Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 6, 1991 TAG: 9103060196
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: Long
Not only does Crotty rank as Virginia's all-time assist leader, but he also stands seventh on the Cavaliers' career scoring list, best among UVa point guards.
In the 38-year history of the ACC, only three players have scored more than 1,500 points and recorded more than 600 assists: Phil Ford, Kenny Smith and Crotty.
The first two were consensus All-Americans for the University of North Carolina. Crotty never made first- or second-team All-ACC.
So, he has gotten his wish. Crotty hasn't been judged by his statistics.
As the son of a Carolina alumnus and former Tar Heels point guard, Crotty was a natural to follow a long line of standout North Carolina point guards that included Ford and Smith. Crotty was recruited by Carolina - and had a visit scheduled to Chapel Hill, N.C. - before he decided to commit to Virginia.
"I was a Carolina fan, but that didn't necessarily mean I wanted to play there," Crotty said. "I wanted to do what was right for me. I really wanted to make an impact on the program. I think that's an important part of why I came to Virginia."
A few days before Crotty committed to Virginia, the Tar Heels received a commitment from another point guard, King Rice. Opinion has been divided on Rice, but even his supporters would have to say Rice has not been an impact player.
That's not to say Crotty would have been an impact player at Carolina, where he would have been one of a dozen high-school All-Americans. He hasn't been surrounded by the same kind of talent at Virginia, where Crotty has been a central figure since the end of his freshman year.
"At a time when Virginia basketball was down and a lot of people predicted a lengthy rebuilding process, John Crotty stepped up and shouldered a tremendous burden," UVa head coach Jeff Jones said. "He was part of a core of players who helped turn this thing around."
Jones was referring to the 1987-88 season, when the Cavaliers finished 13-18, their only losing record in the last 14 years. It was a season marked by off-court turmoil, starting with the academic suspension of Mel Kennedy before the season and John Johnson's suspension late in the season for failing a drug test.
Crotty stepped in for Johnson at point guard, and, while the Cavaliers won only one of their last seven games, the experience was invaluable. UVa reached the final eight in the NCAA Tournament the next year, advanced to the ACC championship game last year and this year clinched its third straight 20-victory season.
"That stretch at the end of my first year really gave me a lot of confidence that I could play in this league," said Crotty, who has made a school-record 101 consecutive starts. "There was a point where I was very disenchanted with my own game and the fact we weren't winning. It was really tearing me apart."
By his admission, Crotty is a poor loser, and no description of his game is complete without reference to his competitiveness.
"He's probably the grittiest of the group," said former UVa coach Terry Holland, referring to the point guards who played for him. "Sometimes, it works against him. But no matter what the injury situation is, he's always there."
Crotty certainly ranks as one of the best point guards to play for Virginia, a group that includes 1973 ACC Player of the Year Barry Parkhill, Jones and Othell Wilson.
"I don't know about Parkhill," Jones said. "I only saw him play twice, once in an exhibition game when he was pro and the other time in an alumni game. But John and Othell, to me, are the two best."
Jones, who held the UVa assist record until this year, eliminates himself because he was not a big scorer. Wilson, a first-team All-ACC choice in 1983, holds the school record for steals and was a relentless defender. He also scored more than 1,400 points.
"I played with Othell, and then Othell played with Ricky Stokes and Rick Carlisle," Jones said. "John has played without another ball-handling guard for more than three years. That takes a tremendous toll; plus, he's been one of our primary scorers."
Dan Bonner was a player at UVa during Parkhill's career and has been a commentator on ACC telecasts for the last decade. Bonner does not hesitate when asked whom he considers UVa's best point guard of the last quarter-century.
"Barry Parkhill is the pivotal figure in the history of Virginia basketball," Bonner said. "He took every tough shot. He made every big play. I think Barry Parkhill is the greatest player in the history of the UVa program and nobody else comes close."
