 22-point effort in the last 20 minutes to cap a 34-point performance.

"We didn't want to lose," Crawford said, adding "the crowd got a good show."

"The ball is very competitive and teams out here play so so hard," he said. "They were diving for the ball on the concrete and it makes you appreciate the game a lot more."

Currently a restricted free agent, Crawford expects to soon be traded to the New York Knicks with whom he's said to be on the verge of signing a multi-year deal worth a reported $50 million. But the smooth-shooting guard was more interested in talking playground hoops, indicating he'd like to organize a similar tournament of his own one day and invite local players. He said he'll "definitely" be back for next year's Dolphin Park tournament-the 20th annual.

It's hard to imagine, but Crawford could have been even more dominant. Haskins said he constantly reminded Crawford to protect himself and that's why he put up so many jump shots, rather than driving to the basket.

"He's always been a good shooter," Haskins said.

Crawford also made the difference for Gentlemen's Club (5-0) in their 62-60 semifinal win over the Western Canada Basketball Academy (3-2), hitting back-to-back three pointers in the final two minutes. The Western Canada Basketball Academy featured several former Canadian national team players including Richmond High grad Andrew Mavis and Steveston grad Novell Thomas.

Richmond High grad Kyle Russell, the Canadian university player of the year at the University of B.C. two years ago, watched what would have been a dramatic game-winning three-point shot at the buzzer fall off the rim. However, the shot bounced into the hands of Mavis, whose rebound attempt also bounced off the rim.

Steve Dynie of the Western Canada Basketball Academy, another former national team player, tried guarding Crawford for a time in the game. He was awed by his abilities.

"I was amazed how quick he is with the ball," Dynie explained. "He just wanted to shoot jumpers and everyone knew it, but even though you'd get right up on him he'd still find a way to get the ball off."

Not surprisingly, Crawford was selected as the tournament's top player. The first all-star team consisted of Meralomas Sandy Bisaro and Keith Bustard, Brent Williams of Gentlemen's Club, and Novell Thomas of the Western Canada Basketball Academy. Corey Ogilvie of the Birds, Shawn Swords and Russell, both of the Western Canada Basketball Academy, and Steve Ross of All About the Beer made the second team. Former Matthew McNair high school star Josh Masters won the slam dunk contest.

The tournament continues to grow in quality and popularity. Organizers Bira Bindra and Taj Johal were thrilled with the competive play over the three days, but particularly Sunday when many games were decided by five points or less. The presence of Crawford, the first active NBA player to participate in Dolphin Park, along with Victoria's Steve Nash of the Phoenix Suns who cheered on the Western Canadian Basketball Academy in their semifinal game against Gentlemen's Club, also helped to draw fans who numbered close to 1,000 Sunday.

Bindra, who played for Steveston's B.C. high school championship team in 1984, started the Dolphin Park tournament to provide a venue for former local high school players to get together once a year and reminisce about the old days. While the four-on-four tournament (a format adopted because of the small size of the outdoor playground court on Dolphin Avenue) continues to attract local players, it has increasingly also attracted talented players from throughout the Lower Mainland and more recently south of the border. But Bindra said he would like to put an emphasis on "local" when the tournament celebrates its 20th anniversary next summer. He said one idea would be to reduce the number of teams to 10 from 12 to accommodate a special alumni game between former Steveston Packers and Richmond Colts. The rivalry was once the biggest in high school sports in the province, with games usually selling out and attracting crowds of up to 1,000 fans.