Jason Darius Crowe (born August 24, 1976) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player. He graduated from

Cal State Northridge California State University, Northridge (CSUN or Cal State Northridge) is a public university in the Northridge neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. With a total enrollment of 38,551 students (as of Fall 2021), it has the second largest un ...

in 1999 and played 13 years as a professional in Europe, South America, Iran, Australia and New Zealand.

College career

Crowe attended Inglewood High School in

Inglewood, California Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 107,762. It was incorporated on February 14, 1908. The city is in the South Bay ...

, before playing his first season of college basketball at

Los Angeles Trade–Technical College Los Angeles Trade–Technical College (L.A. Trade–Tech, LATTC) is a public community college in Los Angeles, California. It is part of the Los Angeles Community College District and is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Community and ...

in 1995–96. He transferred to

American University The American University (AU or American) is a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Its main campus spans 90 acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, mostly in the Spring Valley neighborhood of Northwest D.C. AU was charte ...

in April 1996, signing with the Eagles men's basketball program for the 1996–97 season. As a sophomore in 1996–97, Crowe averaged 4.0 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 21 games. In 1997, Crowe transferred again, this time to

. He subsequently sat out the 1997–98 season due to NCAA transfer regulations, joining the Matadors squad for the 1998–99 season as a redshirted junior. Crowe was expected to make the Matadors a potent offensive threat, but despite flashes of brilliance, the transition was not as smooth as coach

Bobby Braswell Bobby Frederick Braswell (born October 5, 1962) is an American college basketball coach. He is an assistant coach for the men's basketball program at California State University, Long Beach. Braswell previously served as the men's head coach fo ...

would have liked. While he often dished out great assists, he also had a high turnover count, which frustrated Braswell. Crowe finished the 1998–99 season with averages of 4.8 points, 2.8 assists, 3.6 assists and 1.6 steals in 29 games. He did not return to Cal State Northridge for the 1999–2000 season after graduating from the school.

Professional career

Early years

Crowe first joined the

La Crosse Bobcats The La Crosse Bobcats were a Continental Basketball Association basketball team located in La Crosse, Wisconsin, from 1996 to the league's bankruptcy in February 2001. The Bobcats were the second CBA team located in La Crosse; previously, the La C ...

of the

Continental Basketball Association The Continental Basketball Association (CBA) (originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association) was a men's professional basketball m ...

for the 1999–2000 season, but was released on November 12, 1999. For the 2000–01 season, Crowe moved to Serbia to play for Sloga. In early 2002, Crowe moved to the Ukraine and signed with

BC Kyiv BC Kyiv ( uk, БК "Київ") was a Ukrainian professional basketball club based in Kyiv. The club's home court for Ukrainian domestic league matches was the Meridian Sports Complex, which has a seating capacity of 1,500. Large attendance games an ...

where he spent the rest of the 2001–02 season. In 10 games for Kyiv, he averaged 13.4 points, 4.7 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 3.0 steals per game. Later that year, in October, Crowe joined the

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division in the league's Western Conference. The Clipper ...

for their training camp. Unfortunately, he did not make the team's final roster and in January 2003, he re-joined BC Kyiv. He had another stint with the Clippers in October 2003, but again did not get past training camp. In February 2004, he joined the Long Beach Jam of the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger, American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, ...

. Crowe moved to Hungary for the 2004–05 season, originally signing with Klima-Vill Kaposvar SE, but was released by the club prior to the start of the regular season. He later joined Szolnoki Olaj in February 2005 and appeared in five games for the club, averaging 9.4 points, 2.6 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 3.8 steals per game. Crowe moved to Iran for the 2005–06 season, signing with

Petrochimi Bandar Imam Petrochimi Bandar Imam Basketball Club ( fa, تیم بسكتبال پتروشیمی بندر امام, ''Tim-e Beskâtbal-e Petrushimi-ye Bendâr Eman''), also known as shortly Petrochimi, is an Iranian professional basketball club based in Mahshah ...

on a $30,000 a month contract. He later cited that his stint in Iran was his worst experience, stating "There's absolutely no social life

n Iran N, or n, is the fourteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''. History ...

None. I was over there just trying to get through and make it home." His wife, Irene, spent the season with him in Iran, but due to the Islamic-ruling government which requires strict clothing cover for women in public, she often did not leave the house for three to four weeks at a time. In 36 games for Petrochimi, he averaged 22.3 points per game.

New Zealand and Australia

Crowe's next stint brought him back to Europe, trialling with Polish club Anwil Włocławek in November 2006. He ended up signing with

SKS Starogard Gdański SKS Starogard Gdański is a Polish basketball team, based in Starogard Gdański. The team currently plays in the Polish I Liga. In 2004, the team was promoted to the highest tier in Poland. In 2011, the club won its first trophy when it beat Anwil ...

and played 11 games for the club before departing in February 2007. In those 11 games, he averaged 9.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.9 steals per game. He subsequently moved to New Zealand in May where he joined the

Waikato Pistons The Waikato Pistons were a New Zealand basketball team based in Hamilton. The Pistons competed in the National Basketball League (NBL) and played their home games at Hamilton Boys' High School. After sitting out the 2012 NBL season, the Piston ...

for the

2007 New Zealand NBL season The 2007 NBL season was the 26th season of the National Basketball League. The Nelson Giants won the championship in 2007 to claim their third league title. Summary Regular season standings Playoff bracket Awards Statistics leaders ''Sta ...

. In eight regular season games for the Pistons, Crowe averaged 20.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, 5.3 assists and a league-leading 3.8 steals per game. He also recorded 28 points, eight rebounds and seven steals in the Pistons' semi-final loss to the

Nelson Giants The Nelson Giants are a New Zealand basketball team based in Nelson. The Giants compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at the Trafalgar Centre. For sponsorship reasons, they are known as the Mike Pero Nelson ...

