Ned's World: Crotty Takes Command at Duke
by Jesse Baumgartner | Special to Lacrosse Magazine Online
|
|
No matter what happens in Foxboro, Duke star Ned Crotty says he'd like to return for his extra year of eligibility in 2010. © Kevin P. Tucker |
After flying somewhat under the radar this season, perhaps it's fitting that Duke's men's lacrosse star doesn't have an attention-grabbing game, either.
Oh, from a statistical perspective, Ned Crotty is right up there -- second in the country with 4.22 points per game. But with 23 goals and 53 assists, he's officially not your typical standout at the position.
After switching from a midfield, Crotty has put his own unique stamp on a Duke attack that has more than held its own and helped advance the program to its third straight final four. The Blue Devils take on another offensive juggernaut, Syracuse, in an NCAA semifinal Saturday at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass.
"He just takes what the defense gives him, and he's very patient, and he's doing a great job of decision making," Duke coach John Danowski said of Crotty.
In many ways, Crotty is the poster child for a Duke team that was overlooked after losing stars Matt Danowski and Zack Greer from the 2008 squad. Success this year was dependent on lesser-known names stepping up, and putting Crotty up front was a switch that could help a depleted offense gel quickly.
The move had been talked about a little last season when Crotty had success inverting as a midfielder, but he didn't know until about a week before the first game that he'd be starting at attack. And like the rest of this season, it's worked out better than anyone could have hoped.
"I knew he was going to be fine. I mean, obviously it takes a couple games to get a little chemistry going," said fellow attackman Max Quinzani, who has 43 goals this season. "I never knew he was going to be such a ridiculous feeder as far as numbers go."
It hasn't all been easy, of course. Crotty has had to work on the footwork up front, and he said he's still learning to read different situations.
Duke was also 2-2 at one point after consecutive losses to Harvard and Maryland, and the predictions of a down year seemed right on the money.
But the Blue Devils have been nearly untouchable since, with Crotty's play helping lead them to an ACC championship and a conference player of the year award for himself.
Danowski thinks a large part of Crotty's evolution has simply
been experience in game situations. He's had some helpful advice
this season, too, from none other than the graduated Matt
Danowski.
Crotty has gotten texts from Danowski after games and also talks
with him, and the graduated star offers an informative opinion that
Duke's current attackman obviously values.
"There will be certain games where I'll talk to him, and he'll know right away -- he didn't like how I was going out there or he didn't like how I was playing," Crotty said.
Crotty has been doing plenty right all season, although the nature of assists makes his impact somewhat quieter in the flow of the games themselves.
"The greatest thing is half the time we come off the field like after games, and if someone were to ask me like, ‘Oh, how many points did Ned get?' I'm like, ‘A few,' or something like that," Quinzani said. "And then we look at the stat sheet and he ends up getting like six assists."
In fact, perhaps a slight critique of Crotty has been when he's passing too much. While Danowski said his star shoots enough for his liking, Crotty said the coach has blown his whistle during practice to tell him to pull the trigger.
"Because I think for a while I almost got wrapped up in the whole assist thing, and looking for the pass instead of the shot," Crotty said. "And there were times on film where you could see where ... I should have been shooting, but I was looking for the pass instead."
Now Crotty feels himself thinking shoot-first a little more, and with 23 goals he obviously can find the net.
But it's also evident that his real talent is finding the open man. Think Steve Nash in basketball -- the ability to score, but the desire to distribute.
Quinzani said that when Crotty is coming down the left with the ball, he's "fully confident" that his buddy can find him posting up on the other side -- even with multiple sticks in the way.
"And I know coach is probably yelling, "'No, no, no' most of the time when he throws that ball," Quinzani said. "I'm yelling yes. And he throws the ball hard, and most of the time the defensemen think he's crazy if he's throwing it."
As part of the last Duke class affected by the disrupted 2006 season, Crotty has another year of eligibility that he said he'll take.
And perhaps that's the most alarming part of all this, at least for opposing coaches. After learning attack on the fly and still posting standout numbers, one of the nation's top talents will have a whole offseason to refine his game up front.
Yikes.
