The Colleges : UC Irvine’s Natalie Crawford Has Firm Grip on Her Priorities : High-Scoring Post Player Sees More to Life Than Basketball

There are some athletes who live for their sport. There are others who live for what their sport brings them, be it wealth, fame or just a nice physique.

Then there’s Natalie Crawford of UC Irvine.

Crawford, a 6-foot 6-inch post player, has Mom-and-apple-pie priorities. She likes to sew. She likes to cook. She likes to write letters to her family.

Basketball, she says, is by no means her No. 1 priority.

“On a scale of 1 to 10, it ranks about 5,” she said.

When Crawford was a high school senior at Hawthorne Leuzinger, her college choices came down to Washington and Irvine. Crawford says she chose Irvine because it was closer to home.

Irvine Coach Dean Andrea remembers a slightly different reasoning.

“She told me if she went all the way to Washington, she wouldn’t know where she would get her hair done,” Andrea said. “That I remember clearly.”

If Crawford views basketball as a middle-of-the-road priority, it doesn’t show on the court.

In 26 games this season, Crawford has blocked 57 shots. She leads the Anteaters with averages of 15.3 points and 9.1 rebounds and was selected to the All-PCAA second team.

In her four years at Irvine, Crawford has scored 1,154 points--just 33 shy of the school’s second-leading career scorer, Cheri Graham, a two-time All-American who played for Irvine from 1983 to 1986.

Crawford will have a chance to break Graham’s total when Irvine begins play in the Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. tournament. The Anteaters (11-15, 9-9) will play Cal State Fullerton (17-10, 12-6) at Cal State Long Beach at 6 tonight.

Crawford, who didn’t play her senior year in high school because of a dislocated knee, was recruited by Andrea before Andrea ever saw her in action.

A referee had told an assistant of Andrea’s about Crawford.

“He said there was a big kid at Leuzinger who was really raw,” Andrea said. “But he said we had to see her. I went, but Natalie was hurt and wasn’t playing.

“We offered her a scholarship anyway. Normally, we wouldn’t do that. But we felt she was worth the risk. She came down with impressive track credentials (Crawford ran a 57-second quarter-mile as a freshman), and we felt we could develop her into a better player.”

And thus, to Crawford’s dislike, her middle name became Project.

Crawford bristles at the word. She said she has heard it far too many times.

“Well, I was a natural athlete, but I had to learn a lot of the moves and the teamwork when I got here,” she said. “In high school, I basically just got the ball and plunked it in to the basket with two hands.

“(Andrea) did help me skill-wise, with pivoting and playing with my body, not just my arms. And he helped me be more aggressive, to move for the ball, not just wait for it.”

Andrea said Crawford has always been coachable. That and her desire to improve helped her to achieve success. But the key to Crawford, Andrea said, is her attitude.

“Natalie has a great nature about her,” he said. “She’s not a year-round gym rat like some, so when we have a big loss, it doesn’t devastate her like it does some of us.

“She is a classic example of someone who knows the sun will shine the next day.”

Crawford, who is pursuing a degree in social science and plans to become a child psychologist, has been contacted by several post-collegiate basketball leagues, including Basketball Players International, an organization that manages basketball leagues overseas.

But Crawford has so far turned down all offers.

“Lots of people have been asking me, ‘Aren’t you going to try to play in the Olympics or try out for a pro team?’ ” Crawford said.

“But I’m not looking for something like that. I’ll probably keep playing to stay in shape and have some fun. I mean, I’d like it to a part of my life, but not the major part.”