Article published June 12, 2009
OSU a good fit for point guard Craft
L-B star will get to stay close to home
By STEVE JUNGA
BLADE SPORTS WRITER
It's nice to have options, and, as a superb two-sport athlete, Liberty-Benton senior-to-be Aaron Craft had some pretty good ones when it came to selecting a college.
Last year, he made a verbal commitment to play basketball for coach Bruce Pearl at Tennessee. But in the last few weeks, the Eagles' All-Ohio guard decided to explore other opportunities.
Craft, who recently withdrew his verbal commitment to Tennessee, earlier this week made a new verbal commitment to play basketball for coach Thad Matta at Ohio State University.
The 6-foot-2 Craft, 18, was recruited to play point guard for the Buckeyes, something he has excelled at on the high school level for three seasons as a varsity starter at L-B. He guided the offense as a freshman in 2006-07, when the Eagles (26-1) reached the Ohio Division III state championship game. He has led Liberty-Benton to a three-season record of 67-4, including a perfect 27-0 mark in Blanchard Valley Conference play. This past season L-B was 20-2 with Craft averaging 19.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 6.1 assists.
"It goes back to how I started the recruiting process," Craft said of his switch. "I wanted to go somewhere within a three-hour radius from my house. Ohio State fits that, and they needed a point guard. I feel honored that coach Matta trusts that I can fill that void.
"Coach Matta and his staff were very nice to me and down to earth, and I feel honored that I can spend four years with them."Craft said OSU had not made a scholarship offer to him last year when he chose Tennessee.
"Last year, from the spring to the fall, [OSU] didn't need any guards," Craft said. "They felt that they had that position filled. But some circumstances came up, and it turned out this spring that they needed a point guard. They don't really have one in their system right now for after the upcoming year."
Winning and Craft have gone hand-in-hand at L-B. Also the starting quarterback for the Eagles since his freshman year, Craft was selected first-team All-Ohio at defensive back as a sophomore and this past season was named D-V offensive player of the year. Liberty-Benton (14-1) reached the D-V state final before losing to Youngstown Ursuline. In his three seasons as a football starter, L-B has gone 38-4, including 29-1 in regular-season play.
Craft's football success as a highly talented spread-offense quarterback led to much debate in the Findlay area as to whether he should pick football over basketball for his college years. Although he admits it will be tough giving up football, the decision on which sport to play at the next level was simple for Craft.
"I've always liked basketball more than I have football," he said. "I've played it longer, I'm more familiar with it, and there's just something inside me about basketball. I love football too, and I love being out there with my teammates competing.
"It'll be kind of tough giving up football. I'm a competitor, so I'm going to miss being out there. But I'm going to have to sacrifice that to try and fulfill my dream [of playing college basketball] that I've had since I was a little kid. It'll be worth it."
Picking basketball and OSU may actually lead to an earlier-than-expected end to his football exploits, as Craft may opt not to play that sport as a senior this coming fall.
"I'm not sure yet," Craft said of possibly skipping football. "I haven't talked with coach Matta about that yet. It's kind of tough, because with them not having a point guard, they're going to need one to come in right away. I don't know if I'll be able to take that three to four months off [playing football] and be what they need me to be, and be able to contribute and fill the void."
Craft said his switch was no reflection on Tennessee.
"It was nothing coach [Bruce] Pearl and his staff did to me. I didn't feel neglected or anything. They were really open to me, but it was just the way the spring had gone and the way my AAU team had been playing. The more I thought about it with my family, the more we felt we should open it up to see what happened, and fortunately Ohio State came around. I really liked it down at Tennessee.
"Unfortunately, your college choice has to be a selfish one. I opened it up just to see all the options."
Aside from geographical proximity, another factor impacting Craft's choice of OSU was that two of his third-year summer AAU basketball teammates had already committed to the Buckeyes -
6-8 forward Jared Sullinger of D-I state champion Columbus Northland and 6-4 guard Jordan Sibert of D-I state runner-up Cincinnati Princeton.
"It's great knowing that I'm going to get to play with those two. I love being around them, on and off the court. They're fun to be around, and having been around each other playing AAU, that's going to be a huge advantage for us because it's a big jump from high school to college, no matter how much AAU basketball you play. Any advantage you can get you want to take it."
Was Craft also an Ohio State fan?
"I wouldn't say that I was a die-hard fan of anyone," he said. "But, growing up in Ohio, that's what you think about when you're in the back yard in the driveway - playing for Ohio State. I'm just really happy that this opportunity arose for me."
Contact Steve Junga at:
sjunga@theblade.com
or 419-724-6461.
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