New Canaan's Doster Crowell: best shooter in CT?

It's hard to be All American level good, and still somehow be under the radar. A look around the state of Connecticut at top talent reveals some of the best players in the nation, particularly at attack. Cheshire's Matt Jeffery, Darien's [player_tooltip player_id='14811' first='Brady' last='Pokorny'], and Ridgefield's [player_tooltip player_id='14808' first='Kyle' last='Colsey'], among others, snatch headlines at a national scale and are all headed to ACC powerhouse programs.    Over in New Canaan, there's another attackman to put in that mix: [player_tooltip player_id='15203' first='Doster' last='Crowell']. A Michigan commit, Crowell is coming off a 46-goal, 67-point season for the Rams. As an underclassman, Crowell found his way to the field as a shooter. And he can SHOOT. In fact, as a pure shooter, Crowell stacks up better than the above-mentioned phenoms. Crowell has range from near 15 yards. He can be very deceptive with his low to high release point but is also a dangerous shooter at a ¾ release, or even straight overhand. He fit in New Canaan's offense as an off ball threat, hunting feeding lanes and getting himself into good positions to shoot. A poor defensive close-out often meant he was getting a shot off; his release is extremely quick.   Where Crowell took a big step last season was as a ball handler and distributor. With the scout out on his shooting prowess and quick release, defenses were closing out to Crowell much more aggressively to try and disrupt his hands the moment he received a pass. Now, an over aggressive approached is punished with a face dodge to get underneath the defender, or a roll away from pressure and winning the angle on a run to the goal.   In lacrosse, dangerous shooters from distance can be said to have “gravity”. Basketball has a similar principle. The better the shooter from distance, the more the offball defenders have to cheat toward the shooter and be ready to help. Last spring, again because of the scout on him, Crowell developed “gravity.” He also became very adept at finding the help defender cheating too far, or watching him a little too closely and losing another New Canaan player. Crowell became a feeder in these situations, even throwing the occasional lookaway pass, as defenses key on denying him shooting chances.   Crowell's strength as a shooter is at least in part due to his hockey process. He's an All State hockey player, and watching him shoot a lacrosse ball, you can see how much power is generated from wrists and arms, like a wrist shot in hockey. He gets a remarkable amount of power from very little time and motion, which is why he can score with such a quick release. With enough time to really step into a shot and use his shoulders, legs, and core, he's lights out.   When he gets to Michigan, Crowell can likely find his way to the field as a shooter on the extra man, or as an off ball threat as he did to start his high school career. With his quick release and 15 yard range, he'll push for a role right away.

It's hard to be All American level good, and still somehow be under the radar. A look around the state of Connecticut at top talent reveals some of the best players in the nation, particularly at attack. Cheshire's Matt Jeffery, Darien's Brady Pokorny Brady Pokorny 6'0" | A | Left Hand Darien | 2024 #7 Nation CT , and Ridgefield's Kyle Colsey Kyle Colsey 5'10" | A | Left Hand Ridgefield | 2024 #4 Nation CT , among others, snatch headlines at a national scale and are all headed to ACC powerhouse programs.