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

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That one-armed, bend it like Beckham, bullet from half-court to Sully was one of the most amazing passes I've ever seen.

Rumor has it that the phrase "son of a gun" was coined after a similar pass Aaron made, which actually induced a woman into labor.
 
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Don't know if this has been posted yet, but it's worth another look.

Goldy-Locks-Craft.jpg
 
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Buckskin86;1895323; said:
Read more: http://aol.sportingnews.com/ncaa-ba...keyes-well-ncaa-tournament-2011#ixzz1HEYkI1vf
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In addition to the 2 mentioned here, a third assist was particularly "Craft-like".
At about the 8:00 mark of the second half, with the Buckeyes up 34, Craft dove to the floor between two GM players, as if recovering a fumble, and in one motion, rolled over and whipped the ball over his head to a waiting 3bler at the left wing. Jon drained the triple, scarcely tickling the net, despite getting whacked in the face hard enough to topple him out of bounds, giving new meaning to "a hand in the face". Diebler stepped to the line, a little bleary-eyed from the blow, and completed the 4 point play with machine-like precision, giving the Buckeyes their largest lead of the day at 38, capping an incredible 47 point turnaround (85-38) over a 28 minute span.
 
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OSU's Aaron Craft is master point guard
Published: Tuesday, March 22, 2011
By Doug Lesmerises, The Plain Dealer

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JOSHUA GUNTER/PLAIN DEALER
Freshman Aaron Craft is developing into one of the top point guards in the country. He and the Buckeyes will play Kentucky Friday night in a Sweet 16 matchup.

COLUMBUS -- Two defenders brought pressure from his left side, forcing the quarterback off-balance. But while keeping his eyes on the play developing ahead of him, he noticed another defender protecting the middle move just slightly to the left, while his main target slid to an opening.

Aaron Craft fired the pass from a three-quarters arm angle, and the 14-yard completion led to a layup and a foul for Jared Sullinger, the play the most memorable of Craft's school-record 15 assists during Ohio State's NCAA Tournament win over George Mason on Sunday.

"People ask me how I got it there," said Craft, who started at quarterback for three years in high school before giving up football to focus on basketball as a senior. "And I said I just threw it as hard as I could. Sully can catch just about anything. I was reading the guy guarding Dave [Lighty], and he made a play to the middle, so I took a chance with Jared."

Yes, this is basketball, not football. But when it comes to the No. 1 Buckeyes, who face No. 4 seed Kentucky in an East Regional semifinal in Newark, N.J., on Friday, Craft is most assuredly their quarterback.

Craft's showdown with Kentucky leading scorer and freshman point guard Brandon Knight could swing the game. The Buckeyes should be OK with that.

"He played his heart out," OSU junior William Buford said after Sunday's win. "He was hustling like crazy."

Cont...
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http://www.cleveland.com/sports/index.ssf/2011/03/osus_aaron_craft_is_master_poi.html
 
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I love that about AC. He brings it all every single game. Sometimes he gets too...freshman-like with his mistakes and so seems like he is having an off night, but he always brings that hustle and intensity. He makes some of the most ridiculous defensive plays and assists I have ever seen, and it makes me smile and laugh every time.
 
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Big time situations don't rattle Craft
Freshman brings spark from off bench
BY MATT MARKEY
BLADE SPORTS WRITER

Big-time-situations-don-t-rattle-Craft.jpg

Ohio State freshman Aaron Craft, a Liberty-Benton grad, averages 29 minutes per game for the Buckeyes while coming off the bench. Ohio State freshman Aaron Craft, a Liberty-Benton grad, averages 29 minutes per game for the Buckeyes while coming off the bench. T
HE OZONE/JIM DAVIDSON

NEWARK -- It was an impossible distance, from the Blanchard Valley Conference to the Big Ten, until Aaron Craft shortened the route to a single step.

Last season, Craft was playing in the BVC, a conference of mostly rural schools located in farming communities in Hardin, Putnam, and Hancock counties. A year later, he runs the offense for top-ranked Ohio State as the Buckeyes move on to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament Friday night against Kentucky.

"What he's done is pretty amazing, pretty amazing," Ohio State senior David Lighty said after the Buckeyes overwhelmed George Mason 98-66 in the previous round of the NCAAs. "He's so young, and being from a smaller school and all, but nothing intimidates him. We're playing on the big stage, in NBA arenas, on national TV, and he's just fearless out there."

About a year ago, Craft was running the Liberty-Benton offense on the stage that is also the gym floor and the school auditorium at BVC opponent Vanlue High School. Wildcats coach Jeff Kloepfer said he sees little difference in the way Craft dictated the action in those high school games, playing in front of a few hundred fans, and the way he orchestrates the Ohio State attack in facilities that hold 20,000 and are packed to the rafters.

