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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?s Aaron Craft better player than coach

By Matt Tait

New Orleans ? It?s a well known fact that Ohio State point guard Aaron Craft is the glue that holds the Buckeyes together, the motor that makes his team go, the tough-as-nails, lead-by-intensity player who would do anything to help his team win.

What?s not as widely known is that Craft also is an up-and-coming college basketball coach.

Earlier this year, while the Buckeyes were in the middle of their run to the Final Four ? they?ll face Kansas University at 7:49 tonight in the second semifinal at the Superdome ? Craft spent some of what little down time he had as the de facto head coach for the Ohio State intramural team known as ?Turning Point.?

The team, which is sponsored by former Ohio State standout and current Philadelphia 76er Evan Turner, is made up of nine OSU team managers. Having Craft pace the sideline during the team?s run to the quarterfinals was equal parts exciting and hilarious.

?He?s got the clipboard, he?s on the sidelines. He really gets into ?coaching? us,? said third-year manager Lee Miller, using his hands to make the quotation gesture. ?We really don?t listen that well, though.?

Although Craft did not have the luxury of spending as much time preparing for Turning Point games as he did for his own, that did not stop him from trying. In addition to imploring his players to run a few sets, the 6-foot-2 sophomore from Findlay, Ohio, spent time studying the squad?s opponents as well.

?He used to give us the scouting report on the other teams based on what he saw on the other end of the court during the three minutes of warm-up time,? third-year manager Weston Strayer said. ?He?d go by things like nice shoes, the arm sleeve ? if a player had those, Aaron figured they were pretty good and we geared our game plan around stopping them.?

After winning the intramural championship in 2011 ? with Craft occupying a less prominent position on the team?s coaching staff ? things did not go quite so well for Turning Point in 2012. It reached the quarterfinals, but lost before reaching the school?s intramural version of the Final Four.

?We didn?t make it all the way this year,? Craft said. ?But it was still a good year.?

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http://www2.kusports.com/news/2012/mar/31/osus-aaron-craft-better-player-coach/

Craft has come long way since being 'kid who got Bruce Pearl fired'
By Jeff Goodman | CBSSports.com College Basketball Insider

NEW ORLEANS -- Long before he was known as the nation's premiere perimeter defender, well prior to him being regarded as one of the elite point guards in the country, Aaron Craft had another claim to fame.

He was the kid who got Bruce Pearl fired.

"Aaron Craft was a victim," Pearl said.

Craft was an unheralded point guard, and Jared Sullinger's AAU sidekick, when he committed to Pearl and the Tennessee Vols back in September of 2008. He, along with Josh Selby and Jordan McRae, all visited Pearl's house in the fall of that year, and had no clue that it was a violation -- one that would ultimately cost Pearl his job in Knoxville.

Craft declined to comment for the story here in New Orleans, in fear of taking away the focus from Saturday's national semifinal contest against Kansas. However, Craft spoke to CBSSports.com last season and said he had no knowledge that he was breaking a rule by being at Pearl's house.

It all came down to a photo of Craft and Pearl, one taken at Pearl's house back in 2008. It was against NCAA rules for Pearl to host the trio on an unofficial visit. No one still quite knows who faxed the picture to the NCAA, but it wound up being Pearl's undoing. When questioned by the NCAA, Pearl initially lied and said he didn't know where it was taken.

"It was my responsibility to protect his eligibility and say we'd love to have you over the house, but you cannot," Pearl said. "I didn't do that. He's a victim."

"We've honestly never felt like the victims," Craft's father, John, told CBSSports.com. "It was a bad set of circumstances, but there's no ill feelings. We have no bad thoughts about the man."

Craft has moved on. He's gone from a virtual unknown in recruiting circles to, what former Ohio State star Jim Jackson calls the best on-ball defender he's seen since Mookie Blaylock. Pearl was one of the first to become a Craft believer, when he was watching All-Ohio Red in the summer following Craft's sophomore campaign in high school. He was there to get a glimpse at Sullinger, just in case the skilled and then-rotund big man didn't elect to stay home and play his college ball in Columbus.

