Crittenden first gained fame as a high school player for the Cuba High School Cubs who, despite an enrollment of only around 100 students, captured the 1952 Kentucky state championship, defeating the much larger Louisville Manual High.[1] Crittenden was named all-state his last two years and a high school All-American in his senior season.[2]
He then moved to Murray State, where over his four-year career Crittenden scored 2,019 points (19.4 per game), graduating as the Racers' all-time leading scorer (since eclipsed). Crittenden was the first player in school history to eclipse the 2,000 point mark – and the only one to do so without the benefit of the three-point shot. Crittenden also holds the school record for free throws made with 731, a mark that still ranks among the best in NCAA history. Crittenden was inducted into the Murray State athletic Hall of Fame in 1970 and the Kentucky basketball Hall of Fame in 1972.[2]
AAU career and later life
After graduating in 1956, Crittenden was drafted by the New York Knicks in the tenth round of the 1956 NBA draft. [3] However, in a move not uncommon in the early days of American professional basketball, he instead signed with Caterpillar Inc. to play for their AAU team the Peoria Caterpillars. Crittenden thrived in industrial basketball, being named an AAU All-American in three of his four seasons with the club. Crittenden led the Cats to two AAU titles in 1958 and 1960.[4]
