Longtime AAU volunteer passes

Article originally published at arkansasonline.com

Ron Crawford, the longtime AAU basketball coach of the Arkansas Wings organization, died Saturday morning.

He was 76.

Crawford, who entered a hospice facility July 7 after enduring health issues, founded and coached the Wings in 1980. The Wings won a total of nine national championships in the 16-under, 17-under and senior divisions.

Former Razorback great and 12-year NBA player Corliss Williamson remembers Crawford as someone who cared about Arkansas basketball and provided opportunities to players and coaches.

"He gave all of us an opportunity to pursue our dreams, and he did it unselfishly," Williamson said. "I know he's always been there for me. When I got into coaching, if I ever needed anything I could call on him, and I knew he would be there and I could get some advice."

Williamson, who led Arkansas to its only national championship in 1994, recalls former Indiana coach Bobby Knight coming to a Wings practice.

"He didn't take it easy on me because Bobby Knight was there," Williamson said of Crawford. "He continued to push me in practice. That's one thing you could expect from coach Crawford is he was going to make sure you worked hard."

Crawford's teams finished in the top 10 at the national tournament 16 times. Crawford, who served a short stint as the TV color analyst for Razorbacks basketball, was a head coach for one of three teams in the 2005 USA Basketball Men's Youth Development Festival.

He served as an assistant coach to the 1995 and 1996 USA Junior National Select Team. He also worked on the committee that selected coaches and players for the Youth Development Festival from 2000-04.

Conway businessman Bryan Adams was invited by Crawford to join the Arkansas Wings organization in 2012, and he took over the Wings in 2016 when Crawford focused on developing the basketball program at Southwest Christian Academy in Little Rock.

Adams was motivated to be part of spring and summer basketball because of Crawford.

"My interest in getting involved was Ron Crawford," said Adams, who has since changed the named from Wings to Woodz Elite. "I was never good enough to play at that level, but I always followed coach Crawford and his players over the years, and then when I was in a position where I could afford to be a part of it. Coach invited me in and eventually gave me the reins, and I'll always be forever grateful for that."

The Wings organization produced SEC players of the year in Williamson and Bobby Portis at Arkansas, as well as former Razorbacks Moses Kingsley, Jason Jennings, Hunter Mickelson, Rashad Madden and Dusty Hannahs.

Hannahs, a Little Rock native, played two seasons at Texas Tech before transferring to Arkansas. He's a free agent after being with the Memphis Hustle of the G League.

He said Crawford was instrumental in helping him get noticed by college coaches.

He made a huge impact on me chasing my dreams and playing college basketball," Hannahs said. "He helped me start getting recruited and pushed me to be better."

Adams said while numerous kids earned college scholarships, others picked up valuable life lessons from Crawford and Wings.

"There were kids that probably never would've left the inner city of Little Rock and got a chance to travel the country, play basketball, and see things they would never see," Adams said. "He made those trips more than basketball. Not all the kids got scholarships, but every one of them got lifelong experiences. He's a Hall of Famer in my book."

Williamson was named the No. 1 player in the nation as a senior at Russellville by basketball guru Bob Gibbons. He helped the Wings win 16-under and senior division national championships.

He remembers approaching Crawford before his junior year about achieving the No. 1 ranking.

"I went to him and told him I wanted to be ranked number one in my class, and he made it a point to make sure I was able to be in front of the right people," Williamson said. "He gave me an opportunity to put me on the platform where I could showcase my talents and try to achieve that goal."