Browsing through the NCAA vault a few weeks ago, I stumbled upon a game that had inexplicably slipped my mind (being from PA and all), which was the 2000 Sweet Sixteen matchup between Temple and Penn State. I could picture one of their players but just could not recall his name before it hit me: Joe Crispin. The 6'1" guard had an excellent career and it is worthy of a revisit, whether to drum up old memories or introduce you to a solid collegiate player.
Crispin got better each year at PSU, jumping from 9.6 points as a freshman 19.5 his senior season. He was an integral member of the offense each year, as his possession percentage was never lower than 20th in the conference and hitting #1 and #2 his junior and senior season, respectively. His best individual game was likely the game against in state rival Pitt his senior season where he finished with 36 points on 13-22 shooting (7-9 from 3), 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals in a convincing 14 point win.
It wasn't all roses for Crispin though as he struggled through many games. In addition, his only major contribution was scoring so if his shot was off, he was not much of an asset on the court. This is seen in his sophomore season as PSU fell to Ohio State with Crispin playing 23 minutes and shooting 0-10 from the field.
His brother Jon joined him at PSU for his junior and senior season (he then transferred to UCLA) and the brothers teamed up for one of the biggest wins in PSU history (if not the biggest). As a #7 seed they faced a daunting task in their second round matchup against #2 UNC, led by Julius Peppers and Joe Forte. Joe Crispin poured in 21 points while Jon chipped in a respectable 5 points to turn a 10 point underdog into an 8 point victor. Although PSU would go on to lose in the next round to Temple, Crispin went down in PSU folklore as one of the top players to don the uniform.
It is easy to forget Crispin as Penn State is a football school and have not had much success outside of this Sweet 16 appearance this decade. This is my first player that I have spotlighted that I think was forgotten on a national spotlight. So where is Crispin now? After several different professional stops (2004 ABA MVP!) he now plays in Italy. Check out his personal website here: Joe Crispin site
Here is a video from 2000 that shows highlights from PSU - Kentucky game (Joe Crispin is #3). Crispin poured in 31 points (Jon added 26) to upset the ranked Kentucky team on the road.
See highlights here
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