(Photo: Connor Gleason/WCSN)
TEMPE — First-year Arizona State guard JRob Croy followed head coach Randy Bennett from Saint Mary’s to ASU as a recruit. His father, Rick, joined the Sun Devils as an associate head coach after 13 years leading Cal Baptist.
Croy may have joined a team full of familiar faces, but his path wasn’t yet paved ahead of his first season in Tempe, even with his dad on the staff.
Croy was only added to the starting lineup after an ankle injury sidelined fourth-year wing Emmanuel Innocenti after the season opener.
In Croy’s second-ever collegiate start, the 19-year-old played an “exceptional” game in his head coach’s words.
After missing his first two shots, Croy made his next seven, finishing with a career-high 18 points, shooting 6-for-9 from the field. The freshman led the Sun Devils in second-half scoring, en route to an 85-63 win over Hofstra.
“JRob put on a flurry,” Bennett said. “That was an impressive little eight minutes, maybe separating the game. JRob’s getting better, and he’ll keep getting better.”
In 15 minutes of first-half action, Croy only mustered three points, shooting 33% from the field — a forgettable performance as his season-worst shooting percentage led to him tying his lowest first-half scoring total.
Encouraging words from his teammates helped the young guard shake his first-half jitters.
“After I missed those first two, every guy on our team was telling me, ‘Next shot. You’re banging the next one.’” Croy said. “That just gives me so much confidence knowing that I have teammates that believe in me.”
Up only six points with less than 40 seconds left in the first half, it was one of Croy’s fellow freshmen that helped turn the Sun Devils’ self-confidence and belief from words into something palpable.
Having just entered the game, first-year forward Ajak Nyuon came off a screen and positioned himself firmly behind the 3-point line.
Standing at 6-foot-10, a typical player of Nyuon’s stature would normally find himself in the post. But Nyuon knew what he wanted. The Canberra, Australia native called for the ball with 3.4 seconds to go. Second-year guard Joel Foxwell obliged.
On his first-ever collegiate shot attempt, Nyuon’s 3-pointer dropped through the net to beat the halftime buzzer.
The bench, the stands and everyone touting maroon and gold erupted.
A buzz of belief surged through the Sun Devil faithful. It carried into the second half.
ASU began the following frame with five consecutive makes from behind the arc. The insufficient nine-point halftime lead quickly swelled to 26, all on the back of Croy.
Croy hit five 3s of his own in the second half — three during the quintuplet stretch.
After a strong first-half showing from fourth-year forward Paulius Murauskas, the Pride focused their attention on him, leaving Croy all alone.
“When they double Paulius, I’m going to get wide open 3s,” Croy said.
After each 3-pointer plopped through the net, Croy couldn’t help but let out a smile.
“You put so much time and energy into this game, and I think to be able to show it on the court gives you so much joy,” Croy said.
As a high schooler, observing his dad’s practices at CBU, Croy learned what it meant to carry himself like a player at the next level.
One of Rick’s former players, center Nate Garcia, remembers a teenage Croy being around team practices throughout his time at Cal Baptist, always cheering and supportive. Now, the two are teammates at ASU, and Garcia says Croy hasn’t changed a bit.
“He would come to practice at my old school and cheer us on,” Garcia said. “Now that he is my teammate, he does the same thing but at a more passionate level.”
However, Croy’s basketball journey wasn’t always full of positive moments worth smiling about.
Tuesday night only marked Croy’s third game since his junior year of high school. He was sidelined his entire senior season with a foot injury, forced to watch every game from the bench.
“I hit rock bottom at one point last year, not being able to play the game that I love,” Croy said.
After a grueling rehabilitation process, Croy was finally able to make his return to the floor this season.
His rise through the rotation was accelerated by his familiarity with the coaching staff.
Unlike most players, Croy knew his future head coach from the time he was a child. His father was an assistant under Bennett at Saint Mary’s from 2010-2013.
“I’ve been familiar with Coach Bennett’s program and system for a long time,” Croy said. “I don’t want to say that I knew everything when I came in because I definitely didn’t. There were a couple wake-up calls for me. But I did have an idea of what I was coming into and what to expect, especially from a culture standpoint. I knew that I was going to have to come in and work really hard and be a great teammate, do all the things that Coach Bennett expects, at a really high level.”
It also helps that Croy knew one of his associate head coaches since birth.
“I try not to take it for granted,” Croy said about having his father as a coach. “Not many people get to do this.”
As the son of a coach, Croy’s natural basketball IQ might be genetic. Already off to a scorching start, Bennett projects great success for his young guard.
“He’s a great shooter. He’s a good competitor, and he’s learning the game,” Bennett said. “For a freshman, he’s doing great leadership-wise.”
