Aaron Craft

• thedynasty1998

  

  First off, no one is criticizing the praise that Craft gets. But it's the same thing over and over. In the first 10 minutes of the game, Dakich had already stated: Craft was a HS QB; he recruited Jared's brother, JJ; Diebler was the leading scorer in Ohio HS history, Lighty is OSU's all time wins leader and Thomas was Mr. Basketball in Indiana. Those are all things that have been talked about in detail, so it gets tiring for these announces to be so lazy.
  
  With that said, Craft does use pace, but he also uses quickness and speed. He was the best athlete on the floor yesterday. Every time I watch him I come away more and more impressed and I really don't know how anyone can question his ability to play in the NBA at this point. He has shown that he can score, but is comfortable being a setup man.
• centralbucksfan

  thedynasty1998;653855 wrote:. He was the best athlete on the floor yesterday. .

  
  Ok, I luv Craft as much as anyone and he was unbelievable in the first half last nite. But he was not the best "athlete" on the floor. And he rarely is. Is he a very good athlete? Absolutely. The best on the floor? No way.
• thedynasty1998

  

  centralbucksfan;653863 wrote:Ok, I luv Craft as much as anyone and he was unbelievable in the first half last nite. But he was not the best "athlete" on the floor. And he rarely is. Is he a very good athlete? Absolutely. The best on the floor? No way.

  
  Who was better?
• centralbucksfan

  thedynasty1998;653874 wrote:Who was better?

  
  Who was better game wise? Or who is a better athlete? Better athletes on the floor last nite...Lighty, Buford, Sullinger, Thomas, Moore, Johnson, Jackson..off the top of my head. All better athletes. But last nite, Craft was the better player, no question. That doesn't mean he was a better athlete. Larry Bird was rarely the better athlete, but almost always the better basketball player.
• thedynasty1998

  

  centralbucksfan;653883 wrote:Who was better game wise? Or who is a better athlete? Better athletes on the floor last nite...Lighty, Buford, Sullinger, Thomas, Moore, Johnson, Jackson..off the top of my head. All better athletes. But last nite, Craft was the better player, no question. That doesn't mean he was a better athlete. Larry Bird was rarely the better athlete, but almost always the better basketball player.

  
  I was interested to hear who you thought, and you proved to have no idea on how to define what an athlete is. Once I saw Buford and Sullinger I realized you don't understand.
• thedynasty1998

  

  Lighty is the only one that you could make an argument for.
  
  No one on Purdue's team could keep Craft in front of them. He got to the rim whenever he wanted. He refused to be pressured. He ran circles around guys. He was the best defender on the floor.
• centralbucksfan

  thedynasty1998;653889 wrote:I was interested to hear who you thought, and you proved to have no idea on how to define what an athlete is. Once I saw Buford and Sullinger I realized you don't understand.

  
  Ya, ok whatever you say. lol
• centralbucksfan

  thedynasty1998;653892 wrote:Lighty is the only one that you could make an argument for.
  
  No one on Purdue's team could keep Craft in front of them. He got to the rim whenever he wanted. He refused to be pressured. He ran circles around guys. He was the best defender on the floor.

  
  And that does not mean he is a better athlete. He is what he is defensively because he is flat out tougher and so much more disciplined player defensively than ANYONE on every nite. His defense is aboue the effort he puts forth and his mental toughness. Matta said as much on the radio call in show. He has told the team if they put near as much effort and discipline as Craft does, they would be unbelievable on defense.
  
  BTW, Lighty did an unbelievable defensive job on Moore last nite. Which was overlooked by many.
• thedynasty1998

  

  centralbucksfan;653893 wrote:Ya, ok whatever you say. lol

  
  You really think Buford and Sullinger are better athletes?
• thedynasty1998

  

  centralbucksfan;653895 wrote:And that does not mean he is a better athlete. He is what he is defensively because he is flat out tougher and so much more disciplined player defensively than ANYONE on every nite. His defense is aboue the effort he puts forth and his mental toughness. Matta said as much on the radio call in show. He has told the team if they put near as much effort and discipline as Craft does, they would be unbelievable on defense.
  
  BTW, Lighty did an unbelievable defensive job on Moore last nite. Which was overlooked by many.

