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

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The birth of his 17-month-old son, Owen, made Craft think of a way to set him up for a bright long-term future. Going to medical school now after a six-year professional career that took him all over the world, he said, will allow him to work for at least three decades in the medical field in his home state surrounded by friends and family.

“It wasn't a light decision,” Craft said. “It's definitely not just me – my family, my wife. Honestly, it feels like a perfect storm of things kind of came together for this to be the time to step away.”

 
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After Carmen's Crew suffered a shocking first-game loss to House of 'Paign in its first game of The Basketball Tournament on Wednesday, Craft – who suffered a knee injury during the third quarter, but returned later in the third quarter to finish the game – left the door open when asked about the possibility that he could return to TBT next year.

“My knee hurts a lot right now,” Craft said. “So I don’t know, man. There’s a lot of thoughts going in my mind right now, a lot of emotions. I don’t know how chubby I’m gonna be next summer anyway, so they might not even want me back. I could be out of shape, can’t move, worse than this year. So no, I have no idea. I can’t say yes, I definitely can’t say no. So we’ll see how it goes.”
 
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THE FUTURE DR. CRAFT. Don't look now, but Aaron Craft's officially a medical student.



I have no doubts he'll attack his studies with every bit of the vigor he meets everything else in life. Whatever the medical school equivalent is of diving on the floor for a loose ball – he'll do that daily.
 
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Mike80 said:
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Aaron Craft begins medical school journey at Ohio State

Remember the first day of school? The tension and excitement of starting a new year. Now imagine having not gone to school for five years and picking it up again.

That is the case for Aaron Craft. The former Buckeye point guard announced last fall that this past season would be his last in professional basketball so he could focus on his other dream of becoming a doctor. That journey began this week as Craft started medical school at Ohio State.

"The new chapter has begun! Excited, a little nervous, and extremely grateful to start a journey I’ve thought about for so long. I’ve always liked our home white jerseys," Craft tweeted along with a picture of himself in his lab along with his wife and son.

On the court, Craft had a very successful career. After committing to Thad Matta and the Buckeyes as a four-star prospect from Findlay, Ohio in 2010, Craft had a four-year college career with the Scarlet and Gray that saw the team win two Big Ten regular season and two tournament championships and reach the Sweet Sixteen, the Elite Eight the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament. Craft was the Big Ten's Sixth Man of the Year as a freshman, twice named the conference's Defensive Player of the Year and was on the Big Ten All-Defensive Team every season.

Craft, along with classmate Lenzelle Smith Jr., became the fastest players in Ohio State men's basketball history to reach 100 career wins, doing it in just 119 games. The point guard was recently named to the Big Ten's All-Decade third team.

As a professional, Craft played in the NBA G-League, winning the championship in 2015, and had a successful career overseas in Montenegro, France, Italy and Hungary.

Craft's final professional season playing for Aquila Basket Trento in Italy ended prematurely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Craft was able to play one last professional basketball game in The Basketball Tournament this summer as he and Carmen's Crew, and Ohio State alumni team, failed to defend their TBT title.

“I don’t know, man," Craft said after Carmen's Crew's loss last month on whether he might play in the TBT again next summer. "There is a lot going through my mind and a lot of emotions. I don’t how chubby I will be next summer anyway. They may not want me back if I’m out of shape and worse than this year. I have no idea. I can’t say yes and I definitely can’t say no."

With basketball out of the picture, at least for now, Craft can turn his focus to medical school and becoming a doctor, something he discussed even during his playing career at Ohio State.

Most people don't get more than one lucrative career and even many professional athletes struggle to find what's next after their playing days are over. Craft retired on his terms after a successful career and is now back in Ohio working on his next positive journey.

And he and his family look pretty happy about it.

Entire article: https://247sports.com/college/ohio-...raft-begins-medical-school-journey-149852928/
 
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While realizing Craft's story isn't done being written, this is a fantastic chapter to it. You look at a young man who put himself out there in everything he has ever done, and has been successful in each. Got to watch him in the Cali D league (he was property of GS Warriors), while he was playing for Santa Cruz. And he looked pretty much like he did when he wore tOSU uniform. Not certain what it was that kept him from playing in the NBA, probably his jump shot, but would have liked to see that occur. Agree with the above posters about his chances of success as a physician when all is said and done. You gotta root for a guy who utilizes every ounce of talent he has to get the job done. To me, he was like David Lighty, the 'glue' of the team, and the one that was always making the play that made the difference. Go Bucks!
 
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While Craft has been a starter for Carmen’s Crew in the past, he expects to come off the bench this year. Carmen’s Crew’s backcourt for this year’s TBT also includes Scott, Smith and Keyshawn Woods, all of whom are still playing professional basketball internationally. But while Craft is downplaying his own value to Carmen’s Crew, his teammates expect Craft to be the same player he’s always been come Friday, when Carmen’s Crew will play its first-round game against Mid-American Unity (9 p.m., ESPN).

“Aaron’s going to be fine,” Scott said. “We played with him today, he’s definitely in shape. He has a kid now, he runs around more probably now than he did back then. So I think he’s gonna be fine. He’ll be in shape, he’ll be good.”

 
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