Ohio State men’s basketball sophomore forward Deshaun Thomas and sophomore guard Aaron Craft received national recognition Monday.
Thomas was named Big Ten Play of the Week for the role he played in the No. 2-ranked Buckeyes’ 84-58 Wednesday win against South Carolina-Upstate, as well as OSU’s 74-66 Friday win at South Carolina.
During a two-game stretch where sophomore forward Jared Sullinger played just 31 minutes due to injuries, Thomas scored 53 points on 23-of-31 shooting from the field — a 74-percent average — in OSU’s two wins last week. A 30-point effort against the Gamecocks Friday surpassed Thomas’ previous single-game output of 23 points, which he scored against North Carolina A&T, in his collegiate debut Nov. 12, 2010.
For the year, Thomas is the Buckeyes’ third-leading scorer with 16 points per game.
Sophomore guard Aaron Craft was also named one of 60 finalists for the Bob Cousy Award.
The award, named for Bob Cousy, a former Boston Celtic and Hall of Famer, recognizes the top point guard in college basketball. In addition to averaging nine points per game and 58 total assists this season, Craft has tallied 33 rebounds and leads all Buckeyes with 22 turnovers.
The Buckeyes will play the first of two remaining non-conference games Tuesday against Lamar University. Opening tip is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. at the Schottenstein Center. Big Ten play begins on Dec. 28 with a home game against Northwestern.
