If nothing else, Danny Crawford has learned patience during his coaching career.
While coaching seven seasons at West Oktibbeha County High School, Crawford watched as the Oktibbeha County School District merged with the Starkville School District. Teachers and students left during the three-year process which saw the two county schools eventually close.
Crawford coached the remaining athletes at the school in both football and basketball. While others left, he stayed until the end and made the best he could out of his present situation.
This school year, new coaching life came at West Lowndes High School. Again patience came in hand as the Lady Panthers and Panthers both learned a new way of doing things.
“This year was really tough on the boys,” Crawford said. “For so many years, they played for coach (Roosevelt) Bridges. They knew his style and system. The buy-in took a whole lot longer than I expected.
“In the end, it really came together quite nicely.”
Crawford led the West Lowndes boys to their first-ever appearance in the Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 1A state championship game – a 60-49 loss to Ashland. The West Lowndes boys made it to Jackson for a second straight season, while Crawford also carried the West Lowndes girls back to Jackson for the first time since 2006.
Today, Crawford is being honored as The Dispatch’s All-Area Small Schools Boys’ Basketball Coach of the Year.
“We just really needed to be pushed in the right direction,” West Lowndes junior Marcus Farmer said. “Coach Crawford gave us an identity. He told us from the beginning we could win a state championship if we just believed in him and believed in the system. It took a little while to get everybody on the same page. As the year went on, practices got better and the guys really had that championship-type mind-set.”
West Lowndes peaked at the right time a season ago, advancing to Jackson despite a losing record. This season, the Panthers did it with more through dominance.
West Lowndes finished with a 25-9 overall record, with several of those losses coming to the Class 5A and Class 6A powers in the area. The Panthers won the region regular-season title and tournament title. The express continued in Jackson before falling short in an epic championship game between two junior-laden squads.
“The boys really did what I expected,” Crawford said. “It was a talented group. Our goal from the beginning of the season was to win the state championship.
“The No. 1 goal when I was hired was to make sure they knew what I expected of them. It’s not only what I expect in practice but also what I expect from my academic policy and my behavior policy. Playing from me is complicated and it takes a lot of diligence to everything. Once, we had the buy-in, it was all downhill from there.”
On the girls’ side, the Lady Panthers have been looking for continuity as the program has had a series of head coaches in the last 10 years.
“Really, that team exceeded my expectations,” Crawford said. “We wanted to have a good year but to make the state tournament was a dream come true. We didn’t have our point guard or small forward for 80 percent of the year. We had to move some eighth graders up to the varsity team and you really never know how that is going to work out.”
West Lowndes finished the season at 17-16, after a Class 1A quarterfinal round loss to Biggersville.
“Coach Crawford really believed in us,” West Lowndes senior Alexis Neely said. “That’s the biggest thing. From the first time we met, he challenged us to become a good basketball team. He saw something in us, that we didn’t know we had. He really made you feel like you could go out and compete with anybody. A lot of players from this team are back, too. They have a chance to keep winning.”
With West Lowndes and West Oktibbeha being former region rivals, Crawford knew the ceiling was high for his new set of teams.
“For my first year here, for both teams to make the state tournament, that is a huge accomplishment for me and for the players,” Crawford said. “I am very excited about next year because of what we have coming back. The guys know the system – the press, press break, the offense, the defense. The girls have had a lots to go through the last couple of years, but we also have consistency there. Hopefully, we can stay healthy and have all of our players back.”
For Crawford, a desire to coach was in his blood at an early age. He played at Aberdeen High School under legendary coach Roy Hazzle. Crawford also played at Rust College before finishing his degree work at Mississippi Valley State University. An uncle was an assistant coach during his playing days at Aberdeen.
“The biggest thing I learned from Coach Hazzle is how to treat everybody fairly,” Crawford said. “He had discipline. He had standards. He also had respect for everyone. Coaches, opponents, his own players, there was a tremendous amount of respect and he always treated you fairly in all instances. That is something you marvel at as a coach.”
Upon completing his degree work, Crawford spent three seasons as an assistant coach at Ridgeway High School in Memphis, Tennessee. From there, McLain High School in Lexington gave him his first head coaching job. Three years there led to the tenure at West Oktibbeha.
Through the dark days the last couple of years, wife Lachica and son Danny, Jr., (an eighth-grader this fall at West Lowndes) were always there to keep Crawford pushed in the right direction.
“There are so many influences on my coaching career, so many people have been good to me,” Crawford said. “If I can give back to the game half of what it has given me, I will be doing great.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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