Joe Crispin, a former college standout and professional player, completed his seventh season as Rowan's head men's basketball coach in 2022-23, in which he led the Profs to the NCAA Tournament for the third time and captured the NJAC Championship for the second time in his tenure. In seven seasons, Crispin has compiled a 114-54 record, which ranks as the fourth-highest total of victories among Rowan basketball coaches.
The 2022-23 squad produced the best season for a Rowan basketball team since the late 1990's as the Profs went 24-6 overall, and 16-2 in the NJAC, en route to winning the program's 12th conference title and the second under Crispin. Rowan, which had the fourth highest scoring offense in the country (91.4 ppg), won two NCAA Tournament games at home and advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time since the 1997-98 season, while finishing the year ranked 17th in the D3hoops.com Top 25. Junior forward Ja'Zere Noel became the Profs' most recent NABC All-American when he was named to the first team.
Rowan Records Set Under Crispin
In 2021-22, Rowan returned from the year off due to the pandemic and produced a high-scoring offense (92.6 points per game) that accounted for a 23-6 record. The Profs went 14-4 in the NJAC to earn the league's number-two seed and advanced to the championship game, but earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, marking the seventh in school history.
The Profs came on strong late in 2019-20, winning the last five regular-season games to earn a spot in the NJAC Tournament. Rowan advanced to the NJAC Semifinals and finished the year with a 15-12 record.
In 2018-19, Crispin’s squad went 22-7 and captured the 11th NJAC Championship in school history, and just the first since 1999. The Profs also advanced to the Second Round of the NCAA Division III Championships, while hosting two games. For his efforts, he was selected the NABC Atlantic District Coach of the Year and the D3Hoops.com Atlantic Region Coach of the Year.
Crispin was named the 12th coach in Rowan history in 2016 after serving as an assistant coach for two years with both the men's and women's basketball programs. He led his first team to a 17-10 overall mark and the semifinals of the 2017 Tournament, while the 2017-18 team went 13-13.
Prior to joining Rowan’s coaching staff, Crispin experienced a professional career in the United States and Europe, highlighted by a stint in the NBA. The 2001 graduate of Penn State was an undrafted free agent and played in a total of 22 games in 2001-02, first for the Los Angeles Lakers, under coach Phil Jackson, and then with the Phoenix Suns under coach Scott Skiles.
In 2003-04, he continued to play professionally with the Kansas City Knights of the ABA where he was the league’s Most Valuable Player. Crispin was also a member of the 2004 USBL champion Pennsylvania Valley Dawgs, coached by former NBA great Darryl Dawkins, and also played briefly for the Southern California Sun of the ABA.
Crispin’s career then took him to Europe as he played in leagues in Ukraine, Italy, Turkey, Spain, Poland and Greece. In 2004, he earned All-Polish League second team honors as a member of Anwil Wloclawek, and followed that with All-Star recognition in Turkey, while playing for Banvit from 2007 to 2009. While a member of Enel Brindisi in Italy in 2009-10, Crispin was named to the All-League second team as the club won the regular-season title and reached the league final.
He enjoyed a successful career as a four-year starter at Penn State from 1997 to 2001, where he remains the school’s third leading all-time scorer with 1,986 points, is fifth all-time in assists (485) and ranks fourth in three-point field goals made (885). A two-time All-Big 10 Conference selection, which included first-team honors his senior year, Crispin captained the 2001 Nittany Lions as they went 21-12 and reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. That followed two seasons in which Penn State reached the Final Four of the NIT, in 1998 and 2000.
An All-State player at nearby Pitman High School as he scored 2,654 points, he is the owner and director of Crispin Basketball, which has been conducting camps, clinics and leagues for players in grades K-12 since 2008. Crispin, who earned his Penn State degree in telecommunications, has also trained players from the elementary to collegiate levels.
He added the title of “author” to his resumé, with the 2020 publishing of his book,
Offense Wins: A Player’s 12 Foundational Principles for Great Basketball Offense.
Crispin resides in Glassboro with his wife, Erin and their five children.
