Overview

Tech won a heated recruiting battle for the services of Crittenton, the player the coaching staff called the most highly regarded point guard to enroll at the Schoolsince Stephon Marbury in 1995. Unlike most players at his position, he is a muscular performer with good strength, demonstrating an excellent first step and the explosiveness that makes guarding him one-on-one a difficult task.

The turnaround the Yellow Jackets had in 2006-07 while compiling a 20-12 record after going 11-17 the previous season was a byproduct of Crittenton's ability to break defenders down off the dribble, getting into the lane, to the basket and making his teammates better. He is blessed with an excellent competitive drive, always striving to get better, and has shown the ability to make big plays at key moments. A student of the game, he likes to study game tape and has an impressive collection of film of great point guards.

Crittenton was a five-star prospect at Southwest Atlanta Christian School, making the McDonald's All-American team as well as third-team from Parade and EA Sports following his senior year. He rated the sixth-best High School prospect in the nation by Hoop Scoop Magazine and was the top-rated point guard in the country according to Rivals.com.

The team captain lettered all four years at SACA, where he helped his Schoolto the Class A state championships in 2004 and 2006, and runner-up finishes in 2003 and 2005, when the squad posted a 113-19 record. He earned All-State honors three times, and was named Mr. Georgia Basketball in 2006 by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He set the Schoolcareer scoring record with more than 3,500 points, breaking the mark held by former teammate and current Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard.

As a senior, Crittenton averaged 29 points, seven rebounds and nine assists per game, as SACA went 28-5 and defeated Whitefield Academy for the state title. After his final season, he played in the McDonald's All-American game in San Diego, the Derby Festival in Louisville, and the 2006 Nike Junior World Championship in Paris, France.

As a sophomore, playing alongside Howard, SACA won the GHSA Class A state championship in 2004. Without Howard in '05, Crittenton carried SACA to the state final, as he averaged 28.4 points, 7.5 assists and 8.2 rebounds and 3.6 steals per game. He also played in the 2005 USA Youth Developmental Festival, winning a gold medal.

Crittenton excelled academically, graduating with a 3.5 grade-point average. He was a member of the Future Business Leaders of America and the Senior Beta Club. During the summer, he played with the Atlanta Celtics AAU team.

Determined to stay home, Crittenton announced during his prep junior year that he wished to attend Georgia Tech. Even though his career with the Yellow Jackets could have ended after just one season -- Crittenton had not hired an agent as of May 21 and could decide to return to Tech -- he was a unanimous Atlantic Coast Conference All-Freshman Team selection, adding third-team All-ACC accolades.

The Atlanta native tied for the team lead in scoring at 14.4 points a game and ranked second in the ACC in assists (5.7 per game), while the Yellow Jackets finished 20-12 with a berth in the NCAA Tournament. He started 31 of 32 games at point guard, as he contributed 460 points by hitting 158 of 351 field goals (45 percent), including 36 of 101 3-pointers (35.6 percent) and had a 78.3 free-throw percentage (108 of 138). He snatched 119 rebounds, including 28 offensive boards, totaled 184 assists and had 65 steals with a pair of blocked shots.

His 184 assists rank 11th on the school's single-season list and his assist average of 5.8 per game ranks sixth on Tech's annual record chart and was the best average by a Yellow Jackets player since Jarrett Jack averaged six assists per game during the 2002-03 campaign. He was hit with 67 Personal fouls as he turned the ball over 124 times, an average of 3.9 per game.

Crittenton scored in double figures in 25 games, including 20 points in Tech's first-round win over Purdue in the Maui Classic. He drove the lane at will in that game and went to the foul line 12 times, making 10, leading the Jackets to a 62-point second half, as he averaged 12.7 points and four assists in the three games, also getting six steals.

He was named ACC Rookie of the Week three times. Crittenton helped start Tech on its February rally with 26 points (9 of 15 FG), six assists and seven steals vs. Clemson, then poured in 21 points (7 of 11 FG) with seven assists and three steals vs. North Carolina State. He had three double-doubles, two in ACC games (13 points and 11 assists vs. North Carolina, 16 points and 10 assists vs. Boston College.

The second-ranked freshman scorer in the ACC in conference games (16 points per game, eighth among all players), Crittenton led all players in assists (5.38 per game) against the ACC, was first among frosh in steals (2.07 per game) and second in free-throw percentage (84.3 percent). Six of his seven 20-point games came against ACC teams (Tech was 6-1 when he scored 20 or more).

Crittenton was Tech's hottest player over the final month of the season, averaging 16.9 points and 6.2 assists over the Yellow Jackets' last 11 games (10 in double figures). Four of his seven 20-point games came in that stretch, including a career-high 29 (10 of 17 FG, 6 of 7 FT) in Tech's only ACC road win at Florida State.

In April, Crittenton and teammate Thaddeus Young announced that they would enter the 2007 NBA Draft pool, but did not retain an agent, thus leaving open the door for a possible return to school.

"Javaris wants to keep his eligibility intact by not having an agent," said head coach Paul Hewitt, "but he wants to further explore his status in the upcoming draft by being able to speak directly with NBA personnel. Javaris wants to focus on finishing out the spring semester and final exams next week, then concentrate on gathering information from NBA teams."

"I enjoy Georgia Tech, the environment here and all the fans, and I appreciate all the support I've gotten though High School and my freshman year, both from the Tech community and the people in Atlanta," Crittenton said. "But I feel I need to enter my name right now in order to get the best possible information from people in the NBA."

