Javaris Crittenton: From budding star to murder suspect
Javaris Crittenton on the night he was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers. (AJC file photo)
We pause to consider the arc of a young life.
• In 2004 Javaris Crittenton — a sophomore and already a team captain — teams with Dwight Howard to lead Southwest Atlanta Christian to the Class A title.
• In 2006 Crittenton graduates from high school — where he’d been a 3.5 student and a member of both the Beta Club and the Future Business Leaders of America — and enrolls at Georgia Tech.
• In 2007 he exits Tech after a good-but-not great freshman season and is taken by the Los Angeles Lakers with the 19th pick of the NBA draft.
• In January 2010 he pleads guilty to a misdemeanor charge resulting from the infamous guns-in-the-locker-room that involved Crittenton and Washington Wizards teammate Gilbert Arenas, who on Christmas Eve engaged in an argument regarding gambling debts. Both players are suspended by the NBA for the rest of the season.
• On Aug. 26, 2011, a warrant is issued for Crittenton’s arrest. The charge: murder.
Maybe you’re clever enough to have foreseen this path. I’m not. Yeah, I thought Crittenton was a gifted player who left school a year too soon. The same could be said of his Tech classmate Thaddeus Young, and Young has done nicely with the Philadelphia 76ers. Lots of guys leave too soon. Some of them make it anyway.
And it’s not as if warning lights flashed at every turn. Crittenton attended one high school for four years, which isn’t always the contemporary norm. He played alongside Howard, who jumped directly to the NBA and has become one of the five best players in the world. Crittenton’s summers were spent playing AAU ball with the Atlanta Celtics, a program that boasts a long list of distinguished alums. He signed with Tech, a proud program in the high-minded ACC. He was drafted by the Lakers, the NBA’s best organization.
And yet: This gifted young player was gone from the NBA in three years, having worked his way through four organizations. He was cut last October by the Charlotte Bobcats. He played five games with a team in China and spent the winter with the Dakota Wizards, the Bismarck-based franchise in the NBA Development League, averaging 14.5 points and 6.7 assists.
That’s the basketball part of it. I’m not sure how much basketball has to do with this homicide warrant. (And here we stipulate that Crittenton is innocent until proved guilty.) You can tut-tut and say, “Oh, it’s the system of entitlement that leads to guns in the locker room,” but I’ve hung around the NBA for more than a quarter-century, and I’ve never seen a gun in a locker room.
The gun-related suspension should have been a lesson. Nineteen months later, Crittenton is wanted for allegedly having loosed the shots from an SUV that took the life of a young woman who happened to be in the line of fire. (Police believe Crittenton saw someone who’d stolen jewelry from him earlier this year.)
At such a distressing moment, it would be convenient to blame basketball for the wrong turns in Crittenton’s 23-year-old life. But there’s free will involved in every life, is there not? He has had role models. He was around successful people and winning programs. He was a good student who was thought to have leadership qualities. And he had, owing to having been a Round 1 draftee, a guaranteed contract.
Give some people those circumstances and they’d make the most of them. Crittenton has made the least. (His profile on Twitter bore this greeting: “Say hello to the bad guy!” The account was apparently deleted Friday night.) It’s never surprising when a good young player doesn’t grow into an NBA All-Star — not many do — but it is shocking when you read the AJC.com headline, “Former Georgia Tech star wanted for fatal shooting.”
Had he stayed four years at Tech, Crittenton would have just finished his NBA rookie season. That’s not an excuse for anything, nor is it an explanation. It wasn’t some “system” that caused a young woman’s death. It was a choice made by one person to raise a gun and pull its trigger. Yes, it’s possible that person wasn’t Javaris Crittenton. The warrant does, however, bear his name.
By Mark Bradley
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109 comments Add your comment
Greg
August 27th, 2011
2:30 pm
Threetrone you are an embarrassment to the Institute for those comments…wake up skin color has nothing to do with this…the people who are saying that this is Tech’s fault are idiotic.
