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

As far as the freshmen go, Craft's performance last night was far more impressive to me than Sullinger's. Not knocking Sullinger, but he was the recipient of several easy buckets that were started by Craft and other's ability to quickly and calmly break the press.
 
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I posted a few weeks ago that Aaron would HAVE to get on the court this year a good amount because he commands the respect of defenders and makes this offense roll. I honestly think he may be starting in the not so distant future. Our offense is dynamic with him at the helm. He is a leader who is composed and reliable with the ball. I was impressed with his poise and willingness to pull the trigger as well.
 
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I don't know if this team is going to go anywhere this season we might have to go PG by committee. Matta knew that we did not have a PG this year and I have no idea who is going to be playing there unless this Craft kid really starts to show something:biggrin2:

Honestly though, I think it's going to be a while before he is in the starting lineup because Thad really respects his seniors and I think Lauderdale will be in the starting lineup until the first TO. Only 3 turnovers in 3 games is something special for a PG no matter the school no matter the class. This kid is something special and is only going to get better. I could care less if he can't penetrate and dish:lol:

Some guys were way off target when he committed to The Ohio State University and some guys were closer to being right on target. I don't think any of us thought he was going to be this good so early in the season... not even me:blush:
 
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As a point guard, he had a pretty Craft-y performance.











Hey, I'm just trying to unite everybody in this thread. Now you can all groan together. :tongue2:
 
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Craft has, in his first two games, been a revelation on offense. His passing hasn't been flashy, but it's been highly effective. And his ability to break the press is first rate - uses the dribble and the pass in concert like a maestro.

His D, on the other hand, is a work in progress. So long as the opposing guard he's assigned to is not super quick, he'll do great. But against players like Talor Battle we'll need to reassign Aaron until he gets the defensive game to slow down, or until he finds ways to use his guile and smarts to compensate for his lack of foot speed and quickness. He also needs to watch the fouls.

Really impressive young player, though, overall. It will be fun to have him Columbus the next four years! :osu:
 
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Really impressive showing by Craft last night. Handled UF's press like a cagey veteran. Only a couple times that I thought he looked a bit rattled, and he still managed to make a safe play. I think he's still adjusting to the speed of the college game, but he seems to be taking it head-on, rather than playing timid. It will be interesting to see how he responds to playing against some of the good veteran guards in Big Ten games. I think by mid-season he will be able to hold his own against anyone in the conference.
 
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As far as the freshmen go, Craft's performance last night was far more impressive to me than Sullinger's. Not knocking Sullinger, but he was the recipient of several easy buckets that were started by Craft and other's ability to quickly and calmly break the press.
both have a lot to work on imo. not a bad thing, actually a good thing. i took a lot of junk early on for being critical of the "thad five" as it turned out they improved as much, or more than any team weve seen in the past 1-2 decades at ohio state. granted, then again this florida team was not a top 20 team...
 
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Noted that the box score indicated tOSU had 22 assists and only 8 turnovers in the UF game. In thinking about TO's in a road game I would have been happy with less than 15.
Advancing the ball up the court was one of the vulnerable areas which was, is and will be a point of attack in tOSU opponent's gameplanning.
Many have criticized Billy D. for attacking with full court defensive pressure the whole game, but with the knowledge of this weakness of a road team in a hostile environment it was not a desparate strategy!
Buckeye ballhandlers responded, stepped up to the challenge of breaking full court pressure the whole night, and Mr. Craft deserves major props for his consistency.
It is very early, but I am excited about how this mixture of youth and veterans is handling the ball.
 
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Based on the one game I've seen of UF, I can see them hanging in the 15-20 range. They aren't as sound as the top teams, but their athleticism and the press will let them roll over many teams. They killed OSU with the second or third man getting offensive rebounds in the first half, and I'm not sure how many teams will be able to stop that. The depth of the SEC will determine their tournament seeding.
 
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Just wanted to say how impressed I was with Craft's game this week. I watched the game twice and was amazed with his ball handling skills. He did well for a true freshman. His skills really added to the overall team play. I look forward to Saturday's game against UNC Wilmington.

:osu:
 
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