University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Basketball Signs Raleigh's Craft During Early Signing Period
11/10/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Basketball Signs Raleigh's Craft During Early Signing Period HATTIESBURG, Miss. ? Southern Miss Head Basketball Coach Larry Eustachy has announced the signing of Craig Craft, a 6-foot-3 guard from Raleigh (Miss.) High School to a national letter of intent for the 2005-06 academic year. Craft is the first signee of the early signing period.
Craft, a standout point guard for Coach Brian Smith, has helped lead Raleigh to a 5-0 record to start the season. He is currently averaging 31.0 points per game this season and already has a high of 41 against Florence.
"We are excited about Craig," Eustachy said. "I think he is one of those guys who was under-recruited, and that was fortunate for us. He is a versatile player who can play either as a point guard or at shooting guard."
Earlier this season, Craft was named to the Clarion Ledger's "Dandy Dozen" basketball team, honoring the most sought-after recruits in the state. He helped lead Raleigh to an 18-10 record last season, while averaging 27.3 points (including 120 3-pointers), 7.5 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 3.0 steals per game. He had a season-high of 47 points in a game against Perry Central and also competed in the Mississippi Sports Medicine North/South All-Star Game in July, tying for the team lead with 18 points in that contest.
Eustachy said that Craft's signing is just the first step in recruiting some of the local talent in the state of Mississippi. Craft chose Southern Miss over Illinois State.
"That is what we are trying to do," Eustachy said. "We want to start with kids who are local and go from there. He is our first player from Mississippi. We are excited, and we will continue to heavily recruit the players in this state."
Craft will be the first player in Eustachy's first full recruiting class. Eustachy, the 2000 National Coach of the Year and 2001 National Coach of the Year runner-up, became the school's 18th head coach in March.