By Kane McGuire, Louisiana Tech Associate AD/Strategic Communications; featured photo by Darrell James
Louisiana Tech’s Isaiah Crawfordhas taken the next step towards his professional basketball career as the former Bulldog has agreed to a two-way deal with the NBA’s Sacramento Kings.
Crawford came back for a fifth year at LA Tech and made the absolute most of it, earning Conference USA Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year honors.
The Fort Worth, Texas native was one of the best two-way players in the country this past season, being named a finalist for both the Lou Henson Award (presented to the top player in mid-major basketball) and the Lefty Driesell Award (presented to the top defensive player in DI basketball). He was also First Team All-CUSA, NABC First Team All-District, and a member of the CUSA All-Defensive Team in 2023-24.
Crawford averaged a team-high 16.3 points per game for the Bulldogs while shooting 48.5 percent from the field and 41.1 percent from three-point range. He registered double-digit points in 27 of his 32 games including nine games of 20+ points, highlighted by a career-high 30 points at Jacksonville State.
The forward registered five double-doubles while averaging a career-best 6.2 rebounds per contest. He also ranked in the top three in CUSA and top 50 in the country in both steals per game (2.13) and blocks per game (1.77).
He totaled 68 steals on the year, which ranks fourth in program history, while also amassing 55 blocks. As a result, he became just the second player in school history and the third player in CUSA history to have 60+ steals and 50+ blocks in a single season.
Crawford finished his career as the only Bulldog with at least 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 200 assists, 100 steals, and 100 blocks. He ranks 18th in program history in career points (1,504), seventh in career blocks (102), and fourth in career steals (187).