For Jacob Crutchfield, he has waited patiently in the wings at Ben L. Smith High School. Last year in the NCHSAA 4A playoffs, Crutchfield came off the bench and finished with 17 points in the win over Alexander Central. He went 3-8 from the floor, 3-5 from the 3-point line and an impressive 8-9 from the free throw line. In addition, Crutchfield recorded two timely steals in the fourth quarter and in our option, was the clearly the player of the game. His defensive intensity and aggressive approach attacking the rim allowed him to get to the free throw line often.
Coming into the 2017-18 season, it's a little easy to get lost in recruiting with so many D1 prospects. You have Jaylin Gamble, Jalin Gamble, Isaiah Bigelow and sophomore sensation Silas Mason. However, this past weekend at the Phenom Summer Grind, Crutchfield easily put his name in the recruiting circles. In the three games, Crutchfield averaged 26.3 PPG with games of 25, 25 and 29. First of all, Crutchfield can play either guard position, but has natural scoring tendencies. He is so a versatile scorer and can hurt you anywhere on the court. Coach Partee stated, 'Crutchfield is a combo guard who can heat up quickly. He can score anywhere on the court and has the ability to guard 94 feet. Crutchfield has great character, passion, and is an excellent verbal leader on and off the court. He has deep range and has an excellent pull up jumper.'
While Crutchfield may take a current backseat to teammates that have ample offers, Coach Partee knows he has been undervalued and under recruited. We're talking about a high quality young man that absolutely understands the game and the importance of hard work. With the abundance of talent that is on display with the Ben L. Smith High School team, don't be surprised if Crutchfield ends up being the team's leading scorer. In our opinion, Crutchfield is a natural'score and has all the'ingredients to be an'effective collegiate level'guard.