Charged With MURDER – TMZ.com | االله.net
August 27th, 2011
2:31 pm
[...] target. According to AJC.com, authorities believe Crittenton was gunning for someone …Javaris Crittenton: From budding star to murder suspectAtlanta Journal Constitution (blog)Javaris Crittenton Wanted For Alleged Murder, Had Good Reputation [...]
oldbird
August 27th, 2011
2:32 pm
Come on people, I hate tech every November, like all dawgs do; but this is not about a school rivalry. This is about a young man who had it all, and screwed the pooch royally, and took the life of an innocent person. It is a tragedy, not something to beat your chest about. Please, grow up.
jay
August 27th, 2011
2:39 pm
I guess murder trumps red panties.
NJ Dawg
August 27th, 2011
2:56 pm
bigeasy830’s intelligent post, if true, sheds important perspective on the story. But regardless, Tech had nothing to do with this murder. Nor did Crittenton’s upbringing. Ultimately, Mark, he had free will (as you attest) and should have known better. Furthermore, while robbery is wrong, how in the hell does it justify a drive-by shooting. Crittenton’s prior behavior shows that he’s a jerk, and if he had ANYTHING to do with this young woman’s murder, he needs to go to jail for a LONG time.
What a waste.
Alphare
August 27th, 2011
3:07 pm
Mark, like every other young star fading early, it’s the parents’ fault.
You can almost see his parents thru his life.
Alphare
August 27th, 2011
3:11 pm
NJ Dawg,
Free will cannot explain the entire path of a person. I’ve seen lots of young men humble and affable. Most of time, it’s the parents’ guiding from behind.
One Black Mother
August 27th, 2011
3:18 pm
Sounds like someone should have told this young man to stay in college! Obviously he was not ready for the NBA! I believe if he had stayed at Georgia Tech he could have developed more as a MAN. Just goes to show that you can take the young man out of the hood but you can’t take the hood out of the young man!!! This young man needed guidance and apparently no one was there to guide him in the direction he needed to go! All I know Georgia Tech, or the NBA is not to blame for this sad tragedy. If he’s guilty of this horrible crime then he is to blame for this! Praying for both families the Jones and the Dixon-Crittenton.
bamaguy
August 27th, 2011
3:27 pm
I can’t help but remember the story Charles Barkley told about why he returned to Auburn to finish his degree after becoming a multi-million dollar NBA star. He said “My mama said stupid and rich is still stupid. Go finish your degree.” Or something along those lines. Giving that much money to a nineteen year-old does not make their life better. It just makes it more volatile.
What a tragic waste of a life. Both his and the young woman’s.
hoop.dream.deferred
August 27th, 2011
3:38 pm
isn’t it a shame that dwight howard’s uncle, DA paul howard, will have to prosecute a young man he once cheered in high school and presumably right up to this point?
The Javaris Crittenton Murder Charges Elicit Plenty Of Reaction
August 27th, 2011
3:44 pm
[...] court — over the course of the last three years. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Mark Bradley wrote an editorial Saturday morning looking back at the Atlanta native’s brief basketball career. Beginning with Crittenton [...]
Buzz 2011
August 27th, 2011
4:00 pm
No negative Dawg comments, I don’t want to see one!!
marie
August 27th, 2011
4:18 pm
FINAL SCORE-you must be the biggest idiot on this site.
He made the decision to fire a gun. It has nothing to do with GT, Paul Hewitt, UGA arrests, blah blah blah. PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY -HEARD OF IT???
Shug
August 27th, 2011
4:22 pm
SMU, Jim Tressel, Cam Newton, Miami, Javaris Crittenton . . . . It’s all part of the same arc.
