I understand the point Arizona Coach Sean Miller was trying to make when he compared Ohio State Aaron Craft to Tim Tebow, but I wonder if this was just some reverse psychology before tomorrow’s game.
Craft has become known for his stellar defense, however after his last second 3-pointer which won the game for the Buckeyes, people are starting to become fascinated with his offensive power too.
Following a remarkable comeback his performance prompted Arizona Coach Miller to bring out the Tebow comparisons.
“If he’s not one of your favorite players, then you don’t like college basketball,” Arizona coach Sean Miller said Monday, according to the Tucson Citizen. “He has that Tim Tebow quality.
“Tebow, at Florida, it wasn’t just his performance on the field, but who he was as a person, the leadership that he provided, the competitive spirit he embodied. It seemed to spread through Florida’s football team, and Aaron Craft does the same thing for Ohio State basketball.”
“He’s a 4.0 student. He’s an incredible leader, as a great of a competitor as you will find. … All the things that you can say to give him incredible respect, that’s where I’m at.”
Looking on the surface you may not like the comparison. However if you look closely you can make a comparison with anything.
People question both players’ chances to play and succeed at the next level. Both players have a clutch gene during the last seconds of games and are able to simply win. Lastly both players popularity have skyrocketed thanks to social media.
Those are the only similarities I could think of without stating the obvious, so may be Coach Miller makes sense. Are the two the same kind of player? No, however the two are hardworking individuals who go against the grain by not doing things the obvious, traditional way while still finding success. Or maybe Coach Miller just went a little left with the Tebow and Craft comparisons, and instead of trying to classify why the two are so different and so relevant they should just be allowed to play and be great. At least one of them.
Whatever the case, I’m sure Craft hopes Arizona continues their love/hate relationship with him after Thursday night game when the two face off at 7pm.