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Allen Crabbe’s Road To Success

By Monique Hampton

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From 2nd Rounder To Success: The Allen Crabbe Story

“Growth for me is being out there, having to go through the sets.” “Having to play live and make mistakes. That’s that only way you’re going to grow. So I feel like me getting the opportunity I’m getting now it’s what I been waiting for. So I just got to live up to it.” – Allen Crabbe (via Oregonlive.com)

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When it comes to growth and development Allen Crabbe can explain this process very well. He once found himself buried on a talented playoff contender, making it a long road to playing time. Crabbe found himself patiently waiting for his opportunity to show that he belongs in the league. Now 24 games into the 2015-16 season, he is starting to make noise around the league as a threat off of Portland’s bench.

Crabbe’s transition from college to the NBA has been a rocky journey for the 23 year old. Starting out his college career at the University of California, Crabbe was awarded several accolades. He was well on his way to making his dreams of becoming a professional basketball player a reality. During his collegiate years with the Golden Bears, Crabbe averaged 15.7 points per game on .446 shooting. He also tallied up 5.7 rebounds per game, and 2.2 assists per game. He was named PAC-12 freshmen of the year, All PAC-12 Conference first team for two years straight, along with winning PAC-12 player of the year during his junior year. Declaring for the NBA draft after his junior season, Crabbe would then go on a whirlwind transition from college to the NBA.

“He keeps it simple offensively. He’s shooting with confidence. He’s taking good shots. There’s a lot to like.” – Terry Stotts

On the night of the 2013 NBA Draft he was selected 31st overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers, and later traded to the Portland Trail Blazers for two future second round picks. Crabbe was then assigned to the Idaho Stampede of the D-League. While there he was on a roller-coaster of going back and forth between the D-League and the Trail Blazers. After finally settling down in Portland, the bench became his new home. Coming into a veteran playoff team, Crabbe wasn’t needed much. On November 11th 2014 he made his first NBA start in the Trail Blazers 102-100 win against the Charlotte Hornets. After that night Crabbe didn’t see that much playing time, only averaging 13.4 minutes per game (only playing 51 contests total).

This past summer was a disaster for the Portland Trail Blazers. Losing their main pieces in trades or free agency. The team has to now start over from the bottom. With the young team being centered around two time all star point guard Damian Lillard, Terry Stotts now has the chance to focus more on the players he might have over looked before. When commenting on Crabbe’s development, Stotts stated, “He keeps it simple offensively. He’s shooting with confidence. He’s taking good shots. There’s a lot to like.” (via Oregonlive.com) Gaining the attention of his coach has benefitted Crabbe throughout this season. Crabbe has been one of the main pieces off the bench, after proving to Stotts that he can depend on him. Strong bench play has been key in helping the Trail Blazers stay afloat in the Western Conference.

Dec 7, 2015; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Bucks guard Khris Middleton (22) looks to shoot as Portland Trail Blazers forward Allen Crabbe (23) defends during the fourth quarter at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Milwaukee won 90-88. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

To date he is having his best campaign yet, averaging a career high of 10.2 points per game with a .503 field goal percentage; an increase from his previous two seasons. Crabbe is also getting more time on the court averaging 24.2 minutes per game. The month of December has been a break out month for him. Coming into his own, Crabbe has been averaging 15.3 points per game, and shooting over 50% from the field. Improvement on his mid-range jumper and more consistent scoring has caused Crabbe to get in on some crunch time duty lately. He has reached double digit scoring totals in the last seven games for Portland. Having his best game thus far against the Indiana Pacers, Crabbe went for 18 points off the bench, shooting (4/5 from the beyond the arc, and over 50% from the field).

Crabbe is definitely making the best out of his situation with the Trail Blazers. Increasing in every stat area, receiving more playing time, and becoming a feature threat on the scouting report for the opposition. This year has been a great start for him.  Keep in mind that this is only his third season, and there is still a lot of room for improvement. If he keeps this up through the end of the year he could be looking at a big pay day. Proving his worth to the Trail Blazers and other teams around the league, Crabbe could possibly see nice offers coming his way. Taking everything one game at a time, he is proving to everyone around him that the NBA is where he belongs. Let’s just hope that he will remain in Portland for the years to come.