Some sick puppies
August 27th, 2011
4:24 pm
Trying to tie school rivalries into this incident is like trying to tie in politics to whatever may happen with Hurricane Irene. Get a life, you jerks. This is a very tragic incident, both for the victim and for Crittenton and his family. Those of you who claim you are only saying those things because Tech fans slam your school whenever one of your athletes gets in trouble is the height of immaturity and rudeness. For one thing, when your athletes recently have come under suspicion for doing illegal or stupid things, they were still under the supervision of the staff in Athens, and they DO make your school look bad. Crittenton attended Georgia Tech for one year 5 years ago, and he is no longer under Tech’s supervision, nor it would seem of anyone else either. He, and he alone, is to blame for his mistakes, crimes, sins, whatever. And you jerks are to blame for your own arrogance and stupidity.
Najeh Davenpoop
August 27th, 2011
4:27 pm
“We all know the Atlanta cops and the FBI couldn’t catch a cold while laying on a block of ice in January.”
Crittenton is believed to have fled to LA and he is suspected to be hiding out there. Not much APD can do in that situation.
bigeasy830
August 27th, 2011
4:29 pm
@ Najeh
If he is on the run, if he is in LA, then he is trying to or maybe already have made his way to Mexico.
NJ Dawg
August 27th, 2011
4:30 pm
Alphare,
Yes, but Crittenton’s 23 now. There comes a point where we’ve got to stop blaming everybody around him and accept that he’s responsible for his actions. I’m not saying his background didn’t factor into this, but then there are plenty of people from broken homes who didn’t go to GAC and would NEVER think a drive-by shooting is an appropriate response to a robbery, especially months after the fact.
Some sick puppies
August 27th, 2011
4:33 pm
Some of you guys are just plain sick. There is no more validity in bringing inter-school rivalry into this event than there is in bringing politics into whatever tragedy may result from Hurricane Irene. Those of you who so pitifully compare your statements to what Tech people say when UGA athletes get in trouble or way off base, because in the past couple of years when UGA athletes have gotten in trouble, they have been students and under the supervision of the coaches and administration in Athens. Of course, what they do makes your school look bad; similar situations at any school make that school look bad. But Crittenton was a student for one year at Tech, and that was five years ago. He is no longer under the supervision of anybody at Tech, nor, it would seem, anywhere else either. This whole incident is a tragedy, especially for the girl and her family, but also for Crittenton and whatever family he has. To turn it into something connected with the rivalry between UGA and Tech is frankly obscene, and I wish Mark would delete all the pathetic comments made along that line.
Some sick puppies
August 27th, 2011
4:37 pm
And, by the way, it is equally ignorant and obscene for any Tech fan to try to blame it on Hewitt. Crittenton chose to go the way he has gone in life, and it was obviously the wrong choice.
black mother....
August 27th, 2011
4:41 pm
he supposedly had coach sic paul hewitt providing him with extensive one on one counseling etc. i guess phewitt failed at that too.
far as the nba goes…. come on folks the nba has a thug environment and has for quite some time. guns guns guns and more guns. i dont recall jc having gun issues until he made the leap into the league.
i blame the league and the lax environment they foster. the nba should have pressed charges against both arenis and crit when they brought guns into the locker room. instead a high priced lawyer got him off with a slap of the wrist.
if i had brought 5 guns to any kind of function in my city i would still be in jail.
as far as ‘murder’ goes. he will never ever be convicted of murder. aint going to happen. for one…. he will be able to afford the best lawyer available (where is johnny when you need him ) and he had no premeditation to kill that girl.
at the worst (if he fired the shot) he will get aggravated manslaughter. spend 5 years in prison at most and get out when he is still a young man.
James Connah
August 27th, 2011
4:42 pm
bigeasy 830 says it all. Explains a lot. Even if the guy walking was the robber and even if he was alone why shoot him down in the street over it ? Now someone not involved is dead for no good reason.
I don’t see how Tech or Hewitt can be held accountable for any of this in any way.
I do wonder why APD didn’t investigate some of his past stuff – stupid question – they would rather be trying to catch speeders to get fine money to feed the politicians.
Harvey D. Pooka
August 27th, 2011
4:49 pm
Get with the program, people! “Innocent until proved guilty” is Soooooooooo biased.
