By Thomas Sellers Jr.
Naysayers have pushed Gabby Crawford throughout her basketball career. From her days as a Brighton Middle Lady Cardinal to a Munford High Lady Cougar, a few negative comments and doubters left an impression on Crawford. But the Munford standout was able to balance the haters with a great support system to reach National Signing Day 2017 and ink her letter of intent to The University of Alabama. “It feels great because there were a lot of people who told me I would never make it,” she said. “I just quit and I put forward the effort. I told myself I could do it.” Along her journey there were a few people who told Gabby she could do it like her family and parents Octavia and Eddie. Teammates and even some opponents started to encourage the talented combo forward. Then there were coaches like Russ Jones at Brighton Middle and Steve Poindexter at Munford High who invested in Gabby. “Gabby Crawford came to Brighton Middle when she was in the sixth grade,” Jones recalled. “You would tell immediately she was going to be special. Jones remembered Gabby walking into his program taller than most girls but lanky. She was stronger and faster than most girls her age. Crawford’s talent helped her shined and lead the Lady Cardinals to championship success. “About the time she left, you knew she was going to be special,” Jones said. “She was always very athletic, an aggressive player. She great a lot in her three years there. I knew when she would get upper coaching at the high school level, he would continue her progression on the court and off the court. She’s a special player. Poindexter inherited that talented player in 2014. Fresh off a Sub-State appearance, Poindexter was ready to incorporate Crawford into his winning program. But the veteran coach had the challenge of helping Crawford mature and channel her aggression in positive ways. “Honestly there were times I just wanted to walk away and never come back,” Gabby acknowledged. “But that’s when you have to step up. Me going to college, I know you can’t do that. You can’t run away from problems all the time. Even though he might say something and it triggers me, sometimes you learn you can’t react to everything. “You have to say ‘Yes Sir’ or ‘No Sir,’” she continued. “And move on because in college it doesn’t work like that. Its just constructive criticism. You have to learn how to take it.” Poindexter’s honesty and tough-love approach made Crawford an even more desirable recruit across the nation. Schools like Miami, Memphis, Mississippi State and others recruited the Lady Cougar standout, but Crawford’s heart was in Tuscaloosa with Head Coach Kristy Curry’s program. “I’m really thankful for them,” Gabby said. “If it wasn’t for them I wouldn’t be here today. I love my track teammates, basketball teammates, the practice boys’ team. They always push me to do better. “They kept their faith in me and wanted to see me do well,” she added. “Some people don’t want to see me make it. Them all being here for me today means a lot.” Munford Lady Cougars Head Coach Steve Poindexter gathers a team of male students to run a scrimmage game against his players to improve their skills. Gabby said the work in those games, drills with her basketball teammates and conditioning in Munford Head Track Coach Bernard Ivie’s program has help make her Alabama worthy. Crawford will join the Southeastern Conference program and compete against the likes of Tennessee, Mississippi State, Kentucky and defending National Champions South Carolina. Crawford has enjoyed a stellar career at Munford with various All-District and All-Region honors. She’s been named league MVP and helped the Lady Cougars reach Sub-State last season. Poindexter said everyone knows about the accomplishments and the recruitment. But he was privileged to see another side of Crawford that helped her earn all her rewards. “Everybody sees her on the floor, but her teammates and us as a coaching staff we get to see how hard she works,” he said. “I don’t know if people realize athletes who sign scholarships like this, how hard they really work. “If you watch her work, you’ll see there’s a difference between her and the average girl,” he added. “She’s self-motivated. She probably has that in common with other people across the state today signing those types of scholarships. They don’t have to have somebody standing over top of them telling them they need to work. They want to work. That’s what we’ve seen since she’s been here.” Now Gabby has signing day in her history book and she’s looking forward to a standout senior season. Poindexter said he wants to see Crawford take her leadership to another level. “There has definitely been growth – she’s matured,” he noted. “Now is she a finished product? Absolutely not. I don’t think any teenage girl is. The people here at Munford High School, Coach Andrews and me, what we’re trying to do it create habits that will carry over and that she’ll take to Alabama. “It’s not going to be easy,” Poindexter added. “It’s not easy for a Division I athlete under that microscope and with all the extra responsibilities that you will have. Then theres the level of competition you have to play against. You have to be tough. You have to have discipline and there has to be a certain level of accountability. I think that’s a part of what we’re trying to do, and establish those things so they will carry over and she’ll be successful.” Gabby said this upcoming season will make her even more prepared for the SEC and being on the Crimson Tide. “I think that’s going to get me ready for college,” she said. “I have to be ready to take on that role and just be a leader by example. I’m trying my best. I’m not a perfect person. But I’m trying. “There were a lot of people who put their input in,” Gabby continued. “‘I want you to go here.’ But they’re not the ones playing for there for four years. It’s my four years. I want to do somewhere I feel comfortable. Its something that just sparked me about Alabama that I just felt comfortable around the coaches. I feel like I’ll be able to talk to them and interact with the coaches.” Gabby said she’s going to an ideal situation next Fall. For not her ideal ending at Munford is adding more team success to her legacy which has been compared to other Lady Cougar Basketball greats like Robneisha “Bird” Lee and Jasmine Brown.
“I won’t say I am the best,” Crawford concluded. “But it would be an honor to take my team as far as I can take them. Because I want us to win. I want to see everybody do well. You’ve got to be humble and trust the process.”
