The public Ron Crawford was a complex man.
When it came to coaching basketball, he would do whatever it took to win. No mercy on the hardwood.
Off the floor, he was compassionate.
In the early 1980s, he found out Willie Cutts, one of his players who would become a McDonald’s All-American, was not happy with his living conditions.
He had a guardian, but Crawford didn’t go to him. He went straight to the grandmother of Cutts.
In a matter of days, Cutts was part of the Crawford family in Bryant.
A few friends were there the day Cutts moved in with Ron and Linda Crawford, complete with his own bedroom that was full of new clothes.
Cutts opened a drawer and touched one of the sweaters, remarking about its softness.
“It’s cashmere,” Crawford told him quietly.
Cutts reached in, pulled it out and asked, “And it’s mine and no one else’s?”
Crawford nodded yes, and Cutts slipped it on. The temperature was in the high 80s.
Through all of the ups and downs Cutts has had in his life, Crawford always knew where he was.
Through his AAU Wings team, Crawford opened up most of the country for guys who might never have traveled out of Pulaski County.
Traveling to tournaments in style, staying in nice hotels and ordering meals from a menu were just part of the program.
Crawford was adamant about good grades. He once fired the coach of a sixth-grade team for letting a player who was suspended from school play in a tournament.
Crawford was strong in his faith and liked to say he would pray for you. Even better, he’d ask Linda to pray, saying he thought she had a direct line to heaven.
Through the years, he helped Arkansas kids get scholarships all over the country. From Stanford to Ole Miss.
Mostly, the ones the Arkansas Razorbacks weren’t interested in were the ones he helped find a scholarship and an education.
He knew every coach in the country, from Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski to Indiana’s Bobby Knight, on a first name basis.
Crawford once recalled a conversation with a coach from a mid-level school who was interested in one of his players.
Crawford told the guy the player was high D-I, and was there anything Crawford could do for the coach.
The guy said yeah, give me a bag of money so I can get some players.
Crawford quickly told the guy he hated cheaters, turned and walked out. He never spoke to that coach again.
Ole Miss Athletic Director Keith Carter played for Crawford, and Carter always credited Crawford with talking Ole Miss into watching him play summer basketball. Then-Rebels coach Rob Evans spent more time in Arkansas recruiting than he did in any state other than Mississippi.
Crawford was a successful businessman, selling steel worldwide, but he always kept his office in Arkansas.
The Wings won a total of nine national championships in the 16-under, 17-under and senior divisions under Crawford.
His list of former players reads like a who’s who, including Corliss Williamson, who was an All-American for the Razorbacks and led them to the 1994 national championship. Dion Cross was an All-American at Stanford.
And those are just two of the headliners.
In 2016, Crawford turned Wings over to Conway businessman Bryan Adams so he could focus on developing Southwest Christian Academy into a prep school in Little Rock.
Crawford fought numerous health problems for several years, but on July 7 word spread quickly among his family and extended family that he was entering hospice.
On Saturday, Crawford died with his family at his side.
He made a deep mark in Arkansas’ grass-roots basketball and will be missed by legions.