Villanova Film Room: Elijah Crawford Displays High Motor

This is one in a series of stories reviewing film for each player on Villanova Men’s Basketball’s 2026-27 roster.

Villanova point guard and UIC transfer Elijah Crawford described himself as tenacious when asked what made head coach Kevin Willard praise his defense during an offseason podcast. 

“If I get beat, I’m gonna do everything in my power to get back in front, and I play really hard: I make mistakes, but I make it up by playing really hard,” Crawford said. “I defend the ball, I’m really good on ball screens. I make the right decisions almost every time, and I can also score the ball too.”

In reviewing Crawford’s film from UIC’s season-ending loss to Cal in the first round of the NIT, that decision making stood out… as much for the speed as for the accuracy. The 6-foot-3, 187 pound junior acts decisively, maintaining ball movement with immediate passes and showing no hesitation on catch-and-shoot opportunities. 

High Motor

Crawford is fast and agile like any good point guard, pivoting out of danger on the perimeter before driving inside with authority on numerous occasions, ending the possession by rearing back for a jumper or barreling into the paint and using his speed to draw fouls — a trait that helped on ball screens like he described. Even as a pass-first point guard, Crawford demonstrated strong feel, lofting up layups from the edge of the paint; he made 100 of 191 two-point shots on the season (52.4 percent). A lack of three-point shooting (he made 27.4 percent of shots from deep on the season) could help opposing guards cheat back against him, however.

Defensively, Crawford did a good job of keeping the ball in front of him. He tended to win his rep, forcing a pass instead of having opposing players test him and try to drive inside, but the Golden Bears’ three-point shooting — they made 15 of 28 threes during the game — kept Crawford honest. He managed to get his licks in, showing an opportunistic flair on a play where he darted in to steal an inbound pass with the Golden Bears napping.

Playing on a team like Villanova built around size and shooting should augment Crawford’s opportunistic traits, giving him opportunities to dart in when opposing teams let their guard down.