Villanova Point Guard Elijah Crawford a Tenacious Teammate

Villanova marks the third stop in as many years for point guard Elijah Crawford, who began his college career at BYU before transferring to the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC). 6-foot-3 and 187 pounds, Crawford got a taste of high-major hoops with the Cougars, averaging 5.1 minutes across 21 games despite playing behind future lottery pick Egor Dëmin. 

Crawford said he treated his first taste of high-major action with BYU as a developmental year, learning from Dëmin and acting like a sponge.

“Just going in every day with a mindset to get better. I was playing a little bit early on, but as the season went on my minutes decreased. So it was just a learning experience,” Crawford said. “I had a guy that was a lottery pick in my position. Playing behind him and being able to see what he does and just picking up on anything that I could.”

Even though he started at UIC, the 2025-26 season came with plenty of challenges. He appeared in just two games during nonconference play, dealing with an ankle injury that nearly caused him to redshirt. 

Tenacious Defender

However, with the Flames within reach of an NCAA Tournament spot — they made the NIT after falling in the MVC title game  — Crawford wasn’t going to prioritize his own career.

“I was out for two and a half months, I was on the verge of redshirting,” Crawford said. 

“I think we were four games into conference play. Coach kinda sat me down, had a real conversation with me about what was at stake. I just ultimately made the decision to come back. My ankle was still a little bum when I came back, I wasn’t able to move how I was before, but I just pushed through it.”

Playing with a hard edge is a tenet of Crawford’s game. Villanova head coach Kevin Willard praised Crawford for his defense during an appearance on Jon Rothstein’s podcast, but Crawford described himself as tenacious, saying his success on his own end of the court comes from effort more than anything else.

“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.”

Settling In

Crawford found a rhythm with the Flames as the season drew to a close, averaging 17.2 points and 6.5 assists over the final ten games of the season; comfortably above his season pace of 14.1 points and 4.9 dishes. As he prepares for the talent level of the Big East, Crawford said Villanova’s size and shooting stand out.

“There’s a lot of shooters around me, that’s all I can say. If I get stuck, I’m jump-stopping with two feet and just pivot, kick it out, easy assist. It’s crazy just being around a bunch of guys who can shoot the ball,” Crawford said. “I feel like that’s one of the biggest differences in going from mid-major to high major: the shooting percentages, the physicality and the size of the guys.”

The Wildcats have two main options at point guard this season, Crawford and fellow transfer Darryl “Buddy” Simmons II. Despite playing the same position, Willard said that their differing styles of play will allow him to put both on the court at the same time: for all his scoring ability, Crawford looks to pass, while Simmons focuses on finding the net. 

“Buddy’s a gifted scorer, Buddy will put the ball in the basket. So we just feed off of each other,” Crawford said. “I set Buddy up where he’s comfortable and vice versa, he also sets me up in my spots where he knows that I am comfortable.”