Graham Couch -- Shep is joined by Graham Couch of the Lansing State Journal, and talks about his article about why Aaron Craft is overhyped because he is white.

There was a recent article in our area that discredited the "hype" of Ohio State point guard Aaron Craft because he was white.  It suggested Craft wouldn't receive the attention he gets if he were a black player and that if he weren't a "rosey-cheeked white guy" he wouldn't have received the preseason hype of all conference or get a mention in Sports Illustrated.  Why that is being mentioned now after OSU has played all but one of their regular season games is beyond me.  Craft was the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year last season.  He was also a third team all-conference pick and an academic All-American choice.  He also won the Big Ten sportsmanship award in 2012, in addition to carrying a 3.9gpa as a pre-med major. It's fair to say most good players get better as their college careers advance so it's not outside the box thinking to suggest he could go from third team all conference to first team. And maybe....just maybe...he's hyped because, in addition to being the best on-ball defender in the league and perhaps the country, he's what we hope college athletics still stands for-white or black.  We, as a sports society, are so enamored with offensive numbers, that we forget how players can impact a game in other ways.  Maybe the writer and those who concur are looking for publicity; maybe they aren't very knowledgeable about the game of basketball; maybe they have an agenda.  I don't know.  What I do know is that every player I've talked to in the Big Ten this year and over the last three years respects Aaron Craft's ability and believes he is deserving of the accolades that come his way.  I know in talking with CBS college basketball analyst, Clark Kellogg, that he thinks Craft is an incredible talent who can play at the next level. I know in talking with coaches on the Michigan staff, that they admire Craft's body of work.  Are we so naive to think that a player can only make a difference by scoring.  Craft played with Jared Sullinger and David Lighty and Williams Buford and Jon Diebler so he didn't need to score.  He plays with the conference's leading scorer in DeShaun Thomas now. He has more steals than turnovers in his entire career and he is the ultimate leader on and off the floor, who plays big in most big games and is heavily involved in the community. We scream, "defense wins championships" and then a player excels more at that end of the floor and we look for ways to disparage his game.  Dennis Rodman impacted the game with limiting scoring ability; Ben Wallace did the same thing and yet we trumpet their accomplishments, but with Craft people want to suggest it's because he's white?  Ben Wallace was on the COVER of Sports Illustrated for his "Body of Work," and so was Rodman.  Should we be asking, "is it because they were black." No. It's because they are good solid players who help their team be successful.  Craft does the same.  We need to celebrate more college players like Aaron Craft-whether they are black or white-not look for ways to tear them down.  I'll take him on my team any day of the week.