New head coach, same level of success. At least that is what Camden Catholic High School basketball coach Matt Crawford is hoping after taking over the position his dad held for 35 years.
“There is certainly a level of ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,’” Matt said. “I believe in playing basketball at its simplest form. On offense, take a good shot. On defense, prevent the other team from getting good shots. That usually leads to success.”
Jim Crawford stepped down as head coach on Oct. 15 with the resume as one of South Jersey’s greatest high school coaches. His time leading the Irish resulted in three state championships in 2001, 2003, 2010 and more than 700 wins. Jim ended with a career record of 713–239, good for third best in South Jersey history behind St. Augustine’s Paul Rodio and Camden’s Clarence Turner. Catholic also brought home seven sectional titles in 12 appearances as well as 10 Olympic Conference championships. Matt said even though he knew his dad has discussed retirement he was still surprised by the decision.
“He had told us a couple of years ago that he was planning on retiring so it was not a complete shock but still with the success he has had, you want to see it go on forever,” Matt said.
Matt was a star point guard for the Irish before graduating in 1999. He went on to play at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia. Matt served as an assistant coach under his dad for the past four seasons and is a science teacher at the school. Life within Camden Catholic is all Matt has ever known.
“I grew up in the Camden Catholic gymnasium. I watched games there as a kid, played there as a student and now have coached there for the last four years. Basketball at Camden Catholic has been a part of my life every winter,” Matt said.
The response to him taking over has been nothing but positive Matt said.
“I’ve gotten a lot of emails and texts from former players congratulating me, guys on the team now, parents within the school,” Matt said. “It’s made the transition great for me.”
Matt starts his career as head coach in a good situation as the Irish are coming off of a 20–8 season and return two starting guards in Rob Brosh and Tom Organ. All the upperclassmen at Camden Catholic are familiar with Crawford’s approach to coaching.
“I’ve coached this senior class at the freshman level so they know my style and what I expect from them. They are a strong class so we will enter the season with high expectations.”