"This kid couldn't shoot it at all, but he didn't have to," Pearl recalled. "No one could get by him and he was always the first one diving on the floor for loose balls. He was the reason why that team was winning."

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http://www.cbssports.com/collegebas...since-being-the-kid-who-got-bruce-pearl-fired
 
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Ranking the point guards: Craft, Siva top list
Mike DeCourcy Sporting News

1. Aaron Craft, Ohio State

He averaged only 8.6 points per game as a sophomore. If he does that again as a junior, we?ll have been wrong here. But we don?t think he?ll average 8.6 points, with more points likely to be necessary now that two-year All-America Jared Sullinger has moved along to the NBA.

Even at 8.6 points per game, however, Craft is such an effective playmaker and such an overwhelming defender he merits a place in any debate about the best college point guards. That Ohio State could finish No. 2 in the nation in Ken Pomeroy?s defensive efficiency stats while averaging only 3.1 blocks per game is all but directly traceable to Craft?s phenomenal on-ball defense. Kansas? Tyshawn Taylor faced him twice. The result: 12 turnovers, 6-of-20 shooting.
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Read more: http://aol.sportingnews.com/ncaa-basketball/story/2012-04-30/top-point-guards#ixzz1tu3aGYhN
 
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Craft at CP3 camp

Junior Aaron Craft is among 19 college players attending Chris Paul's camp for elite point guards this weekend in Paul's hometown of Winston-Salem, N.C. The camp is today through Monday.

Also among the attendees are Trey Burke of Michigan, D.J. Cooper of Ohio U., Cameron Ayers (Randy's son) of Bucknell and two of the quickest points I saw last season, Phil Pressey of Missouri and Peyton Siva of Louisville.
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http://www.buckeyextra.com/content/blogs/hoops-and-scoops/2012/06/craft-at-cp3-camp.html
 
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Craft has ankle surgery

Ohio State guard Aaron Craft has a cast on his left ankle and is walking with crutches after surgery to remove a bone spur from the ankle, the university's student newspaper, The Lantern, reported late last night.

The newspaper said athletics department spokesman Dan Wallenberg confirmed that the junior from Findlay, Ohio, had a bone spur removed from the ankle but will be "fine in a couple weeks."

Craft was the Big Ten's defensive player of the year last season but in the last game of the regular season, at Michigan State, was seen limping on the ankle. Coach Thad Matta said he had been dealing with pain, but neither he nor Craft mentioned it was from a bone spur.

"When it gets hit, or it turns a certain way, there?s some excruciating pain involved. But he he kind of plays his way (through it and) it goes away," Matta said.

"I don?t know how much it?s affected him. He wouldn?t tell me if it did."
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http://www.buckeyextra.com/content/blogs/hoops-and-scoops/2012/07/07-01-12.html
 
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ON AARON CRAFT?

* The junior out of Findlay had his cast removed this past Tuesday following offseason ankle surgery.

* Craft said he was not planning to have the surgery because ?it didn?t hurt that bad? but they felt it needed to get done over the summer.

* He seemed to be moving around fine at the game, and did not have a wrap or brace on the ankle.

* Craft said he will take his return slow. He?s anxious to be back on the court, but he?s not going to rush it.

* Ravenel said he is taking on a leadership role this summer, but no one can replace Craft. He said Craft makes a major difference in every practice, every game and every drill.
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http://www.the-ozone.net/hoops/12-13Men/twominutedrill_battleforohio.html
 
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* Craft said he will take his return slow. He?s anxious to be back on the court, but he?s not going to rush it.


I don't believe this for a second..I hope they have someone to keep an eye on him. I'd say we all feel the same way about AC. So him healing properly and not pushing too hard should be a concern to us all.
 
