PORTLAND, Ore. -- Ohio State coach Thad Matta's season had ended 30 minutes earlier at the hands of Arizona. But Matta wore a huge grin when the subject turned to Arizona point guard T.J. McConnell, who had just dismantled the Buckeyes on both ends of the floor.
When Arizona coach Sean Miller landed McConnell as a transfer from Duquesne in 2012, the first thing Miller told his good friend Matta was that he got an Aaron Craft. Craft was the face of the Buckeyes until he left after last season -- the pesky point guard who made opponents' lives miserable while seemingly staying in college forever.
"He even wears No. 4, just like Aaron," Matta said. "He's scrappy and smart. He's out there having fun and I love that about him. With all those high-profile players out there, he took over."
Yes, Ohio State got Aaron Craft-ed right out of the NCAA Tournament. The highly-anticipated game between soon-to-be NBA lottery picks D'Angelo Russell and Stanley Johnson turned into a clinic on how experienced and smart players still have a major role in college basketball.
If Arizona finally earns Miller a Final Four berth next weekend, McConnell will be a big reason why. McConnell (19 points, six rebounds, six assists, five steals) joined Jason Kidd as the only Pac-12 players in the past 25 years with at least 15 points, five assists and five steals in an NCAA Tournament game, according to ESPN Stats.
When Arizona struggled mightily in the first half against Ohio State's 2-3 zone -- and remember those struggles next weekend because the Wildcats will see zone again -- McConnell settled them down. He initiated much-needed passes into the middle of the zone and drained jumpers.
When Ohio State went to a bigger lineup, McConnell was called on to guard Russell for most of the second half. Russell had his worst shooting performance of the season (3 of 19) and his second-fewest points (nine).
"I just wanted to be a pest," said McConnell, channeling his inner Craft. "I don't shy away from that. That's obviously a great challenge to guard a guy like that. He probably missed a few shots he normally makes. But when a defense is as suffocating as ours, that tends to happen."
Russell is a tremendous talent who's going to be in the NBA next season, even though he offered no comment about his future after the loss. Russell has a great feel for the game and still handed out six assists and grabbed seven rebounds despite his rough shooting night.
For days, Russell had talked about how he was born for moments like these. He dreamed of having NCAA Tournament moments and now his one-and-done season is over after two March Madness games.
"It hasn't hit me yet," Russell said. "I feel like once we get on the bus to the airport, or on the plane, or when Monday hits and there's no practice, then it will probably hit me."
On the next level, Russell will get more calls than in college. "I feel like I got hacked a few times and they missed it, and they were scoring on the other end and it just added up," Russell said.
Russell is a supremely confident freshman. He's so confident he still couldn't name the best defender he faced this season in college. "I just missed open shots that I usually make," he said. "Still nobody."
To Russell's credit, he can appreciate McConnell's game. Time and again, McConnell slapped down at the ball when it was in Russell's hands or jumped the passing lane to be in his face upon receipt of the pass.
"He's a tough defender," Russell said. "He reminds me a lot of Aaron Craft -- very pesky, defensively and offensively. He controlled the game. He controlled everything. He's the MVP to me, honestly."
Here's the thing about being compared to Craft: It’s both a compliment and a slight. Unspoken in any comparison to Craft is "pesky" means "not athletic enough" for the NBA, sort of how Duke point guards such as Chris Collins and Steve Wojciechowski carried that label in the past.
McConnell takes the Craft comparisons in stride. He grew up watching Steve Nash, Tony Parker and John Stockton and tries to be his own player, "but if people want to compare me to [Craft], that's great. He had one of the best careers at Ohio State."
There's one more similarity McConnell would love: Craft made one Final Four at Ohio State. McConnell, pesky and productive, is positioning Arizona toward a Final Four that Arizona fans anxiously want.
