It’s been more than a decade since Aaron Craft used his confident, gritty style to shine for the Ohio State University men's basketball team, but his charismatic and highly recognizable persona dictates that he still regularly gets stopped for selfies and handshakes.
That remains the case even though the 2010 Findlay Liberty-Benton graduate is now an Ear, Nose, and Throat resident at his college alma mater and now has the distinction of “Dr.” before his name.
“It happens weekly,” Craft said of his interactions with fans. “I’m still in Columbus, and honestly, it’s great. I loved my time at Ohio State, and to talk with fans that were invested, it shows how much Ohio State means to people and gives you a sense of pride. (Former Ohio State men's basketball) coach (Thad) Matta tried to instill in you that while you’re playing, it’s a big deal for a lot of people. It’s hard to really appreciate that as an 18- or 19-year-old, but as you get older, you realize he was telling the truth.”
The 34-year-old Craft wasn’t just a two-sport competitor in high school — he was a superstar in football as well as basketball.
During his junior football season in 2008, Craft started at quarterback and led Liberty-Benton to a Division V state runner-up finish and 14-1 record while being named the state’s Player of the Year. Craft closed his prep career by throwing for 6,800 yards and rushing for 4,700 yards while also completing 73.7 percent of his passes. The Eagles went 38-4 during his three seasons with the program, also reaching a state semifinal in 2006 and a regional final in 2007.
Knowing his college future was on the court, however, Craft elected not to play his senior football season so he could focus on basketball.
Craft’s prep basketball career began with him helping the Eagles earn a Division III state runner-up finish in 2006-07, with their only loss in a 26-1 season coming to Cincinnati North College Hill 50-45 in the title game.
He added the honor of Division III state Player of the Year as a senior in 2009-10 when he averaged 26 points, seven assists, eight rebounds and 3.2 steals. During his four seasons, the Eagles went 88-5.
“The biggest thing I remember is coming into a program that already had established success, so I was wanting to come into that and not mess it up,” Craft said. “The way (OHSBCA Hall of Fame and former Liberty-Benton) coach (Steve) Williman and (long-time Liberty-Benton assistant Mark) Marshall worked us hard, I loved it. I wish we could have found a way to have gone (further in the postseason) my junior and senior years, but I got to play in a lot of big games and a lot of fun games. I owe a lot of credit to those coaches. I spent a lot of time with coach Williman, and he just kept the gym open for me and trusted me as a freshman to help the program.”
Craft verbally committed to play for Tennessee in September of his junior year, but he also was AAU teammates with Columbus Northland stars Jared Sullinger and J.D. Weatherspoon, who both were Ohio State commits. The trio helped the All Ohio Red AAU team win three consecutive national titles.
Craft ended up decommitting from Tennessee and wound up joining Sullinger and Weatherspoon as part of the 2010 recruiting class that was ranked as the best in the nation according to Rivals.com.
The Liberty-Benton class valedictorian would have many of his best basketball moments yet to come with the Buckeyes.
“(Being named to the Circle of Champions) is one of those things you don’t really think about, but when you think about being inducted, it’s a huge honor,” Craft said. “Growing up in Ohio, high school sports are amazing and what you want to make a name in.”
Craft went on to become one of Ohio State’s all-time top players—particularly on defense. He remains the program’s career leader in steals (337) and assists (694), leading the team in both categories in each of his four seasons from 2011-14.
Craft was named to the Big Ten’s all-defensive team each of his four seasons, twice being named the league’s Player of the Year. In 2014, he was chosen as the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) National Defensive Player of the Year.
He played in 148 games during his collegiate career—the second most in program history—and was part of 119 victories to tie him with classmate Lenzelle Smith Jr. for the most all-time by a Buckeye.
Ohio State reached the Sweet Sixteen in 2010-11, the Final Four in 2011-12 and the Elite Eight in 2012-13.
Craft, who scored more than 1,300 career points, is one of three players in Big Ten history to finish with at least 600 assists and 300 steals.
The Buckeyes won regular-season Big Ten titles in 2011 and 2012 and the Big Ten tournament title in 2013 when he was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.
Off the court, Craft was a three-time CoSIDA First Team Academic All-American and a four-time Ohio State Scholar-Athlete.
In 2012, he received the Elite 89 Award for highest GPA in the Final Four.
As a senior in 2014, he was named Ohio State’s Big Ten Medal of Honor winner.
“I miss the guys to be honest,” Craft said. “There just aren’t many things like it as an adult when you get into real life and the real world. (Your teammates) are guys you spend so much time with, you get along with and you’re competing with. You can get angry at them, but you’re still on the same team. That dynamic is something I miss a lot.”
Craft's basketball career wasn't over yet.
He played for the Santa Cruz Warriors in the NBA D-League in 2014-15, where he continued his reputation for staunch defense by being named the league’s Defensive Player of the Year.
He later went on to play professionally in Hungary, Italy, Monaco, and Montenegro, and also helped lead Carmen’s Crew—a team of mostly Ohio State alums—to the 2019 The Basketball Tournament (TBT) title.
Sports have been a part of Craft’s family for as long as he can remember, and he still tries to play basketball regularly. His brother, Brandon Craft, also was a starter on Liberty-Benton's 2007 state runner-up basketball team and a football standout.
Aaron got married in 2014 to Amber Petersen, who played basketball and soccer for Liberty-Benton, and the couple have two children.
His sister, Cait Craft, was the state Player of the year for the Liberty-Benton girls basketball team in 2012 and went on to play for Ohio State as well.
His father, John Craft, coached basketball.
Aaron Craft graduated from Ohio State medical school in May 2024 and is in his first year of a five-year residency, with the goal of specializing in surgical and medical management of head and neck conditions.
He believes much of the character that has helped him succeed in recent years began while playing sports for the Eagles.
“There’s a lot of learning that I’m doing, and it’s crazy,” Craft said. “The program at Ohio State is amazing, one of the better ones in the country. (Being a doctor is) what I wanted to do when I went to college in the first place. I kept my foot in the fire just long enough when I was playing to make it a reality.
“Sports are about working hard, working as a team, handling success, handling failure, and those are things I deal with now as an adult in medicine. A lot of that groundwork was laid in high school, and a lot of it goes to my coaches and what they thought was important.”