Buckeyes earn No. 3 seed in NIT, will host No. 6 Akron Tuesday
March 14, 2016Mel Kiper pegs Carson Wentz to the Browns in his third mock draft
March 14, 2016As an Ohio State Buckeye, Aaron Craft was known for out-hustling and out-working his opponent every game, which drove opposing teams batty. That type of play seems to have transitioned into his post-Ohio State career as well. Now with the Santa Cruz Warriors (the Golden State Warriors’ D-League affiliate), Craft made an incredible dive into his opponent’s backcourt to steal an inbound-pass. Craft completed the play by tossing the ball to his teammate for a wide-open three-pointer with his team down four points, all while going viral in the interim.
After graduating from Ohio State in 2014, the 25-year old played for a short stint in Hungary before joining Santa Cruz at the beginning of the 2014 season. In his two years in the D-League, the point guard has averaged 10.6 points, 4.7 rebounds, 6.3 assists, and 2.5 steals per game while shooting 44.1 percent from the field and 27.2 percent from beyond the arc in 70 games (70 starts).
During his first season with the team in 2014, Craft player who played in all 50 games. He led the team in minutes (36.1 per game), steals (2.5 per game), and was second in assists (6.2 per game). He also averaged 9.2 points and 4.2 rebounds, while nabbing the NBA D-League Defensive Player of the Year Award and the 2015 D-League championship.
So far in 2015-16, Craft has averaged 14.2 points, 4.0 rebounds, 6.6 assists, 2.5 steals per game while shooting 45.2 percent from the field and 29.6 percent from behind three-point line in 20 games (20 starts).
These professional numbers are quite similar to his statistics with the Buckeyes. During his four-year career in Columbus, the point guard averaged 8.9 points, 3.3 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 2.3 steals per game while also shooting 45.9 percent from the floor and 33.3 percent from three-point land in 148 games.
While striving to get a call-up to the big show, the 6-foot-2, 192-pound all-out hustler seems to be doing all he can to get the attention of NBA executives. He may struggle with his outside shot (which has much-improved since his days in Columbus), there’s no doubt that he will give any team all-out effort for every single second he is on the court. Defense wins championships, right? If so, how has Craft not made an NBA roster yet?