On Oct. 29, Pizza with the Pros welcomed ESPN College Basketball Analyst Jon Crispin.

Crispin grew up in Pitman, New Jersey, where there were no open gyms for basketball players, only playgrounds. Crispin wanted to be a football player, but after multiple concussions, he gave up on that dream and switched to basketball. At the playground, he and his brother Joe figured out that they were both great basketball players.

The Crispins played for Pitman’s school, who only won two games the year prior. Crispin’s dad told them that if they were really that good at basketball, they could make that team good. Well, they were.

By the time the two graduated high school, Pitman had won two state championships. On top of that, Crispin scored a school-record 62 points in a playoff game and finished 4th on Gloucester County’s all-time scoring charts, while his brother finished at the top.

Aside from basketball, Crispin received multiple Division 1 offers for football and was being looked at by MLB scouts as a pitcher. He chose to stick with basketball the whole way, joining his brother Joe at Penn State, where they would play for the Nittany Lions.

Crispin started 22 of 31 games as a true freshman, finishing 4th on the team in total points. He started 31 of 33 games his next season and again finished top five in team scoring, while also helping his team reach the Sweet 16 in the 2001 NCAA Men’s Division 1 Basketball Tournament. However, this would be the last time the brothers played basketball on the same team.

In his junior year, Crispin transferred to UCLA, but due to transfer eligibility rules, he was forced to sit out the entirety of the season. After being the third-ranked player in the transfer portal, Crispin saw his playing time decrease, as he only started three games in the final two seasons of his college basketball career.

Crispin spent his first two years out of college playing basketball in Spain, Ireland, and the ABA, while his brother went on to play for a few teams in the NBA. Joe went on to become the men’s basketball coach here at Rowan and is currently the assistant coach for Penn State. Following those two years, however, Crispin didn’t know what to do outside of basketball, but he knew that he wanted to stay in the sport someway. Even since he was a child, Crispin has always been a great speaker.

“I’m really lucky to get to do what I do,” Crispin said. “I think the reason why I’m in the seat that I’m in is because my superpower is the ability to communicate, no matter what it is.”

Crispin took this superpower and ran with it. He took stops at Westwood One & SiriusXM, Big Ten Network, and Fox Sports. Today, Crispin works at ESPN as one of the most respected college basketball analysts in the industry.

No matter what Crispin did, playing or analyzing basketball, you would never question how passionate and competitive he was. He credits his hometown for bringing him these unteachable traits.

“Look at me, right? I’m not exactly imposing. I was a starting shooting guard in the Big Ten and Pac-12. A lot of people laughed at that. But there was a swagger and edge that came from a simple place like Pitman. There was a competitiveness that came from having to prove yourself and I still do it in so many ways today, even in the broadcasting world,” said Crispin.

Next week, Pizza with the Pros welcomes Marketing & Events Coordinator for the Philadelphia Phillies Anthony Figazzotto.

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