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4 - Aaron Craft

6-2, 192 Point Guard
Ohio St. Senior
Birthday
02/12/92 (32.1 yrs)
Hometown
Findlay, OH
High School
Liberty Benton
Team Site Profile
Statistics
Athleticism
6
Size
7
Defense
8
Strength
8
Quickness
7
Leadership
8
Jump Shot
5
NBA Ready
7
Ball Handling
7
Potential
6
Passing
8
Intangibles
7
84 Overall:

NBA Comparison: Eric Snow

Strengths: Excellent on-ball defender with an incredible basketball IQ … Incredibly pesky defender whose on-ball pressure causes his man to make mistakes and turn the ball over … Very intelligent kid who knows exactly how to play the game.  Graduated with a 3.9 GPA after being the valedictorian of his high school class.  He’s almost like a coach on the floor … Makes all the little plays to help his team win … He hustles like few other prospects in this draft or any draft … Averaged 2.5 steals per game last season, which led the Big Ten by nearly half a steal.  He’s great at anticipating opponent’s passes and his quick hands knock the ball loose regularly.  His steals on the perimeter lead to lots of fast breaks, and Craft is great at leading the break as he can both finish and find teammates … Very good floor vision makes Craft a solid distributor.  He knows how to run an offense and keeps the ball moving on the perimeter … Good body control. Solid finisher … Decently quick first step and a set of good hesitation moves, although he’ll have more trouble getting by NBA defenders … Good at running the pick-and-roll … Plays great in the clutch and made several big shots throughout his career.  Hit a 3 in the final second to defeat Iowa State in last season’s NCAA Tournament …Craft is a strong point guard, which will help compensate for his lack of size and length … Good at creating offense as the inbounds passer.  Also has shown the ability to throw accurate long inbounds passes in time-sensitive situations (due in part to his background as a high school football quarterback) … Won 120 games at Ohio State.  The Buckeyes were in the Top 25 for most of his time there … Amazing work ethic will help Craft translate his game to the pro level … His teammates and classmates have nothing but great things to say about him … Has shown the ability to hit the three-pointer from time to time … All about winning.  Never about his own accolades … Constantly plays at maximum speed …

Weaknesses: Doesn’t have NBA measurable or athleticism.  He stands at under 6’2" with a 6’2" wingspan and has a poor vertical leap (32") … Lacks a consistent outside shot …  Shot only 30% from distance last season and only attempted 1.5 three’s per game last season … His form is one of the worst you will find in an NBA prospect with a hitch that doesn’t appear to be fixable … This hurts his ability to space the floor and limits his options on the pick-and-roll as defenders disregard his shot and don’t step out on him … Does little offensively anywhere near an NBA level.  Craft never averaged more than 10 PPG in college … Yes, he’s unselfish, but that’s partially because he can’t create a lot offensively himself … His lack of size and athletic ability will slightly hamper his defensive ability at the next level, although his defensive effort will always make him a fairly effective defender … Craft plays at full speed all the time, but this makes him rather turnover-prone.  Turned it over 2.6 times per game last season and had an assist-to-turnover ratio of under 2:1 … He’s a smart player, but he’s not always smart with the ball … Drew under 4 free throws per game, and many of those were in the final minute when Ohio State was icing the clock away … Questionable shooting mechanics …

Notes: Named National Defensive Player of the year by the NABC … Second Team All-Big Ten as a senior … 2014 First Team Academic All-American…

Overall: Craft seems to lack the size, athleticism, shooting ability, and all-around scoring ability to come anywhere near the NBA, but time and time again, Aaron Craft found a way to succeed in college … Drew a lot of respect among AAU circles for his competitiveness and talent …  His combination of heart, hustle, intelligence, work ethic, and amazing defense will have teams clamoring to sign him after the draft and he may even sneak his way into the second round … His speed/quickness numbers were solid at the combine and he will no doubt wow teams with his interviews …  He’s a guy that teammates love and that opponents get easily frustrated by … May be better suited for the European game. It remains to be seen if Craft can overcome his glaring shortcomings, but he is sure to work his butt off to make the most of whatever chance he gets in the NBA …

Jacob Stallard 5/29/14

Notes: Measured 6’2.5 (in shoes) 194 lbs, with a 6’1.5 wingspan at the 2013 Nike Guard Skills Academy

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