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Aaron Craft taking recovery process slow
By Ari Wasserman
BuckeyeSports.com

Aaron Craft has played with a bone chip floating in his left ankle since high school, but playing through pain the last few years still wasn?t enough for Ohio State?s junior point guard to be willing to have a surgical procedure to fix it.

Though Craft initially resisted the thought of having surgery because it would restrict his ability to work out this summer with his teammates, he finally came around to getting the problem resolved and had a procedure done on June 18.

?It didn?t bother me a ton,? Craft said. ?I didn't really feel like (surgery) was extremely necessary, but as the spring went on it just felt weak and the doctors really pushed for it. It was the best thing to do and we had time to do it, so I decided to get it done.?

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http://www.foxsportsohio.com/07/09/...ing_ohiostate.html?blockID=758366&feedID=3725
 
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Critical Coaches: Who's the most coveted player in college hoops?


CBSSports.com's college basketball quartet spent the July open recruiting period hobnobbing with nearly 70 coaches, brain-picking them on some of college basketball's current issues. From the best players to their comrades in coaching; from the AAU programs to the agents' involvement; from the rule changes to the NCAA as a whole. We had to promise them anonymity, and in exchange, they gave us honest answers.

...

The question is: If you could add any one player to your team for next season, who would it be?
  1. Indiana sophomore Cody Zeller: 35 percent
  2. UCLA freshman Shabazz Muhammad: 12 percent
  3. Ohio State junior Aaron Craft: 9 percent
  4. Creighton junior Doug McDermott: 9 percent
  5. Murray State senior Isaiah Canaan: 7 percent
  6. Kentucky freshman Nerlens Noel: 7 percent
  7. Michigan sophomore Trey Burke: 5 percent
...

Quotes that stuck:

On Aaron/Nerlens: "I'd rather go to four Elite Eights with Aaron Craft than one title game with Nerlens Noel, because the headaches that come with the top players isn't worth it."

...

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SN: There are many players with good quickness. What is the key to being able to keep somebody in front of you? Why are you able to do it when other guys can?t?

CRAFT: I?m not really sure. I think a lot of it just kind of happens. I?ve had the pleasure of guarding a lot of great players and learning from watching film and playing against them. Even guys like Mike Conley and Scoonie Penn when I first got here. Having to try to keep those guys in front of you and just try not to get embarrassed is one thing.

I do a lot of things with my body instead of my hands. I try to stay upright as much as possible, make sure the refs can see my hands. If they see my hands, they?re a lot less likely to call fouls. I just try to beat the guy to the spot. You can body people up a lot more than people think you can. You just have to be in the right position. And, like I said, show those hands.

SN: Who?s the toughest guy you?ve had to defend, and how did you do?

CRAFT: Freshman year playing against Kalin Lucas really sticks out in my mind. He was a veteran. He could change speeds. He could score in a variety of ways. You couldn?t just pick one thing and take it away because he could do the other thing. And Michigan State sets tremendous ball screens, and he was good at reading those. He was good at keeping me on his back.

That was a fun experience for me because I was watching him play in the Final Four two years before that, (while I was in) high school. Just being around him and seeing how he composed himself and how he handled himself?it was a challenge, and I enjoyed it.

SN: When you hear praise of your defensive ability, does that sound right to you?

CRAFT: Not really. I just feel as if defense is something I can do well and something I enjoy. Whatever comes out of it comes out of it. It helps our team be successful. It helps our team be the best we can be. As long as it continues to do that, I?m going to try to do my best to play the best defense I can.

There?s a lot more team involved than just me, and that?s what I always try to let people know. I have confidence in all the four guys behind me that if I do mess up, or this guy goes by me, I?m going to have help. That just gives me confidence and relaxation when I?m guarding the ball.

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http://aol.sportingnews.com/ncaa-ba...s-2012-13-aaron-craft-ranking-roster-schedule
 
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