PG Aaron Craft (B1G 6th MOY '11, Def POY '12, Acad AA, Dolomiti En. TR - Italy)

[Oh8ch]

"You can tell he?s shot a ton of shots," Matta said. "He and Jon Diebler are attached at the hip, coming in early, staying late, getting shots up."

I think this was a mistake.

It presents an interesting offensive weapon and will make for some strong double teaming. But ultimately joining them at the hip will only slow down the fast break and encourage other teams to spread the floor.

And for the record - this is just my honest opinion. I have no agenda.

 

[Steve19]

I think this was a mistake.

It presents an interesting offensive weapon and will make for some strong double teaming. But ultimately joining them at the hip will only slow down the fast break and encourage other teams to spread the floor.

And for the record - this is just my honest opinion. I have no agenda.

Whoa! Let's think about that! It also creates opportunities for some pretty fancy dribbling of the ball between the legs. Let's not forget that.

 

[DZ83CK]

I didn't say I've never been wrong, but what was I wrong about?

 

[LitlBuck]

I didn't say I've never been wrong, but what was I wrong about?

Not a direct quote but you have been pretty consistent about the fact that Craft could not play PG for Ohio State if we wanted the Buckeyes to be a very good team this year.

 

[BigJim]

Not a direct quote but you have been pretty consistent about the fact that Craft could not play PG for Ohio State if we wanted the Buckeyes to be a very good team this year.

How is that "wrong" at this point? To me, for that to be wrong OSU has to be a top 10ish team this year AND Craft has to be a part of the rotation. While there seems to be a good chance both will end up happening, I don't think we can quite say that claiming it won't happen is "wrong". At least not yet.

 

[RugbyBuck]

What about moving him to safety?

 

[BayBuck]

How is that "wrong" at this point? To me, for that to be wrong OSU has to be a top 10ish team this year AND Craft has to be a part of the rotation. While there seems to be a good chance both will end up happening, I don't think we can quite say that claiming it won't happen is "wrong". At least not yet.

OSU is a preseason top-10 and Craft is obviously going to see some "true" PG PT this season: any prediction to the contrary is wrong until the season proves otherwise.

 

[Bill Lucas]

How is that "wrong" at this point? To me, for that to be wrong OSU has to be a top 10ish team this year AND Craft has to be a part of the rotation. While there seems to be a good chance both will end up happening, I don't think we can quite say that claiming it won't happen is "wrong". At least not yet.

With all due respect if you knew the entire history of this thread and the posts made in the thread about Craft by a certain poster you'd understand where we're coming from on this one. This certain poster has been casting doubt for months in the thread.

 

[BigJim]

OSU is a preseason top-10 and Craft is obviously going to see some "true" PG PT this season: any prediction to the contrary is wrong until the season proves otherwise.

I think (hope) you're kidding because that's a ridiculous statement but I'll take the bait.

The predictions are not "wrong" in the preseason just because it looks like it's going to be "wrong". Someone that predicts that OSU will not be a top 20 team this year is not "wrong" when it's still the preseason. It doesn't work that way.

 

[jwinslow]

I think (hope) you're kidding because that's a ridiculous statement but I'll take the bait.

The predictions are not "wrong" in the preseason just because it looks like it's going to be "wrong". Someone that predicts that OSU will not be a top 20 team this year is not "wrong" when it's still the preseason. It doesn't work that way.

Right, because this argument centers around the top-20 part, and not bagging on a kid for months for being unworthy (and not going) to play PG for a quality ballclub.

 

[BayBuck]

I think (hope) you're kidding because that's a ridiculous statement but I'll take the bait.

The predictions are not "wrong" in the preseason just because it looks like it's going to be "wrong". Someone that predicts that OSU will not be a top 20 team this year is not "wrong" when it's still the preseason. It doesn't work that way.

Have you been watching OSU basketball under Thad Matta? Predicting that this team won't be "very good" (which apparently you consider top 10-20) if they play a young player at his obvious natural position is going to be wrong until/unless the wheels fall completely off the bus. Obviously Craft is going to play some PG, and obviously this is going to be a very good team.

 

[BigJim]

Right, because this argument centers around the top-20 part, and not bagging on a kid for months for being unworthy (and not going) to play PG for a quality ballclub.

DZ asked what he was wrong about and I still haven't seen a good answer yet. I agree that what he said (as Litl pointed out) will probably end up being wrong but it's not wrong right now.

The top-20 part was just an example of a prediction. I should have used a different example so I wouldn't confuse some certain people on here. Would it have been wrong going into the football season to predict that MSU would be ranked in the top 5 going into the Iowa game? Better yet, would it have been "wrong" to predict that Indiana would win the B10 in football? This is a serious question. At what point does a preseason prediction become so :crazy:that it can literally be classified as "wrong"?

 

[DZ83CK]

Not a direct quote but you have been pretty consistent about the fact that Craft could not play PG for Ohio State if we wanted the Buckeyes to be a very good team this year.

I didn't say the team couldn't be very good if he played PG.

I didn't think he would start at PG because I don't think he quite fits the prototype of the PG that Matta seems to prefer, and I cautioned against expecting him to play a lot given those things among a variety of other reasons (including how little TM has used the bench in some years). Some people were expecting big things from him. There have been zero 3* players that have done big things as freshmen at OSU in prior years under Matta. Certainly the likes of Crater and Offutt, guards who were similarly regarded coming out of HS, did not live up to the hype and did not pan out.

Now it looks like my concerns regarding his playing time were largely invalid, as the odds are pretty good for him to play a lot (and play well) even if he doesn't start this season. After one game I'll admit he did better than I expected (and it looks like the recruiting services may have underrated him somewhat), but let's wait and see how he does when the competition steps up in Big Ten play before revisiting these issues.

I still think he should be the backup point guard this season. If anything, what I've seen so far makes me think it would be best to have him start at the 2 next season when Scott comes in. Craft would play a Butler circa '07 role (i.e., starting 2 guard, backup PG).

 

[OSU_Buckguy]

Ron Stokes Fast Break

I know a point guard when I see one. During the early stages of the contest yesterday vs Walsh, I mentioned to my broadcast partner, Paul Keels that the Buckeyes had registered only one assist thus far. Aaron Craft entered the game at the 14:37 mark and things changed pretty quickly. Over the next six minutes of play he registered 4 assist, 1 steal, 1, rebound and five points. Ohio State enjoyed a 19-7 run and increased their lead from 4 to 16.

Yes, I understand that it was an exhibition game against an NAIA Division II opponent but everyone could see that the team was better when he was on the floor.

continued...

ehhhhh... what does ronnie stokes know about the guard position?

 

[OSU_Buckguy]

There have been zero 3* players that have done big things as freshmen at OSU in prior years under Matta... After one game I'll admit he did better than I expected (and it looks like the recruiting services may have underrated him somewhat)...

you saw him play just one high school game and placed way too much credence on recruiting services. i suggest that you watch a player more than once before submitting post after post about his limitations.