It SHOULD read: “presummed innocent unless, and until evidence indicates, declared guity”.
Also, let;s not forget that a seemingly innocent life of a young woman has been lost, in this tragic story. Please be careful who you are hanging around with and be aware of your surroundings at all times.
Skeezix
August 27th, 2011
4:51 pm
Hearing these kinds of stories about young people is depressing. So much is wasted and a young woman loses her life— over what? Jewelry?
How do their values and priorities get so screwed up?
Tell me it’s a bad dream…………..
PerimeterCenterJacket
August 27th, 2011
4:52 pm
I don’t think a single Jackets fan (and especially not a Tech alumnus) should defend this in any way. The kid (he is still young, let’s face it) is a murder suspect. Only in a court of law can his name be cleared or condemned. If this is about Tech in any way for anyone, then say what you will, but Tech won’t be defending him. Paul Hewitt’s gone, and even if he were still on The Flats, Mr. Bradley makes a good point — who would’ve ever seen this bright hardcourt star going this route? If it’s true we really should only blame himself and perhaps then maybe his parents. But as a Tech fan, these aren’t excuses. I’m not among those who’ve ever looked at programs as either “dirty” or “clean.” But can Tech sit here and say we’ve only got the best? No. We have human beings just like everyone else. They’re not as bad as you’ll say they are, and they’re not as good as we’ll say they are. They just are.
As always, though, Go Jackets!
Fred
August 27th, 2011
4:53 pm
No, you GT haters cannot put blame for this on Coach Hewitt.
Neither can you blame the so-called “system” that is the NBA, nor the procedures allowing for early exit from college {although most are not mature enough to handle it}, nor the local community or surroundings of the city, nor the gun culture that I the U.S.A. It’s just a sad situation all the way around and no matter the outcome, several lives will never be the same again.
Outside Observer
August 27th, 2011
5:04 pm
Just a sad waste of talent and a true tragedy. He seemed like a bright kid with a good future, but he apparently entered a downward spiral that he could not escape. However, bringing in-state college rivalries into this is ridiculous and embarrassing, and yes, I’m talking to both Tech and UGA fans. At this point, all that can be done is to keep both families in our thoughts and prayers.
Some sick puppies
August 27th, 2011
5:07 pm
now that was the sickest post yet, tar, Mark, I hope you’re reading this and at the very least delete that racist remark.
Tonyrrhs
August 27th, 2011
5:09 pm
Sad part I bet he was just trying to scare them.
How nice ,,,,,
August 27th, 2011
5:09 pm
We’re so lucky to be living in the U.SA. Where else could we count on “bigwasy830″ being an expert on everything and able to set the rest of us straight.
Give me a break: a life was lost an others will never be the same, no matter what results happen down the road.
Tonyrrhs
August 27th, 2011
5:10 pm
Enter your comments here
techfan
August 27th, 2011
5:15 pm
Amazing that even when somebody dies, some see it as an opportunity to spark rival arguments. Some things are bigger then petty trash talking. It’s a shame that some don’t see that.
As for Javaris, I think he would have been better off being with Hewitt for longer. Say what you want about Hewitt’s ability to coach but he is a good man and a good role model. Give a kid a lot of money and fame before he can handle it and sometimes bad things can happen. This would be an example of the worst of those bad things.
Oscar Williams
August 27th, 2011
5:18 pm
Thats just horrible man….horrible!!! I always say, please hang around positive people and continue to stay busy doing positive things. An idle mind is the devil’s playground.
Lowcountry Bulldawg
August 27th, 2011
5:21 pm
I said this last night on th eTech blog, If you are truly a UGA gut show some class and respect for yourself and not mock this situation. Sure Tech fans give us grief on our blogs, but this situation is a terrible trajedy and does not need juvenile pot shots taken at one another. Respect yourself and the University of Georgia and refrain from acting like a juvenile.
Douglas
August 27th, 2011
5:22 pm
As a UGA fan, I do not blame GT for this. On the other hand, you are no different than UNC who signs players who just want to play one year and then go for the money. That is a character issue…they are using you…and you JUST DON’T CARE!