  
  Yes, it's effort. But it's always great lateral quickness, agility, strength and speed.
• hoops23

  

  thedynasty1998;653896 wrote:You really think Buford and Sullinger are better athletes?

  
  Dude, are you serious?
  
  Buford is a great athlete... He's the prototype of an NBA player. Tall, lean, and athletic. Don't be fooled by his role on this team.
• centralbucksfan

  thedynasty1998;653896 wrote:You really think Buford and Sullinger are better athletes?

  
  There are things both of these guys can do, that Craft will never be able to do. Buford has natural ability that Craft does not have. There is pretty much no question he is an NBA player. There is quite a bit of question whether Craft can/will be. Sullinger is a top 10 pick. You have to be a GREAT athlete to be considered where he is and to play in the NBA. As you know, the NBA has the best overall athletes in the world as far as professional sports. So yes, I do. You obviously disagree. Move on.
• centralbucksfan

  thedynasty1998;653897 wrote:Yes, it's effort. But it's always great lateral quickness, agility, strength and speed.

  
  And as I said, Craft in his own right, is a very good athlete. But most(not all) of those guys on my list, have the above. What they don't have is his effort and mental toughness. That is what seperates him from them. Each and every nite, there is NO question who plays hard almost 100% of the time on the floor. Craft is head and shoulders above everyone in that area. That is rare in his day and age.
• thedynasty1998

  

  hoops23;653900 wrote:Dude, are you serious?
  
  Buford is a great athlete... He's the prototype of an NBA player. Tall, lean, and athletic. Don't be fooled by his role on this team.

  
  Great athlete by what standards? By Ohio Chatter standards? Sure. By NBA standards? No. He is an average athlete in NBA standards. Doesn't play above the rim, has average speed and average quickness. Go look at the 2 guards in the NBA and tell me where Buford fits in. I don't think he's a bad athlete, but he's not an elite athlete.
  
  Sullinger is a top 10 pick because of his size and ability to use his body. The one knock on him would be his overall athletic ability.
• thedynasty1998

  

  centralbucksfan;653909 wrote:And as I said, Craft in his own right, is a very good athlete. But most(not all) of those guys on my list, have the above. What they don't have is his effort and mental toughness. That is what seperates him from them. Each and every nite, there is NO question who plays hard almost 100% of the time on the floor. Craft is head and shoulders above everyone in that area. That is rare in his day and age.

  
  And that is exactly why I said he was the best athlete on the floor last night. Someone can be a great shooter, but if they don't shoot the ball, they are not a great shooter. Craft displayed his athletic ability more yesterday than I think he has all season.
  
  How quick was that spin move? Did you see the way he froze Johnson in transition? He literally was dribbling circles around the Purdue defense at the end of the game. YESTERDAY, he was the best athlete on the floor.
  
  Does Lighty have more athletic ability? Absolutely. Maybe Moore does as well. But those are the only two.
• Commander of Awesome

  

  Typical dynasty posting. Lightly is FAR and AWAY a better athlete than Craft, thats not even debatable. SMH, you'll find anything to argue about no matter how dumb or wrong you are.
• centralbucksfan

  thedynasty1998;653915 wrote: How quick was that spin move? Did you see the way he froze Johnson in transition? .

  
  Ya, he froze a 6'10" player...is that really that unusual? Probably happens in every college game more than once during a mismatch. Yes, great move. But you know as well as I do..its not something he does every game. Not trying to downplay Craft at all. The kid is the real deal and legit. He is a very good athlete in his own right as I said. But he doesn't have the athletic ability that many guys do. But he has a set of balls like no other!
• dat dude

  Surprise, surprise. Dynasty reinforces his position as the OC contrarian.
• thedynasty1998

  

  centralbucksfan;653958 wrote:Ya, he froze a 6'10" player...is that really that unusual? Probably happens in every college game more than once during a mismatch. Yes, great move. But you know as well as I do..its not something he does every game. Not trying to downplay Craft at all. The kid is the real deal and legit. He is a very good athlete in his own right as I said. But he doesn't have the athletic ability that many guys do. But he has a set of balls like no other!

  
  Johnson is an athletic big, and regardless of who it was, that was a nice move that would have froze both.
  
