Crater picks Buckeyes
Junior point guard ends speculation with verbal agreement
FLINT
THE FLINT JOURNAL FIRST EDITION
Monday, November 27, 2006 By Dan Nilsen
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Anthony Crater will be carrying Southwestern Academy on his back the next two years.
The 16-year-old junior didn't need the added weight of college recruiters on his back, too.
Crater, one of the most sought-after basketball players in Flint's rich history, was to announce today he has made a verbal commitment to attend Ohio State University in the fall of 2008. He said he'll probably sign a national letter-of-intent next November.
Crater said he wanted to put an end to the recruitment process, which he said included hundreds of letters a week and many phone calls.
"I want to focus on my schoolwork and my high school team for the next two years, instead of worrying about where I'm going to go," he said.
His final list looked like a weekly Top 25 poll: Florida, Kansas, Arizona, Illinois and Louisville. Michigan also made the short list. Among the head coaches who watched him play were Thad Matta (Ohio State), Lute Olson (Arizona), Bill Self (Kansas), Bruce Weber (Illinois) and Billy Donovan (Florida).
"I just like the program at Ohio State," Crater said of his decision. "It's a nice program all-around. The people there are really cool. It's a nice environment to be in."
Crater is a silky-smooth point guard with strong ball-handling skills and a laser pass. He averaged 13.3 points and 9.5 assists last year, helping the Knights reach the Class B state semifinals.
His 238 assists in 25 games were the second-most in state history, and he was only the second Flint-area sophomore to be named to the Associated Press All-State team, joining Kelvin Torbert (1999).
He is ranked among the top 20 players in the country and one of the two or three best point guards by prep rating services.
"He had the storied programs to choose from," said SWA coach Jeff Whiteley. "He did kind of want to go out of state, but not too far away so people here will be able to follow him."
Crater played with the Michigan Hurricanes AAU team last summer and went to tournaments in Las Vegas, North Carolina, Ohio and Indiana. He made the all-star team at a camp in New Jersey, leading the camp in assists.
He also grew a couple of inches since last winter and now stands 6-foot-2, 165 pounds. Bulking up will be one of his priorities before graduation.
"He plays pickup games on his college visits, and he's seen that he needs to get a lot stronger, especially if he's going to play in a big, physical league like the Big Ten," said Whiteley.
Crater visited Ohio State two weekends ago, watching the OSU-Michigan football game.
Ohio State (6-0) is ranked fourth in the latest Associated Press basketball poll.
