Memphis, UT chase Crawford

MEMPHIS - For those keeping score - and really, who isn't keeping score? - the first big recruiting battle between Josh Pastner of Memphis and Bruce Pearl of Tennessee went to the Tigers.

But now that Pastner has secured Memphis White Station guard Joe Jackson for the 2010 recruiting class, both coaches have turned their attention to Sheffield guard Chris Crawford, who said Thursday his recruitment is essentially a tie between Memphis and Tennessee, with a visit to Mississippi State planned for this weekend.

"I wouldn't mind going to either one, but it's a tossup between both," Crawford said. "With Mississippi State, I want to take the visit and see how it really is. The visit will (determine) what I think about them."

Though Crawford said he might know what direction he's leaning after the Mississippi State visit, his decision might not be so simple.

A relatively unknown player earlier this year, the 6-4 guard made a national reputation on the AAU circuit and is Rivals.com's No. 66-ranked player in the 2010 class. Once it became clear to Tennessee that Jackson would likely choose the Tigers, Pearl's staff focused its attention on Crawford and got him to Knoxville for an official visit two weeks ago.

Memphis has essentially been trying to make up ground, and Pastner is pushing hard to bring Crawford along with Jackson, swingman Will Barton and point guard Antonio Barton.

Though Pastner wants to add at least one more guard for next season - and perhaps even two - the case against Memphis has been fairly easy to make for rival recruiters. Jackson and Will Barton are among the highest-rated players in the country at their positions, and Memphis will likely still have Elliot Williams in 2010-11.

Still, Crawford admits he feels the tug of playing at home.

"There's a lot of love down here," he said. "(Pastner) told me I have to work hard for everything and nothing is given. He just said you have to compete in practice and go at it with each other in practice and you can earn your minutes."

Although Tennessee also has several starting-quality guards - the Vols have commitments from Trae Golden and Jordan McRae and will likely return Cam Tatum and Scotty Hopson - the essence of its pitch to Crawford has been that he could come in immediately and be one of Tennessee's premier players.

In fact, Crawford said playing time has been the root of some rather pronounced negative recruiting between the Tennessee and Mississippi State coaching staffs.

"I ain't heard Memphis do it," Crawford said. "Mississippi State, they talk about Tennessee, saying they play like a 10-man rotation and you won't get all the minutes (they are promising). With Mississippi State, they're saying I can come in and get about 20-something minutes a game. Tennessee, they're like, it's boring down there at Mississippi State."