That puts Parkhill, whose statistics were compiled in three years, ahead of three-time national player of the year Ralph Sampson, so you don't have to ask where Bonner ranks Parkhill among the UVa point guards.
"Othell and Jeff played with great players," Bonner said. "John has not had the same kind of supporting cast. You cut off the head and the beast dies. In that respect, he reminds me a lot of Parkhill.
"The one thing that Crotty has done that Barry Parkhill didn't was play during that an era when there have been outstanding point guards in the ACC. And Crotty has more than held his own."
Crotty's competition has included Georgia Tech's Kenny Anderson, an All-American as a sophomore; North Carolina State's Chris Corchiani, who broke the all-time NCAA assist record; Maryland's 6-foot-8 Walt Williams; Duke's Bobby Hurley; and Rice.
"John Crotty, to me, is as good as any guard in the league when you combine every aspect of play - leadership, court awareness, speed, quickness, defensive ability, shooting, passing," Wake Forest coach Dave Odom said. "He may not be the best in one area - and that's arguable. He may be. But when you combine all those things . . . I don't think there's anybody any better, or tougher. Toughness may be where he has the edge."
There seems to be some question whether Crotty will be drafted by the National Basketball Association, and one of the questions raised by scouts - most notably Marty Blake - is his ability to penetrate.
"That blew me away," Jones said. "That's about as far off on Crotty as you can get. There may be one or two areas of John's game that are deficient, but beating somebody off the dribble is not one of them."
The one statistical category in which Crotty has struggled is shooting. He has had a love-hate relationship with his jump shot, hitting 41 percent for his career. Nevertheless, he has made more 3-pointers (173) than any UVa player since the 3-point line went into effect for the 1986-87 season.
"I think when I shoot my jumper with confidence, I'm as good as shooter as anybody," Crotty said, "but when I miss, sometimes I get down on myself. I think, though, if you look at the shooting percentages for the point guards around the league, I think you'll find that 45 percent is excellent."
Of the prominent ACC point guards, Corchiani has the highest field-goal percentage at 46.0, but he is shooting only 38.2 percent in ACC games. Anderson is shooting 44.4 percent and Hurley is at 41.8 percent.
Talent scout Howard Garfinkel once said Crotty was his father, with a jump shot. It's more like a mirror image. John Francis Crotty was right-handed. His son, John Kevin Crotty, is a left-hander all the way.
"I've never seen a film of my dad play," the younger Crotty said, "but I heard he was a tremendous driver, with an array of hook shots. We were in Cancun [Mexico] one time and we ran into Larry Brown. Larry said, `Your old man used to beat me one-on-one all the time.' "
The older Crotty became a top reserve by his senior year, but, even during that era, the Tar Heels' roster was loaded with premium talent.
"You run the risk of having a career that's not as satisfying as it could be," Crotty's father said. "I don't regret my decision, but the last thing I wanted was for John to go to Carolina and not be happy."
Crotty's father and mother, Gail, are regulars at UVa games, although a younger son, Mike, is a freshman on the basketball team at Dartmouth. The trips are nearly equidistant from the family home in Spring Lake, N.J. - 340 miles to Hanover, N.H., and 318 miles to Charlottesville - but Mike understands this is John's last go-around.
"I hope to continue to make it down to a couple games [in Charlottesville] in the future," their father said. "I don't enjoy the Virginia-Carolina games, though. They're hard. I root for Carolina all the time except when they play Virginia."
John Francis Crotty has been a stockbroker for Merrill-Lynch for 25 years, but he taught both of his sons - as well as 12-year-old daughter, Megan - to play basketball. He coached his older son in the seventh and eighth grades and ran a recreational basketball league on weekends.
"It was sad this weekend," said the elder Crotty, who was on hand for his son's final home game, a 78-74 overtime loss to Maryland. "We walked around the school Saturday morning and we were very nostalgic; I don't see how John's college choice could have turned out any better. As Dave Odom likes to say, `It's been a great marriage.' "
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