  Again, I said he was the best athlete on the floor YESTERDAY. Is his overall athleticism better than Lighty? No. But he displayed things yesterday that he just hasn't shown to date. Am I getting carried away? Maybe. But when you watched that game yesterday, it seemed like Craft was just in a different gear than the others. Is a factor of that him just playing harder than others? Absolutely.
• thedynasty1998

  

  dat dude;653975 wrote:Surprise, surprise. Dynasty reinforces his position as the OC contrarian.

  
  I made the comment that he was the best athlete on the floor and that is now being debated. Nothing contrarian about it.
• vball10set

  thedynasty1998;653980 wrote: ...but when you watched that game yesterday, it seemed like Craft was just in a different gear than the others. Is a factor of that him just playing harder than others? Absolutely.

  
  and Coach Painter said as much--Purdue had no answer for Craft yesterday, and add another couple of guards to his list of victims (these are the two he guarded the most):
  
  ## Player p tp a to blk stl min
  23 Jackson, Lewis g 5 2 1 0 2 24
  24 Smith, Ryne g 2 2 1 0 0 21
• Prescott

  I really don't know how anyone can question his ability to play in the NBA at this point.

  I think his game parallels what Chauncey Billups does in the NBA, but I don't think he is a for sure NBA player.In fact, if he left after this year he would likely be undrafted.Craft's defense is off the charts, but his offense is largely dependent on OSU's other players, who obviously draw more attention.
• centralbucksfan

  Prescott;654049 wrote:I think his game parallels what Chauncey Billups does in the NBA, but I don't think he is a for sure NBA player.In fact, if he left after this year he would likely be undrafted.Craft's defense is off the charts, but his offense is largely dependent on OSU's other players, who obviously draw more attention.

  
  Billups? Hmm, bit of a stretch IMO. Other than that, I would agree with your statement. Could Craft make it into the NBA after 4yrs at OSU? I wouldn't bet on it, but I wouldn't bet against this kid. Except for his defense..he isn't great at anything offensively. He is a very avg ball handler, actualy kind of weak with his left hand. BUT, he is good at using his body to protect and is smart with the ball. But his skills are far from exceptional. Good shooter WHEN he has his feet set and ball comes to him. Not very good at shooting off the dribble. Yes, he can get to the hoop. But thats not a given all the time. A guy like Conley was so creative around the basket, he could pretty much get a shot anytime he wanted. Craft isn't quite there yet. So he has PLENTY of room to improve. Which is a good thing. And he will. But he isn't a naturally gifted/skilled basketball player. A guy like Buford for instance, you could see from day 1 at OSU that he has NBA potential. Yes, he was a bit raw in certain area's. But you could see his natural ability he had. And much of that is because of the God given athletic ability he has.
• Jawbreaker

  thedynasty1998;653982 wrote:I made the comment that he was the best athlete on the floor and that is now being debated. Nothing contrarian about it.

  
  He may not have been one of the best athletes on the floor last night but he has enough athletic ability for his position. I don't see the need to compare with everyone else on the floor.
  
  I know they mention his QB days on the telecast all the time but if you guys ever got to see him on the football field returning kicks or playing DB as well as behind center, you would have seen his lateral quickness and directional changes long ago in HS. There is a video on scoutingohio.com from his Sophomore year that has shows his athletic potential early in his HS career. It will be interesting to see where he takes it on the basketball court. I guess the decision he made sitting out his senior year of football to work on his basketball skills was the right one.
  
  Any kid that ends up (not knowingly) costing Bruce Pearl a suspension and a million dollars is OK in my book.
• Hb31187

  

  centralbucksfan;653958 wrote:Ya, he froze a 6'10" player...is that really that unusual? Probably happens in every college game more than once during a mismatch. Yes, great move. But you know as well as I do..its not something he does every game. Not trying to downplay Craft at all. The kid is the real deal and legit. He is a very good athlete in his own right as I said. But he doesn't have the athletic ability that many guys do. But he has a set of balls like no other!

  Lol said that on the other thread. a Pg shaking a C even if the C is an all american isnt really impressive. I mean yeah it was a nice move, but its a Center lol. This may be one of the few times we agree lol