Free Agency Analysis: Tony Crocker to Adelaide

Wednesday, December 2, 2020

NBL Media’s Liam Santamaria continues his look at each and every signing, breaking down what it all means ahead of #NBL21.

NBL Media’s Liam Santamaria continues his look at each and every signing, breaking down what it all means ahead of #NBL21.

Signed by: Adelaide 36ers

The deal: One year

Age: 33

2019-20 team: Pinar Karsiyaka (Turkey)

2019-20 stats (per game): 10.5 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 44.4 FG%, 37.8 3P%, 80.0 FT%

Projected role: Sixth Man.

Quote: “I am extremely excited to be part of the Adelaide 36ers family. Australia is a beautiful country so when the opportunity presented itself in Adelaide, I immediately jumped at the chance.” – Tony Crocker

My take: This is an intriguing signing by the 36ers.

Presented with the chance to add a second import, the Sixers have landed on Crocker as the guy to round out their roster for NBL21.

A 6-foot-7 forward out of Oklahoma, Crocker has been plying his trade in Europe for the past ten years where he has carved out a reputation as a highly-efficient scorer.

This is a guy who worked his way up the ranks, rising from league to league in Europe before tearing it up in Turkey a few years ago and earning a big-money deal with Russian club Khimki.

Last year he was back in Turkey, putting up 10 points per game at Karsiyakaa alongside former Melbourne United import D.J. Kennedy.

Crocker is a shooter, first and foremost, but he can also put it on the deck and he has beautiful touch on what is a silky-smooth floater. His ability to knock down shots will be vitally important to this year’s re-built Adelaide squad.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Rounding out the roster in ????? ?<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeAreSixers?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeAreSixers</a> <a href="https://t.co/sSh0uvESk9">pic.twitter.com/sSh0uvESk9</a></p>— Adelaide 36ers (@Adelaide36ers) <a href="https://twitter.com/Adelaide36ers/status/1333584097944293376?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 1, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

One thing we know for sure is that the 36ers have sought experience in their import signings this season with both Crocker and Donald Sloan amassing plenty of that over their journeys in the game.

The question is: what do they still have in the tank? Next month Sloan will turn 33 and Crocker will turn 34 and, while both are clearly high-level talents, those numbers are starting to creep into the territory where things begin to slow down a little.

That being said, I don’t think Crocker isn’t being brought in to be a high volume guy on this squad. In fact, I suspect Henry will probably look to use him off the bench, much like Joey Wright did with Ramone Moore the past two seasons. In that role, his leadership and big-game experience will be essential for this team, especially down the stretch of close games.