#aaroncraft

Being a new student at the Ohio State University and an avid basketball fan I had to check out what the Buckeye basketball squad had to offer this winter. Luckily, “The Nut House”, the student fan section for Ohio State basketball games, had a program that allowed students to attend one of the practices of the Buckeyes so that the fans could get a little preview.

As most of you college basketball fans know, last year OSU lost the almighty Aaron Craft who ran the helm of this Ohio State offense as the point guard all 4 years of his tenure. Some were beginning to say that the Buckeyes had “Craft Syndrome” which included just standing in the open court clueless while Aaron Craft does some acrobatic play and pray that the ball goes through the net. Dayton knocked out OSU in the first round last year, so obviously they weren’t that effective at putting the ball in the peach basket. Nothing against Craft, I think he is a great player and a hard worker that deserved every recognition that he got, but he was passed by multiple NBA organizations during the pre-draft workouts, the draft, and then eventually got cut by the Golden State Warriors, so that tells most people that he wasn’t one of those players that was able to take over games offensively.

That being said, Ohio State has a whole new feel this year. While I was watching this team practice, there was one player on the court that really stood out to me and he goes by the name of D’Angelo Russell. This 6’5 framed guard weaved in and out of the defense during the scrimmage like the ball was attached to his hand and he was playing a game of tag on the playground. Not only were the skills impressive in general, but also Russell is a freshman. That’s right! First year at the collegiate level and this rookie looked more comfortable than a 5th year senior captain. Naturally, this was only a practice so judgments couldn’t be made, so I waited till after a couple games to write this blog. During the official inter-squad game that is held to the public, he went off with 33 points so I was still in awe by the number 2 high school shooting guard in the country out of Louisville, Kentucky. Obviously, the first few games of big-time college basketball teams are against the lower teams of Division 1. The Buckeyes were scheduled to face off against UMass-Lowell, an up and coming former Division 2 team that is determined to make a name for themselves, and Marquette University who is actually not a low D-1 name, but has weak teams once and awhile. Against the River Hawks (UMass-Lowell) Russell was the leading scorer knocking in 16 points going 7-14 from the field, while dishing out 6 assists as well.

I saw a bright future for this young man, until I saw him play against Marquette. D’Angelo had a tough time not giving the ball away, having whopping 7 turnovers throughout the match with the Golden Eagles. Only having 6 points, I personally see this as a wake up call for the freshman stud. This kid can play ball and I wouldn’t be surprised if he thrives under Thad Matta’s system this year and ends up entering the draft in the summer. Russell is a young player with enough potential at both guard positions that will make NBA General Managers and coaches’ drool.

Besides Russell, the Bucks have some strong weapons, including senior guard Shannon Scott that stood by Aaron Craft’s side for a while. Scott is a true point guard and really showed that against Marquette throwing pure dimes, finishing with 14 assists. Another guard that will make an impact is the redshirt freshman Kam Williams. Kam has been coming off the bench as the 6th man so far, but plays a lot of minutes at both guard positions as he could do it all, especially shoot. The rest of the freshman class isn’t a joke either. Big men Jae’Sean Tate, David Bell, and Keita Bates-Diop are 3 more players that will give the Buckeye fans a reason to be excited for this season. Amir Williams, Sam Thompson, and Marc Loving are the three forwards that wind up the starting lineup for the Bucks’ Thompson is the other shining senior that has started off strong this season.