A couple things happened at the NBA draft's early entry deadline that qualify as interesting to Ohio basketball fans.
As previously reported and discussed in this space, Tu Holloway is coming back to Xavier. Cory Joseph of Texas and Shelvin Mack of Butler, meanwhile, are staying in the draft. Joseph could be a guy who falls into the late first-round or early second-round range, right where the Cleveland Cavaliers will be making their third selection.
With Joseph and Mack off to the pros, two of the best point guards in college basketball next season play in Ohio: Holloway at Xavier and Aaron Craft at Ohio State.
Holloway didn't play well at the end of last season, but his overall play was the biggest reason Xavier won the Atlantic 10 title, finished in the top 25 and went back to the tournament. He was named the conference Player of the Year and just might be the favorite to win the award next year, too. Coming back to school for his senior season was absolutely the right move.
Craft's job at Ohio State is different from Holloway's at Xavier, but it's no less important. There was a long stretch last season during which you could have made the case that Craft was Ohio State's second-most-valuable player. He defended the opponent's top guard, and more often than not, defended well. A few guys who found Craft to be much quicker and stronger than he looks will be getting drafted next month.
Craft should be a more confident scorer in his second college season, but Ohio State still won't need him to score a bunch on most nights. If he can shoot around 38 percent again from beyond the arc and improve on his 73 percent free-throw shooting — he didn't miss many in big spots — he'll make the Buckeyes again really hard to guard. His main job again will be to feed Jared Sullinger and William Buford and make life tough on opposing guards.
Craft and Sullinger, AAU teammates before coming to Ohio State, have the kind of chemistry and trust that only guys who have played together for years can have. It was Sullinger who told people, including coach Thad Matta, last summer that Craft was going to be ready to play right away. He was more than right.
A freshman named Austin Rivers at Duke — yep, "that" Rivers — might end up being the best point guard of them all next season. North Carolina's Kendall Marshall doesn't wow anyone athletically, but he played like a senior last year when he was a freshman and he'll be setting things up for the team that should be a slam-dunk choice as the preseason No. 1.
It's impossible to discount what Mack meant to Butler, what Joey Rodriguez meant to VCU, what the now-departed Brandon Knight meant to Kentucky (especially against the likes of Craft and Marshall). And it was obvious from Thanksgiving all the way through early April what Kemba Walker meant to UConn. In case this sudden sunshine has gotten to your brain, those teams made up the Final Four.
Teams rarely get anywhere in March without outstanding point guards. In that regard, both Xavier and Ohio State are in good hands.
