Silky Smooth - Pekin's basketball family

Playing with a certain effortlessness to his game, Pekin's rising
senior Jeremy Crouch will take his game to Bradley,
as the first player from the class of 2004 to commit.

By Frank Rusnak
At the annual Thanksgiving dinner, Jeremy Crouch’s family is very much like many others. They all, including Uncle Joe, give thanks for their health, each other and the meal before them.

The next day, Jeremy’s dad and uncle all head to the gym to see the 6’5” swingman perform at the sport which will bring him a scholarship to Bradley. During the game, pops and Uncle Joe scream directions and words of encouragement to Jeremy like most parents and family do. But these two are down on the floor doing it … and diagramming plays during timeouts. Welcome to Jeremy Crouch’s life of basketball as the appetizer, main course and desert.

"I am Uncle Joe at holidays and Coach when he's back [in the gym] and whatever else he calls me when he's not with me."

Joe Stoner
Pekin Head Coach and uncle to Jeremy Crouch

“At Thanksgiving dinner we are usually preparing for our Thanksgiving tournament,” said Pekin head coach Joe Stoner, who doubles as Jeremy’s uncle. “ I am Uncle Joe at holidays and Coach when he's back [in the gym] and whatever else he calls me when he's not with me. It's just been such a pleasure having to coach him.”

Coach Stoner’s brother-in-law is Jeremy’s father, who also serves as an assistant on the varsity. And Coach Stoner’s son, Cole, is 6’3” guard who dressed for varsity as a freshman last year, and is best friends with Jeremy. The cherry on top of this basketball-eating family: both of Jeremy’s grandfathers played basketball at Western Illinois, together.

While some players fight for a key to the gym to get some nighttime jumpers in, or leave the back window open so they can sneak in after hours, Jeremy’s been a gym rat since before he could count to 943 -- his point total heading into his senior year. Being a gym rat wasn’t by his choice, but he wasn’t complaining.

“Basketball is like life over here. It's a lot of fun,” said Jeremy, a three-year varsity starter.

In 1989, Jeremy’s father, Larry, helped out a friend in coaching the freshmen team at Pekin High School. Thought of as a one-time deal at the moment, he fell in love with it and has never looked back the past 15 years of his life.

“Jeremy would just come to the gym with me and he’d watch the guys go through drills and try to mimic them,” Larry said.

All those mimicked pump fakes, and doubled crossovers did Jeremy good when on April 1 he said thanks but no thanks to Northern Illinois University, Northwestern, Purdue, Wisconsin and the other schools recruiting him. Announcing he would attend Bradley, he became the first player from the class of 2004 from Illinois to verbally commit.

Really, there was no other school that competed with the Braves. They were the local university Jeremy grew up watching.

“I just got real comfortable with [Bradley],” Jeremy said. “Then, when I took the official visit, I committed right after that.”

Jeremy will take with him to Bradley averages from his junior year to the tune of 18 points, five rebounds, five assists and 2.5 steals while shooting 80 percent from the free-throw line. And he’d like to advance, for his senior year, past the team’s last-second sectional bow-out to Limestone in ’02-’03.

And what better advantage in choosing Bradley than to be able to take the short drive from Carver Arena for that annual Thanksgiving dinner for this basketball adoring family?