Just because Ohio State is eliminated for the 2015 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament doesn't mean we can't relive past Buckeye glory, right? (According to my lawyer, who, for the record, is also one of my cats: There is no law preventing this.)
How about the time in 2013 when it looked like Ohio State was about to lose to Iowa State. Boy, that would've been depressing. (Not as depressing as losing to Niagra, but still.)
Aaron Craft, however, had different plans. As you might remember, he hit a game-winning three to sink the Cyclones' upset bid of No. 2 Ohio State in Dayton.
Today, Craft turned to ThePlayersTribune.com — a forum recently used by another former OSU point guard in Mike Conley — to talk about the making of one of the biggest shots in recent OSU basketball memory.
From Craft himself:
The game was a bit tighter than some might have expected for a No. 10 versus No. 2, but as any bracketologist would tell you, sometimes seedings go out the window when teams hit the hardwood. We had a 13-point lead late in the game — it honestly shouldn’t have come down to a last-second shot.
[...]
The game was tied 75-75 and the shot clock was turned off. We had one last chance to win it and avoid overtime. The Cyclones and virtually everyone else in the game expected the ball to go to our leading scorer, Deshaun Thomas. Iowa State had him covered pretty tightly and put 6-foot-7 freshman Georges Niang on me. As time ticked away, I noticed that less than five seconds remained. I realized I had to take the shot.
So I waved off Deshaun, squared up and let it fly.
You know what happened next.
Craft also talked about "the game's most controversial call," in which he drew a charge from Iowa State's Will Clyburn. "The fact is," Craft says, "the call was a close one, but it went in our favor, and it set up the biggest play of my collegiate career.
As Craft notes himself, he shot only 30% from 3-point range that season, and averaged a humble 10-points a game. Was it luck or destiny? He seems to think it was the latter, and I'm not one to argue.
Craft currently plays for the NBA D-League's Santa Cruz Warriors.
