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

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Aaron Craft, 6-0 rising senior combo guard, All-Ohio Red/Liberty Benton (OH): Formerly a Tennessee commit, the now-future Buckeye?an in-state product who plays AAU with two other Ohio State commits; it was fate?has always been known as a tough competitor and a lockdown defender who could run the show with no issues, but Craft has now proven capable of being a playmaker whoo create easy looks for his teammates and himself after beating defenders off the dribble, as well as hitting contested mid-range jumpers and open treys with accuracy.
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SLAM ONLINE | ? The Name Game
 
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No more football for Craft
Future Buckeye to focus on basketball
Tuesday, 11 Aug 2009
Howard Chen

FINDLAY, Ohio - Aaron Craft has been a Liberty-Benton household name ever since his freshman year for both football and basketball.

Craft has been the starting quarterback the last three seasons, all with deep playoff runs, capped off by last year's trip to the state championship game.

However, Craft is verbally committed to Ohio State to play basketball, along with three of his AAU teammates.

So after a summer full of thinking, Craft decided to opt out of football to focus on being ready for the Buckeyes.

"The big thing is, Ohio State, they need a point guard. They put their trust in me. They're taking a chance on me for next year, and they need me ready for next year to play," he said.

"If they're taking that chance, then I've got to do everything that I can no to make myself ready for that jump to college next year."

Craft made his decision after talking it over with his family and Buckeyes head coach Thad Matta. He says injuries were not really a factor, since anybody could easily get hurt playing either sport.

"By the time I get to Ohio State, I want to be a solidified point guard," he said. "I want to be able to take care of the ball. Dribble it in any situation. Being able to get pressured, and being able to create for other people and that's a big thing that a point guard needs to do."

Craft intends to improve in all these aspects by working out in the gym with his father 2-3 times a week, then heading down to Columbus once a week to work with his AAU coach. He'll also go there on a separate day during the week to play with some of the past and present-day Buckeyes, something he did on Monday.

"Having (Greg) Oden on my team, that was just huge. You can do anything you want. Score anytime down the floor," Craft said. "It's really great being around those guys. They're really great to be around. They're fun to talk to. They mess around just like we do here. It's just on a larger scale. It's just really cool."

As cool as those experiences may be, it was tough for Craft to break the news to his now-former Liberty-Benton football teammates.

"It is really tough, especially being my senior year and not being able to be around those guys, my classmates ever since the 6th grade when I came. That's probably the toughest thing, knowing that I'm, in a sense, letting them down, because I know they were counting on me, and letting other people down as well."

But to make up for any letdown, Craft's trying to pump up his basketball game, so that when the time comes, everybody realizes the sacrifice was for the big picture - the Buckeye picture.
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No more football for Craft

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-_G8Yf1W4Y"]YouTube - No more football for Aaron Craft[/ame]
 
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I think it speaks volumes of the type of person Craft is when he gives up something that he loves to do because you know he needs to be at his best in something else in around 15 months. Not only that but making all the trips to Columbus this summer just to improve his game while sacrificing his last free summer.
 
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Aaron Craft
Point guard
6-2, 190
Findlay, Ohio (Liberty-Benton HS)
RSCI rank: 96

Craft:
"It was tough at first giving up football (Craft was Division V Ohio player of the year as a junior quarterback), but every time I got in the gym this fall, it went away. I realize the decision was the best one. I got to go down (to Ohio State) and play a couple of times in open gym and it felt good. I won't have to worry about getting my ballhandling back to where it needs to be for the start of the season. I'm shooting the ball much better than last season. I'm definitely trying to focus on those things, as well as defense and making the perfect pass."

Matta:
"I think Aaron is, No.1, a winner, and he?s got a great feel for how to play the game of basketball. The thing I loved was, if a game got tight this summer, you?d just sort of see him take a deep breath and say, ?We?re going to Jared,? and he would get him the ball and Jared would score.

"Defensively, he?s one of the best defenders I?ve seen. He?s able to keep people in front of him and he?s got the IQ of being able to see what?s going to happen next. His shot has really improved and he?s a lot more comfortable and confident taking that shot now."
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The rest of the story on the Class of 2010 (Hoops & Scoops: an OSU basketball blog)
Aaron Craft

PG, 6-2, 190

Findlay Liberty Benton

Rivals rank: No. 104

Matta says: "He's got a great feel for how to play the game. Defensively he's one of he best defenders I've seen. He's able to keep people in front of him and he's got the IQ of knowing what happens next. And his shot has improved."
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With season opener at hand, Ohio State welcomes starry 2010-11 recruiting class | Ohio State Buckeyes - cleveland.com - - cleveland.com
 
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I love what I'm reading and hearing about this kid. It sounds like he has a great work ethic and is totally dedicated to winning and making himself better (foregoing his last year of football to better his BBall) I can see him turning into a Scoonie Penn type, that just gets better when the game is tight and the clock is running down. He not only really gets after it defensively (see his bios) but he really seams to know where to go with the ball (Jared on his AAU squad) I'm looking forward to having a true point that causes other teams headaches, and it looks like this kid hits the mark.
 
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Shaken but not scurred
Craft just fine in season debut
Updated: Sunday, 06 Dec 2009,
Howard Chen
FOX Toledo Sports Director

FINDLAY, Ohio - Future Buckeye Aaron Craft was just starting his final year at Liberty-Benton when all of a sudden, his ankle didn't feel right.

But the point guard still felt fine enough to lead his Eagles to a season-opening victory, 61-39, over Elmwood.

Craft finished with 17 points, but not before giving all of Buckeye Nation a scare. In the first quarter, off a turnover, Craft was going in for a wide-open layup. Whatever happened with the ankle caused him to miss the layup badly and Craft landed on the floor in obvious pain. He got up, walked with a limp to the other end of the court and signalled to the sidelines that he was okay enough to stay in the game.

Sure enough, he was able to run normally on the next possession. A few minutes later, he caught an alley-oop pass and laid it in to put Liberty-Benton up 13-2.

Liberty-Benton officials said afterwards that their star point guard is feeling just fine.

Craft is part of one of the top college basketball recruiting classes in the nation. He and four of his AAU championship teammates have signed on to be future Buckeyes.
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Shaken but not scurred

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOgocSidDOE]YouTube - Craft shaken up but alright; Liberty-Benton wins[/ame]
 
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Went and saw Craft play last night.

Kid is going to be the type that will give you all that he has. It is hard to get a read on him against High School talent, would be a much better read against AAU talent...

But I will compare to Jamar Butler/Travis Walton as they are both PG's that played in NW ohio against comparable talent.

I would not put Craft in the same discussion with Butler. Craft is smarter, and could lead a team much better than Butler, but at this point Craft is the type of shooter as Walton. Butler had a great shot in high school, Craft is probably a 32% shooter from deep. He does show a strong ability to get to the rim, mostly with his right hand. He does have the understanding you want from a PG, and the desire, will be interesting to see him here, I hope that he will prove me wrong, but at this point I feel a little uncomfortable if he has to take the PG position to start the season next year.

He is a kid that does all the right things to put him ahead of others, not overally athletic, not the quickest, not the best shooter, but gets the job done.
 
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