. Due to his impressive play in the New Zealand NBL, Crowe was nabbed by the

Gold Coast Blaze The Gold Coast Blaze were an Australian men's professional basketball team which competed in the National Basketball League (NBL). The Blaze competed in their inaugural season in 2007–08. The club was based on the Gold Coast and joined the ...

of the Australian NBL for the 2007–08 season. He appeared in all 31 games for the Blaze in 2007–08, averaging 16.5 points, 6.3 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game. He returned to the Pistons for the

2008 New Zealand NBL season The 2008 NBL season was the 27th season of the National Basketball League. The Waikato Pistons won the championship in 2008 to claim their third league title. Summary Regular season standings Playoff bracket Awards Player of the Week Sta ...

and had a career-best stint. His season began with a Waikato club record 16 assists in a win over the

, just hours after arriving from Los Angeles. He followed that up with three triple-doubles throughout the year, recording his first with 25 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists against Taranaki in round three, his second with 30 points, 12 rebounds and 10 points against Wellington in round 10, and third against the Canterbury in round 12 with 44 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists. He earned numerous awards for his efforts, garnering Most Outstanding Guard, Assist Champion, All-Star Five honors, was named Player of the Week five times, and ended the regular season atop the Player Power Rankings by a healthy margin. To cap off the season, he was named the league's

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

and led the Pistons to the championship, winning the best-of-three Finals series 2–0 over the

Wellington Saints The Wellington Saints are a New Zealand basketball team based in Wellington. The Saints compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at TSB Bank Arena. Team history The Wellington Saints were founded in 1981. In 1 ...

. In 18 regular season games, he averaged 21.7 points, 7.2 rebounds, a league-leading 8.3 assists and 3.1 steals per game.

Latin America and Bulgaria

In January 2009, Crowe signed with Pioneros de Quintana Roo of the

Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional The National Professional Basketball League ( or LNBP) is the top professional basketball league in Mexico. The league was founded in 2000 with 10 teams. Despite its short history, the LNBP has established itself as the one of the most important ...

. The following month, he moved to Venezuela and joined

Cocodrilos de Caracas Cocodrilos de Caracas () is a Venezuelan professional basketball club based in Caracas. Established in 1990, the club competes in the Venezuelan SuperLiga and has won six national championships. The Cocodrilos' home games are played at the Parque N ...

, which again was a one-month stint. Later that year, he signed with Ukrainian team

BC Dnipro Basketball Club Dnipro ( uk, баскетбольний клуб "Дніпро"), commonly known as simply Dnipro, is a Ukrainian professional basketball club that is based in Dnipro. The home court of the club is Palace of Sports Shynnik. The wome ...

for the 2009–10 season. In 30 games for Dnipro in 2009–10, he averaged 16.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, 7.7 assists and 2.2 steals per game. In September 2010, Crowe signed with

Levski Sofia Levski Sofia ( bg, Левски София) is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia, which competes in the First League, the top division of the Bulgarian football league system. The club was founded on 24 May 1914 b ...

of Bulgaria for the 2010–11 season. In 24

league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...

games for Levski in 2010–11, he averaged 11.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 2.4 steals per game.

Return to New Zealand

In May 2011, Crowe re-joined the Waikato Pistons for the rest of the

2011 New Zealand NBL season The 2011 NBL season was the 30th season of the National Basketball League (New Zealand), National Basketball League. In 2011, the Auckland Pirates debuted in the league but the Christchurch Cougars did not take part due to the effects of the 201 ...

. In 12 regular season games, he averaged 13.2 points, 5.1 rebounds, a league-leading 7.2 assists and a league-leading 3.3 steals per game. The Pistons came into the semi-finals on an 11-game winning streak, but were defeated 95–86 in an upset win by the

Hawke's Bay Hawks The Hawke's Bay Hawks are a New Zealand basketball team based in Napier. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at Pettigrew Green Arena. For sponsorship reasons, they are known as the Taylor Hawks ...

. Crowe scored 10 points in the loss. He earned All-Star Five honors for a second time, and was named Assist Champion for a second time also.

Final season

On September 29, 2011, Crowe signed with

Phoenix Hagen Phoenix Hagen is a German professional basketball club that is based in Hagen, Germany. After withdrawing from the Basketball Bundesliga in November 2016, Phoenix Hagen re-launched its basketball team for the 2017-18 ProA season. The ProA is Germ ...

of Germany for the 2011–12 season. However, he was released by the club in December 2011 after appearing in just nine games. In those nine games, he averaged career lows with 7.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.4 steals per game. In February 2012, Crowe signed with the

for the

2012 New Zealand NBL season The 2012 NBL season was the 31st season of the National Basketball League. While the Harbour Heat returned for the 2012 season, the Waikato Pistons dropped out of the league. It marked the first time the league had no Waikato presence since 198 ...

. In 18 games for the Saints (16 regular season, 2 playoff), he averaged 17.3 points, 6.4 rebounds, 8.7 assists and 2.8 steals per game. Crowe was named Assist Champion for a third time, and guided his team to the Grand Final where they were defeated by the

Auckland Pirates The Auckland Pirates were a New Zealand basketball team based in Auckland. The Pirates competed in the National Basketball League (NBL) and played their home games at ASB Stadium. Team history In March 2011, the franchise was unveiled by Baske ...

Post-playing career

In June 2014, Crowe was named the head coach of the

Verbum Dei High School Verbum Dei Jesuit High School, also known as the Verb, is a private Catholic Church, Catholic all-boys college preparatory school sponsored by the Society of Jesus in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1962 by the Divine Word Missionaries ...

basketball team.

References

External links