Steven Crowl out of Eagan (Minn.) was a skilled three-star center coming out of high school. He was viewed as a player that would need some time to develop and physically mature before he was ready to log minutes in the Big Ten.
After a true freshman season that saw him battle/learn from the likes of Micah Potter and Nate Reuvers on the scout team – a much larger role awaited him in year two.
As a sophomore, Steven Crowl has started all 12 games at center for the Badgers – with varying results.
It was expected that Crowl would suffering through some growing pains while learning on the job, because experience is the best teacher for a player who is already skilled enough to see the floor.
Offensively, we’ve seen flashes of Crowl as a floor spacing big man with excellent court vision and passing ability – we just haven’t seen it consistently. Crowl struggles when facing an opposing big man that’s stronger than him, allowing them to frequently move him off his spot and make life tough for him on the low block.
On defense, he still needs to pack on weight and doesn’t yet possess the toughness to battle opposing big men for 30+ minutes – so Greg Gard brought in Chris Vogt via the transfer portal to have big bodied center that could better handle the rigors of the grind that is Big Ten basketball.
The disparity in production
Crowl’s up and down season in terms of production can be easily explained – he plays well against the teams he should, and struggles against better teams.
Against non-power six programs, Steven Crowl is averaging 11.1 points and 6 rebounds per game – which is pretty impressive for a relatively inexperienced sophomore.
Where things greatly differ is against power six programs. Against the P6, Crowl is averaging a mere 6.5 points and 3.5 rebounds.
It’s not uncommon to see inflated numbers against smaller schools, but his lack of production against tougher opponents has opened the door for Chris Vogt to see additional opportunity at center.
Where things go from here
I’d like to caution fans from jumping to conclusions about a player this early in his career. He’s going to continue to get stronger and mature physically as his career progresses, and once that catches up with his skill-set – he’s going to be a very important player for this program.
Steven Crowl is a talented big man that lacks confidence at this point in his career. His teammates know the kind of untapped potential he possesses, and will continue to push him to become that player.
The finished product of Steven Crowl will be worth the wait.
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