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

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:osu:2011 Basketball Preview: Aaron Craft
September 28, 2011, by Eric

Of all of last year?s new players, Aaron Craft was the most pleasant surprise. His play drew favorable comparisons to another former freshman point guard, Mike Conley, if for no other reason then their spectacular play as a young gun in Matta?s Offense. Craft?s skill set is a bit different than Conley?s though, so one shouldn?t carry that comparison too far.

Hometown: Findlay, Ohio
High School: Liberty Benton
Position: Guard (2/1)
Year: Sophomore

High School Awards:

?Three time All-Ohio selection in basketball.
?As a Senior, he was named Ohio Division III player of the year (2010).
?Starting point guard for state runner-up team as a freshman.
?Two time All-Ohio selection in football.
?Ohio Division V player of the year (2008).

Collegiate Honors:

?Big Ten Freshman of the Week (1/17/2011)
?Yahoo! Sports? Big Ten Freshman of the year. (2011)
?2011 Big Ten All Defensive Team.
?2011 Big Ten All Freshman Team.
?2011 Sixth Man of the Year.
?2011 Lefty Driesell All-America Team.

Aaron Craft spent his first season coming off the bench for Matta?s team. There was a long period of speculation that at some point he would start for the Buckeyes during his freshman campaign, but it never came to be. Matta seemed to prefer to run Lauderdale at Center for the tip than have Craft?s talents on the floor from the start.

As the 6 man, Craft provided an incredible spark off the bench, no-where more obvious than on defense. Few players in college basketball displayed the effort that Craft did on the defensive end. He was singularly irritating, often spending his entire time in the back pocket of his opponent.

Career Stats:

As before, stats are from Buckeyes Beat.

Season GP MPG PPG FG% 3FG% FT% APG RPG BPG SPG
2010-11 37 29.6 7.0 46.4 37.7 72.7 4.8 2.9 0.1 2.0

Strengths:

Aaron Craft is a defensive specialist, the sort that Thad Matta absolutely loves to have on the floor. He is an aggressive defender capable of making a big play at any moment during a game. He averaged 2 steals per game during his freshman season, quite frequently by swiftly picking his man?s pocket. He is most effective in man-to-man defense, and is at his best defending by himself in space.

Craft is also a spectacular slasher on offense. He has a sneaky quickness to him that often catches his defender off guard, and is capable of seeing the floor open up in ways that few other point guards can. Recall this play against Michigan that Craft just lit them up on:

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouPAYlsgZ-c&feature=youtube_gdata_player]Play of the Game - Michigan - YouTube[/ame]

This is also the reason that Craft has such a high shooting percentage ? most of the shots he takes are high percentage ones. That?s certainly something that Matta appreciates out of his point guard.

Weaknesses:

There are two glaring weaknesses to Craft?s game that were apparent in his play during his freshman season. The first is a somewhat low shooting percentage from long range, while the second is an issue with his team defensive play.

Craft?s shooting was not a necessity last season. In fact, the times that Craft hit a three pointer felt like a bonus rather than something that needed to happen. This coming season it may very well turn into a necessity, particularly if Craft wants to see the floor more frequently. With the losses of Jon Diebler and David Lighty, Craft will be looked on to pick up a bigger part of the offensive role.

Defensively, it?s hard to imagine that there could be any complaint about Craft?s play. However, against Kentucky it became quite obvious that Craft much prefers to be the guy on defense. He was victimized repeatedly by the pick and roll because he seemed to prefer to stay on his man rather than switch off on the screen. This is something that had occured occasionally during the season, but Kentucky used it as a weapon against the Buckeyes. He needs to learn to trust his teammates on the defensive end, and that he doesn?t have to try to do it all by himself.

Role for the team:

This may seem like an easy question, but Craft may play a somewhat different role this season than you might expect. While Point Guard is his natural position, with the Buckeyes bringing in Shannon Scott (who we?ll talk about later) it?s possible that Matta will prefer to start Scott at the 1. But Matta will want to have Craft?s experience and defensive abilities on the floor as well.

I expect Craft to start at the 2 position this season. The advantage of having two quality point guards capable of distributing the ball will be huge for this team from a strategic standpoint. However, it will require Craft to become more proficient in shooting the long ball ? something that presumably Chris Jent* has been working with him on. If he turns that into a strength, Craft will be one of the most dangerous backcourt players in the Big Ten this year.

* As you might expect, Jent is going to feature favorably in these articles.
_________
The Buckeye Battlecry: Ohio State News and Commentary
 
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Q&A: Ohio State?s Aaron Craft

I do a lot of interviews with coaches, players and administrators. More often than not, a 1500 word .doc file will yield one or two quotes by the time it is edited into an article. I find this to be shamefully wasteful.