Scouting Report

Positives: Tall, muscular athlete with long limbs and impressive strength...Built more like a traditional "two" guard, but has done a fine job of breaking defenders down off the dribble and is a natural at the point...With his size and athleticism, he could also see some minutes at the small forward position, as he has the explosive initial step to slash past his opponent in drives to the basket...Possesses soft, natural, large hands and does a good job with ball security (most turnovers came on passes)...Despite being a freshman, he is a fiery leader on the court and shows good court vision, using his leg strength and quickness to make it tough even for double teams to stop him once he gets within six feet of the basket...Has very good leaping ability crashing the boards for the offensive rebound and has the long reach to battle for the loose balls...Known more for his defensive skills rather than as a shooter, he has greatly improved his mid-range ability...Has the ability to create his own shot when he faces the basket and has the dexterity to sink the one-handed floaters from either the left or right with the same consistency...Drives hard to the basket and can penetrate almost at will, showing the strength to power through and elevate, drawing the opponent into fouling when he gets into the lanes by his ability to squeeze through the defensive gaps...Sees the floor well and has good stamina and the ability to get up and down the court...Uses fakes to keep the defender off-balance...Very efficient at putting pressure on the ball handler and has the hands to make steals off the dribble or score from either side...High flyer with good success when he glides and elevates in the paint, as he will generally float to the rim with ease and loves to dunk...Uses his long limbs to put in the layups above the rim...Floats through the lane and is smooth with a scorer's mentality to take the ball to the basket when given the opportunity...Has a solid work ethic and even though he over-dribbles too much, he is a student of the game who puts in extra hours in the film room studying tape...Still a work in progress, but if his mid-range shot continues to improve, he will be very difficult for smaller guards to defend along the perimeter...Could force the opponent to use their small forward on him defensively due to his size and strength, creating a speed mismatch...Tough to guard him on the open court, especially on pick-and-rolls...Has very good length and instincts to steal the ball and has become very good on drive-and-dish plays when he doesn't try to force the action...Has decent 3-point range, but does not get many opportunities to shoot from that distance (3.15 attempts per game, making 1.12 of those shots)...Seems to be more confident in his shots if they aren't past mid-range, but you can see on film that he is capable of getting good elevation when asked to shoot over his man from the outside.

Negatives: Has good court vision, but most of his turnovers were the result of ill-advised passes, struggling to make reads in the half-court offense...Also has problems vs. the full-court press...Though he has good timed speed, he gets beaten to the hole by the smaller, quicker guards...Must develop a better post-up jumper and shift gears better to keep his defenders honest...Tall, but tends to get too low in his stance, struggling to move his feet quick enough to prevent the slashing opponent from taking a side on him...Will get into a rhythm, where he simply misfires on his shots, but will continue to put the ball up rather than passing it off...Needs to look for the open man more often rather than trying to make the big play on his own...Unselfish player with the tools to play the point, but will lose focus and his turnover rate was alarming in 2006-07 (3.9 per game)...Gets out of tempo too often when asked to play the half-court action and needs to do a better job of changing gears, as he will get too aggressive and out-run the ball at times...Good one-on-one defender in High School, but struggled with his assignment vs. the opponent's pick-and-roll action.

Compares To: JARRETT JACK, Portland. Like the former Georgia Tech guard Jack, Javaris Crittenton is a solid defensive player who handles the ball well. He has developed a nice mid-range shot and can also connect from 3-point range, but did not get too many opportunities to shoot from that distance. He will get a little overaggressive at times, but is generally a physical defender who can break down opponents at the dribble. He might not have the mental maturity to play the point yet, as he will make costly decisions and holds the ball too long at times. Still, with a weak crop of point guards in this class, with patient coaching, he will either develop more of a scoring touch to play shooting guard or calm down and be an efficient point man. He scares some who see too much Stephon Marbury in him.

High School

Attended Southwest Atlanta (Ga.) Christian Academy, where the team captain played four years of basketball for head coach Courtney Brooks...Five-star prospect who earned McDonald's All-American first-team honors, as well as third-team from Parade and EA Sports following his senior year...Rated the sixth-best High School prospect in the nation by Hoop Scoop Magazine and was the top-rated point guard in the country according to Rivals.com...Helped his Schoolto the Class A state championships in 2004 and 2006, and runner-up finishes in 2003 and 2005 and the squad posted a 113-19 record...Earned All-State honors three times, and was named Mr. Georgia Basketball in 2006 by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution...Set the Schoolcareer scoring record with more than 3,500 points, breaking the mark held by former teammate and current Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard...As a senior, Crittenton averaged 29 points, seven rebounds and nine assists per game, as the Schoolwent 28-5 and defeated Whitefield Academy for the state title...After his final year, he played in the McDonald's All-American game in San Diego, the Derby Festival in Louisville, and the 2006 Nike Junior World Championship in Paris, France...Played alongside Dwight Howard as a sophomore, as SACA won the GHSA class A state championship in 2004...Without Howard in 2005, Crittenton carried the team to the state final, as he averaged 28.4 points, 7.5 assists and 8.2 rebounds and 3.6 steals per game...Also played in the 2005 USA Youth Developmental Festival, winning a gold medal...graduated with a 3.5 grade point average...Member of the Future Business Leaders of America and the Senior Beta Club...During the summer, he played with the Atlanta Celtics AAU team.

Personal

Management major...Son of Sonya Dixon...Born is Javaris Cortez Crittenton on 12/31/87 in Atlanta, Georgia.

Copyright (C) 2007 The Sports Xchange. All Rights Reserved.