Lowcountry Bulldawg
August 27th, 2011
5:23 pm
Not for sure if my post was lost but…
UGA fans need to show some class for themselves and for the University of Georgia and not mock this situation. Tech fans may give us grief from time to time, but this situation is 100% different. Respect yourself and show some class.
Big Ol Stinger
August 27th, 2011
5:26 pm
You’re right techfan, but Final Score >, also known as dawgfan, and about twenty other screen names he posts under is one sick little dawg wannabe. He’s the most classless piece of shiite that posts on the AJC web sites and he’s in desperate need of a good old fashioned southern azz kickin. His parents must be embarassed for the pizz poor job they did of raising that little piece of shiite.
His real name is Jason and he didn’t even go to UGA. He’s admitted several times on blogs that he went to Troy, but I seriously doubt that too. I’m sure no Troy grad would claim his sorry butt. Anyway Jason, I wish you could trade places with the girl he shot, and I sincerely mean that.
Thanks.
What a waste?
August 27th, 2011
5:28 pm
He wasted his talent? You don’t have talent if you don’t have the intelligence to manage it. Clearly he lacks brain power. What kind of moron does something like this? One who will hopefully be in jail for the rest of his sorry life. Four children have to grow up knowing their mother was gunned down by this clown.
Basketball pro dad
August 27th, 2011
5:29 pm
My son played against this kid in highschool. I remember him opening up the SACA tournament in prayer. Unbelievable that something like this has happen. Praying for both families.
YellowJacket
August 27th, 2011
5:40 pm
Glad he left after one year. Always knew he was a loser. He should of signed with Kentucky.
Devil's Advocate
August 27th, 2011
5:41 pm
This is a terrible situation, and Javaris allegedly has done something absolutely terrible. But this shooting is a product of situation, upbringing, and surrounding oneself with others who have little regard for their own safety.
This mother has left behind 4 children who will never have the opportunity to know either person that has brought them into the world. But on the other side of the coin, its not like she was hanging out in the library. This crime was obviously retaliation for a previous crime committed by the two “gentlemen” with whom she was walking.
Without question, Javaris Crittendon deserves everything he gets, if he actually committed the crime, however why was this young woman even in this situation? Why was she with two suspected thieves instead of at home with the four children she had already brought into this world?
JP
August 27th, 2011
5:45 pm
The BL is UGA atheletes still lead all state schools in arrests and jailtime…heck they may even lead the nation. You can never take a UGA fan seriously….especially when their “intelligent” fanbase continues to post comments that a 7 year old would. These people are sad…and really DUMB!
Minnie Pearl
August 27th, 2011
5:48 pm
Would somebody please let the Dawgs out.
Minnie Pearl
August 27th, 2011
5:57 pm
My comment is awaiting moderation. I believe that censorship is a good thing.
Time is coming...
August 27th, 2011
5:57 pm
Going down to Jackson, Jackson, Jackson…
fan
August 27th, 2011
6:02 pm
To all the uga fans talking about uga players urinating in bushes etc, what was the name of the defensive back that started for uga for about three or four years? The one who commited murder in a drug deal gone bad?
Ted M
August 27th, 2011
6:02 pm
That was a rotten, stupid, criminal thing to do, even if he hadn’t killed an innocent bystander.
Unless he was high as kite you can’t say in any way that Javaris Crittenton is a good person. He’s a rotten person looking for trouble. I wonder now if Gilbert just got caught up with wrong person.
fan
August 27th, 2011
6:05 pm
didn”t uga have a defensive back that played a few years ago commit a murder?
DMAN
August 27th, 2011
6:13 pm
He played for tech,he’s tied to tech!Can’t stand the heat get out of the kitchen!It’s allright to trash the Dawgs on everything that doesn’t come close to this.Drug dealers to maybe a murderer,not even close!
fan
August 27th, 2011
6:15 pm
TEARREAL BIERRIA