Here at STF, I strive to be like the Native American and use all of the buffalo, not just the skin and horns. So, as we ramp up to actual game time in college hoops, I?m going to share some raw Q&As I did over the summer.

Since yesterday?s posted Q&A with OSU assistant Dave Dickerson alerted me to the existence of the tumblr Aaron Craft Fans, I figured I?d stay with the theme and post my interview with the Buckeyes? other super soph.

You got a lot of credit for your defense as a freshman. With some of last year?s seniors gone, will we get a chance to see more offensive output from you?

If that?s what?s going to be helpful. We definitely have some holes to fill with the seniors that left, and as of now we?re still unsure who?s going to be in what roles right now, so if I need to shoot more often next year, I might have to. So that might be a part of my game that needs to evolve some.

What aspects of your game are you working on in preparation for next season?

Competing and trying to be that point guard. Continue to handle the ball. You can never be too good at handling the ball. Being able to knock down shots is something we?ll definitely need on the team and that can help tremendously. I?ll work really hard at my dribbling and of course on the shooting.

As a point guard, what does it mean to you to have Jared back?

A lot! After four years now playing with him, it?s hard to imagine playing without him. He understands the game and he makes passing the ball to your big guy a lot easier, because he catches just about everything. I?m definitely happy to have him back, not just on the court but off the court as well. He has experience and he?s definitely a great guy to have around.

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http://stormingthefloor.net/post/11397184423/q-a-ohio-states-aaron-craft
 
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11-10-13-MB-0383.jpg


What do you guys think? This season......

11.5 PPG | 5.5 Asts | 3.0 Rebs | 2.0 Stls
 
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i think that's fair, ninja. averaging from 9 to 12 seems likely. i doubt his assists per game will jump much. it may even decline since scott will grab minutes at the point and we'll be less of a jump-shooting team. i will be greatly surprised if he averages fewer than 2 steals. expect a lot of pressing and perimeter pressure well beyond the arc when craft is joined by sibert or especially scott. finally, with craft playing more minutes as the off-guard, his rebounding numbers are set to jump, too. i've always been impressed by his ability to anticipate the direction of the carom. sully and thomas are also gifted in this regard.

the most important stat for craft (and his team, naturally) will be his three-point percentage. he shot 37.7% against opponents who gave him space. if he averages over 40%, our team will be a true killer. buford needs a friend behind the line. in fact, i think this may be the most important factor to next year's offense. there must be a second player who shoots 40% while attempting at least 100. i doubt thomas will be that consistent. sibert could be that guy. the difference is in his head.
 
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Rated #5 Point Guard

Craft had a marvelous freshman campaign; if it wasn't for Marshall's magnificent debut, he'd be the highest-ranked sophomore on this list. Last year, Craft was able to settle in nicely without a real target on his back. Now he'll have that, which he'll gladly fight, especially since he's a hawkish on-ball defender.
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http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/story/15764624
 
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Fox: Ranking the best inside-outside duos

1. OHIO STATE
The duo: Jared Sullinger and Aaron Craft
The buzz: After averaging 17.2 points and 10.2 rebounds, Sullinger was the undisputed national freshman of the year and a consensus first-team All-American. Had he left for the NBA draft, he would have been one of the first picks. Undoubtedly, he was a major reason the Buckeyes won 34 games. Craft arrived with less fanfare than Sullinger, but he was huge as a freshman point man. He played starter's minutes off the bench, and averaged 4.8 assists and played solid defense.
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Aaron Craft’s faith inspires on, off court
By Justine Boggs
[email protected]
Published: Monday, November 14, 2011

For the Ohio State men's basketball point guard Aaron Craft, his commitments on the court and in his faith keep him focused, humble and involved.

"I choose to be a Christian, a student and then an athlete," Craft said.

Craft is involved in Athletes in Action, a Christian ministry for student athletes at OSU.

"Basically we meet for bible studies, and have weekly meetings we encourage our teammates to come to," he said. "An athlete gives their testimony on how God is working in their life."

Craft said priorities in his life have come a long way since last year. He said his faith helps keep him grounded and reassures him he is here for a reason bigger than sports.

"Something we say in AIA is we are not athletes who happen to be Christians, we are Christians that happen to be athletes," he said.

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http://www.thelantern.com/campus/aaron-craft-s-faith-inspires-on-off-court-1.2698529#.TsLSLfKwV6Q

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ge-iapLEDw"]Aaron Craft Interview with Adam Neft on 97.1 The Fan - YouTube[/ame]
 
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