Doing it in different basketball galaxies has Kloepfer shaking his head.

"Everybody in this league, we've always known how good he is, but what Aaron has done at Ohio State has impressed even those of us who got to see him a lot," Kloepfer said. "Even really good players don't make a jump like that, but he did. His basketball intelligence is off the charts."

Craft was an all-state quarterback at Liberty-Benton where he was the starter for his first three seasons and led the Eagles to the state championship game as a junior, before giving up football to focus exclusively on basketball as a senior.

On the court, Craft was the starting point guard as a freshman when Liberty-Benton finished second in the state. He was the Division III player of the year in Ohio as a senior, averaging 26 points, seven assists, and eight rebounds per game. Craft said he never looked at the move to Ohio State as an improbable leap, and he does not find himself in awe of the huge venues the Buckeyes play in.

"I guess I just don't see it that way. I don't stare up at the stands and see how many people are there," Craft said. "I just see the court -- same ball, same rims, same nets. The place you're playing in doesn't change any of that.

"It's a basketball game, and if it's in your driveway or at a small gym or a big arena, it still comes down to executing your game plan."

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http://toledoblade.com/Ohio-State/2011/03/23/Big-time-situations-don-t-rattle-Craft.html

Ohio State's Craft applies a special craft on the court
By JERRY TIPTON ? McClatchy Newspapers
Posted: Mar 23, 2011

Honor student. Hard worker. Productive player as a freshman.

The qualities that describe Kentucky point guard Brandon Knight also fit his Ohio State counterpart, Aaron Craft.

On a teleconference Tuesday, Ohio State Coach Thad Matta noted how Craft, if asked, could recall in detail each of his 15 assists against George Mason on Sunday.

"He's one of the best I've ever had in terms of that," Matta said. "His mind."

Craft was the valedictorian of his class and National Honor Society president at Liberty Benton High in Findlay, Ohio. He aspires to be a surgeon, which prompted Matta to quip, "There's probably a good chance, if you need knee surgery, he'll be operating on you."

That kind of brainpower translates to the basketball court, Matta said.

"It's very advantageous to have a guy who thinks the way he thinks," the Ohio State coach said. "The other thing you can't ever lose sight of is he's a competitor, and he's a winner. He's going to do whatever needs to be done. He's going to study and watch film and scouting (reports) to gain every advantage to help him in the course of the game."

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Read more: http://www.kentucky.com/2011/03/23/1681340/ohio-states-craft-applies-a-special.html#ixzz1HQCTSLJR
 
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Ohio State basketball: Freshman is crafty beyond his years
Published: Thursday, March 24, 2011
By John Kampf
[email protected]

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Amy Sancetta/Associated Press
Ohio State�s Aaron Craft � shown driving to the basket between George Mason�s Vertrail Vaughns, left, and Andre Cornelius on Sunday � has 53 assists and only 11 turnovers in the Buckeyes� nine-game winning streak.

For many point guards, it was a prime opportunity to make a mistake.

For this Ohio State point guard, it was simply an opportunity to make a play.

It was time for Aaron Craft to be Aaron Craft.

With Ohio State clinging to a 15-14 lead over George Mason on Sunday in a closer-than-most-thought-it-would-be first half at Quicken Loans Arena, the smallest Buckeye on the court found himself stuck in the middle of a double team near midcourt.

Ranging to his right, Craft whipped the ball between two Patriots defenders to fellow freshman Jared Sullinger, who broke through the key for a rim-rattling dunk.

It was just one of many highlight-reel plays in Ohio State's 98-66 win over George Mason.

The slick feed was one of a career-high 15 assists dished out by the 6-foot-2, 195-pounder out of Findlay Liberty Benton ? and just a brief example of the spark the boyish-looking college rookie has provided the Buckeyes this season.

Such moments have been plentiful for Craft.

Since his one-assist, six-turnover game on Sunday, Feb. 20, Craft has been as close to perfect as a point guard can get.

Craft is a major reason why.

In nine games since OSU's last loss, Craft has dished out 53 assists, while turning it over only 11 times.

The 4.8-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio is impressive for anyone, let alone a freshman.

"We really didn't say anything to him (after the Purdue game)," Coach Thad Matta said. "He's probably as hard on himself as any kid I've ever coached.

"I have great trust in him."

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http://news-herald.com/articles/2011/03/24/sports/nh3799268.txt?viewmode=fullstory

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jqb_j--0MVY"]YouTube - Ohio State's Aaron Craft pass vs George Mason NCAA Tourney[/ame]
 
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