Recruiting Guy

Arkansas assistant in good with Team Griffin trio

Oklahoma assistant Chris Crutchfield points during practice prior to the first round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City on Thursday, March 17, 2016.

NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. -- University of Arkansas associate head coach Chris Crutchfield brought several relationships with him to Fayetteville, and the talent-laden 16-under Team Griffin is one of them.

Team Griffin's starting five has Power 5 scholarship offers, three of them with offers from the Hogs. Junior guards Trey Alexander, Jaxson Robinson and center Daimion Collins were extended offers after Coach Eric Musselman hired Crutchfield after spending eight seasons at Oklahoma.

Trey Alexander highlights

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Jaxson Robinson highlights

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Daimion Collins highlights

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The trio of Alexander, Robinson and Collins helped Team Griffin to the 16-under Nike Peach Jam Championships on Sunday with a 75-73 double overtime victory over Team Takeover.

Robinson, 6-6, 170 pounds of Ada, Okla., also has scholarship offers from Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Baylor, Tulsa, Houston and Texas-Arlington. He had 11 points while hitting 3 of 8 three-pointers along with a rebound and 2 blocks in the championship game.

He plans to visit Arkansas soon.

"I haven't been on campus yet, but I like the way they were talking about it and how they coach their players," Robinson said. "I like how Coach Musselman coaches."

Robinson, who's rated the No. 50 prospect nationally by prephoops.com, said his relationship with Crutchfield is solid.

"Coach Crutch is a good guy," Robinson said. "I've known him since he was at Oklahoma. He recruited me there, too. I trust him in what he's saying to me."

Alexander, 6-5, 185 pounds of Oklahoma City Heritage Hall, has scholarship offers from Arkansas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, SMU and others. He had 12 points, including a basket to send the championship game into the first overtime. He also had 5 rebounds and a block.

He's also looking to make his way to Fayetteville soon.

"Coach Crutch and I have talked a lot," Alexander said. "He's talking about me coming up there, but we haven't scheduled a date yet. He's talking about at the end of the summer which I'm pretty sure my schedule will be more free at the end of the summer."

ESPN rates Alexander a 4-star prospect, No. 8 shooting guard and No. 51 overall prospect in the nation for the 2021 class. He averaged 25 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals as a sophomore for the Class 4A state runner-up Chargers after leading them to the Class 4A state championship as a freshman.

Alexander's connection with Crutchfield is strong.

"I love Coach Crutch," he said. "He's such a great guy. I played last year on the circuit with his son and it was great. He was always there critiquing my game and telling he was always going to support me. He's just a great coach and even a better parent."

Alexander said the addition of Crutchfield to the Razorbacks staff was a win-win.

"It gave them a better player-coach relationship because I know coach Crutch is a great guy." Alexander said. "He's always making sure his players are OK.

The well-mannered and humble Alexander was seen signing an autograph for a young fan after one of the pool play games at Peach Jam.

"It's a blessing, it just shows my hard work is paying off," he said. "I know I'm not done yet, but it's great to have people know who I am and want my autograph."

Collins, 6-9, 180 pounds of Atlanta, Texas, has 13 other scholarship offers, including Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Southern Cal, Texas, Texas A&M, Houston, SMU and others. He contributed 9 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks and an assist in Sunday's championship game.

"They've been recruiting me awhile," he said of Arkansas. "We've been having a good conversations, me and coach Chris. It's been going pretty well."

Rated the No. 98 prospect nationally by prephoops.com, Collins said he has high interest in the Hogs.

"For one, it's not too far away and they have a good program academically and basketball wise," Collins said.

E-mail Richard Davenport at rdavenport@arkansasonline.com

Sports on 07/16/2019