By SAM LANCE
KANSAS CITY — Five-star class of 2026 prospect Jason Crowe Jr. oozes confidence. You can see it on the court and in his demeanor off of it.
One particular story that the Team WhyNot photographer Greg Stein shared with ZAGSBLOG.com comes from when Crowe returned from USA basketball camp. Stein recalled that Crowe was asked who he thought the best player there was, if he thought anyone stood out. Crowe responded “me.”
“If you aren’t confident, you aren’t going to play well out here because there’s a lot of high competition,” Crowe said. “So you have to be confident. If you aren’t confident, you aren’t going to do anything out here.
Crowe continued.
“I think it started when I was young. My dad just instilled that in me. Being confident, not being shy of anything. Not being scared to fail. I’m not scared of failure. I mean, I’ve failed before. So I’m just used to that. I’m just used to being confident, believing in what I do and my work.”
Crowe is a top five-prospect in the 2026 class for a reason. Through three games at Nike EYBL Session 4 in Kansas City, the 6-foot-2, 165-pound guard from Inglewood (CA) is averaging 18.3 points and 4.0 assists per game. And he’s doing so while playing up an age group with the 17s.
His two best games have come against two of the better teams on the EYBL circuit. Crowe dropped 25 points vs. the 12-1 Nightrydas Elite and 27 points vs. the 8-5 PSA Cardinals, but Team WhyNot fell short both games.
When talking with ZAGSBLOG.com in Kansas City, Crowe named a few schools that he is currently interested in: hometown schools USC and UCLA, as well as Arizona, Kentucky, Duke and Arkansas. Specifically, Crowe stated that Duke was his “dream school” growing up.
“Just having Duke, that’s a great accomplishment,” Crowe said. “I think every hooper in here would like to have Duke offer even if they don’t go there. But just knowing they believe in me, trust in me, that’s a great feeling.”
All six of those schools above have offered. Crowe said he doesn’t post out his offers to social media, but he is receiving them.
Crowe gave his thoughts on Kentucky as well and said he’s looking at what the program looks like under Mark Pope.
“It’s interesting having a new coach,” Crowe said. “[John] Calipari left a big impact on Kentucky so it’s going to be interesting to see what they do next year.”
Crowe’s father, Jason Crowe Sr., played basketball at Cal State Northridge and played professionally overseas for 13 years. Crowe Sr. was recently named head basketball coach at Inglewood High School and Crowe Jr. will follow him and play for Inglewood next season. Crowe Sr. was previously the coach at Lynwood where Crowe Jr. played last season.
“I’m originally from Inglewood, I lived there my whole life,” Crowe Jr. said. “So I’m going back home. It’s more than just basketball with that. It’s just the love in the city. So I’m going to go back, two more years, move back to my home.”
Crowe has another basketball connection in his godfather, former Kansas Jayhawk and legendary Boston Celtic Paul Pierce.
“He’s a funny guy,” Crowe said. “We really talk more than just basketball. He’s really there for me to support me through my whole career.”
The two have not played each other 1-on-1, but Crowe said that is coming soon. He also said he would win if they played.
“He’s not who he used to be,” Crowe said.
Crowe is rated the No. 5 overall prospect in the 2026 class per 247Sports and the No. 2 overall point guard. He describes himself as an all-around player.
“I can score when I want to, I can pass when I want to,” Crowe said. “Really I can do anything on the court. Most point guards are pass-first point guards I would say. But me, I think I can do whatever coach needs me to do. I can score, I can defend well, I can pass it to the guy that’s hot. I really think I can do it all.”
Crowe’s favorite NBA player is Anthony Edwards. A fun fact about him is he likes to make beats on his phone in his freetime.
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