The Pacers will sign small forward Torrey Craig to a two-year, $10-million contract when free agent deals can become official Friday, a league source familiar with the situation told IndyStar. Here are four things to know about the newest Pacer:
Torrey Craig started at the lowest level of Division I college basketball
Craig had a single Division I scholarship offer out of Great Falls, South Carolina — USC-Upstate. The school had recently transitioned to Division I and was not eligible for the NCAA Tournament during his career.
USC-Upstate went just 5-25 in 2010-11, Craig’s freshman season, but he quickly led them to respectability in the Atlantic Sun conference, going 21-13, 16-17, and 19-15. Craig was named the league’s freshman of the year, then player of the year as a sophomore. He averaged 16.3 points and 7.2 rebounds during his career with the Spartans, shooting just 41.3% overall and 33.0% on 3s.
It took Torrey Craig a while to reach the NBA
Craig went undrafted, played a season in Australia for the Cairns Taipans and then went to New Zealand for two seasons with the Wellington Saints, making the All Star Five both years and was named the league MVP in 2015 according to www.stuff.co.nz.
“I used to say, ‘You’re too good (for the NBL). You’re Michael Jordan,’ and he used to laugh at me,” Saints owner Nick Mills told stuff.co.nz. “That’s what I used to call him. So now funny as hell, he’s in the finals.”
Craig didn’t know much about New Zealand when he arrived.
“We drove to where Lord of the Rings was shot,” he said in the article. “I didn’t even know it was shot here, so that was pretty interesting. All I knew about New Zealand is (NBA center) Steven Adams is from here.”
Craig spent one season with South Dakota in the G League before finally earning a shot in the NBA with Denver in 2017.
Torrey Craig earned a role in Denver
Craig became a 27-year-old rookie for the Nuggets in 2017-18, appearing in 39 games and averaging 4.2 points and 3.3 rebounds and earning a reputation for his defense.
He developed into a rotation regular, starting 64 games the next two seasons and averaging 5.6 points and shooting 32.5% on 3s, and 3.4 rebounds.
Torrey Craig was guaranteed a NBA championship ring this season
Craig signed last off-season with the Milwaukee Bucks but struggled to find a role, averaging 11.2 minutes per game in 18 appearance and scoring just 2.5 points per game. When the Bucks acquired P.J. Tucker, he was sent to Phoenix for cash considerations.
With the Suns, however, Craig played the best ball of his career, averaging 7.2 points and 4.8 rebounds while shooting 36.9% on 3s.
“I was still with Milwaukee for a short amount of time. So any advice or tips I can give on any of the scouting reports of the guys or the sets they run, I’m going to try to help out in any way I can,” Craig said heading into the NBA Finals.
Anyone who appears in a game for the NBA champions is given a ring, meaning Craig will receive one for his time in Milwaukee despite the Suns’ loss.
Contact IndyStar Deputy Sports Editor Nat Newell at (317) 444-6182 or nat.newell@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter: @NatJNewell.
