Sam Crawford

Crawford then decided to join the Continental Basketball Association and signed for the Hartford Hellcats where he started 2 of 23 games, averaging 9.0 points, 6.7 assists and 1.1 steals in 25.2 minutes per game. During the same season he transferred to the Wichita Falls Texans where he was a starter (15 out of 18 games) and averaged 14.5 points, 9.9 assists and 0.9 steals in 37.9 minutes. In 1994 he played in the Liga Profesional de Baloncesto in Venezuela where he led the league in assists per game at 11.1 (267 in 24 games), the all-time league record for highest assists per game average in a single season. His last team in the CBA were the Grand Rapids Mackers where he only played 3 games, averaging 3.0 points and 0.3 assists in the 1994–95 season.

In the days leading to the 1993 NBA Draft Crawford was projected as a late second round pick, and he took part in Pre-Draft camps in Phoenix, Arizona. However, he ended up being not drafted by an NBA franchise.

Crawford transferred to New Mexico State and was named the starting point guard: he played 33 games, averaging 12.9 points and 8.5 assists with a field goal percentage of .420 (.401 from three). He led the nation in assists for most of his junior season, but ultimately finished second: while Crawford had the most assists (282), Van Usher of Tennessee Tech had a better average at 8.8 per game. He was named MVP of the 1992 Big West Conference Tournament won by the Aggies. His 282 assists were a single-season school record at New Mexico State at the time.

Crawford's senior season in college was the most successful of his career. On December 21, 1992 he recorded 20 assists against Sam Houston State, only 2 shy of the all-time NCAA record of 22. Crawford led the Aggies in scoring and the entire NCAA in assists, being the top player both in total assists and in per-game average (9.1). He also recorded New Mexico State's single-season record with his 310 assists, breaking his own record established during the previous season. At the end of the season he won the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award for best player under 6 ft in college basketball, and he was named an All-American Honorable Mention by Associated Press.

Crawford immediately found success at Moorpark, and was the best player of the team, scoring 20.7 points per game and averaging 12.1 assists (411 total) in his freshman season. He led the conference in assists and scored a school-record 49 points against Ventura College. In his sophomore season he played 27 games, totalling 357 assists with an average of 13.2, and averaged 19.4 points. He recorded a triple double with 24 points, 19 assists and 11 steals against Glendale on January 3, 1991. His performances at Moorpark caught the attention of Gar Forman, assistant coach at New Mexico State, who called Crawford and asked him to join the Aggies for the 1991–92 season.

Sam Crawford (born April 18, 1970) is an American former professional basketball player. An agile and diminutive point guard at 5 ft 8 in tall, he attended Moorpark community college for two years before transferring to a Division I program, New Mexico State. In 1992–93 he led the NCAA in assists with a 9.1 average, was awarded the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award for the best college player under 6 ft and was an AP Honorable Mention. He is the all-time assists leader at New Mexico State with 592. After his senior year of college he went undrafted in the 1993 NBA Draft and had a short professional career in the CBA. He also appeared in two movies: Blue Chips and Forget Paris.