NCAA Basketball: 10 best players from state of Ohio of last decade

8. Aaron Craft – Ohio State

It seems fitting that one of Ohio State’s best players of the decade would land on the list for the state of Ohio. A 6’2 guard from Findlay, Craft really endeared himself to the Buckeyes, spending three full seasons as the starting point guard for the program. By the time he left school in 2014, he had left an outstanding impact on the Buckeyes program, both on and off the court.

Craft was impressive throughout his career, averaging at least 4 assists and 2 steals in each of his four seasons. He was a decent scorer at Ohio State, but his contributions as a defender and ball distributor were even more important. As a freshman, he had a 15-assist performance in an NCAA Tournament win over George Mason. The following year saw one of his rare double-doubles in another Tourney win, this time over Gonzaga en route to a Final Four run with the Buckeyes. In all, Craft was part of nine NCAA Tournament wins.

Named to the Big Ten All-Defense team all four seasons, Craft was also the conference’s Defensive Player of the Year twice and the Big Ten Tournament MVP as a junior. He is the all-time conference leader in steals, leading the conference three of his four collegiate seasons, and leaving just a tremendous legacy on the floor. Craft was not drafted, but spent the next handful of seasons playing professional ball, both home and abroad.