The Front Row

I'm sure craft is one of the most annoying players to play and root against. You look at him and he's not much to look at. He's not fast, isn't tall, but the kid steals the ball constantly and is really tough to score against.

Thanks for posting. I was not aware of this reaction. Wonder if it has anything to do with resenting the fact that he is willing to work so much harder than most of us are? Much easier to sit on the couch eating chips than to run a few miles carrying bricks.

He sure is fast laterally.

Great article. There is a few people posting in this forum that would or should raise their hands to the question of Crafts skin color.

Go Buckeyes!!

I think skin color certainly has something to do with why he NEVER EVER receives criticism from " some " OSU fans no matter what he does & why some opposing fans bases dislike him a little more intensely.

I suppose the other teams in the conference feel the same way about Craft as I did about Damon Bailey. That guy seemed like he played 8 years for Indiana.

Aaron reminds me of the kid we all had in our neighborhood, or played aganist who was like the Enerizer Bunny", and had a motor that did not stop....the one who you always wanted on your "make up team", becasue you knew he would never quit.... many think that Craft is a little short guy but he is 6'2". Being a former HS QB makes him tough as nails and a guy who thinks on his feet......in my day we called him a "tough out"....I am sure the Hoosieer fans hated him (and Scott) the othe night becsasue those 2 made most of the Indiana players look like fools on many plays when thay stripped the ball from them.....I will hate to see him go.....next year he and Scott will be awesome!

Right now I think one could argue that Craft is one dimensional or close to it. No denying he is a great, great defender...but he's only a decent to good ball handler, a poor shooter, and doesn't really run the offense particularly well (may have overstated this last point a tad). I think the Buckeye offense is much more dynamic or dangerous with the ball in Scott's hands. Now the good thing is Craft does have other intangibles of toughness and leadership, keeps improving and has another year. The Buckeyes could do a lot worse than being able to throw out Craft and Scott on the court. We should all be very thankful.

Go Buckeyes!!

I also think that part of the love/criticism for Craft is because most fans are white, and can relate to him.

Mark Titus was hugely popular at OSU, because of his humor, but because he was a guy we all could relate to: a white guy who sits on the bench. Now, fans love Amedeo Della Valle. Seriously, they go nuts whenever he's in the game. Would they do that if he was black? He's originally from Italy, but I think people like him, in part, because he looks more like Screech from Saved By The Bell than he looks like a guy who should be playing high level D1 basketball.

Pretty good read, but as usual ESPN is so fixated on racial issues, and of course their double standard, that it took alot away from the enjoyment of it.

I don't know Lee.... scarfing down a whole bag of nacho cheese doritos... is actually a bit tougher than you might think...

to play the type of 'D' he plays ....

Craft has tons of athleticism that the average guys only dream of having.

Lateral quickness, footwork, hand eye coordination, and his strength set him apart from average athlete.

Obviously its his motor that is the 'Key' to his success but its foolish to say anything about Craft is average.

We all know that - but this writer of the article clearly misses the mark on 'Craft'.