MADISON COURIER BOYS BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Healthy Craig leads Switzerland County back to the top

It took awhile for Craig to fully recover, but those concerns were unfounded as the 6-foot-4 forward proved this season that he was not only back but better than ever.

Craig averaged nearly a double-double and led Switzerland County to its first sectional championship in more than a decade to earn this year’s Madison Courier Boys Basketball Player of the Year. His story of perseverance in the face of adversity serves as an inspiration for all.

“It was definitely tough, but it’s one of those things where I feel like you have to trust in God,” Craig said. “The world is gonna throw things at you that you can’t imagine. I feel like it’s one of those things where you have to just trust the man upstairs and let Him take care of it.”

After such an impressive freshman season, it was reasonable to believe that Craig would return for his sophomore season as one of the premiere players in the southern part of the state.

But midway through his second game, while battling to keep a ball in play, Craig landed awkwardly on his foot and felt it let go. The pain was instant.

The diagnosis was a stress fracture and initially doctors believed that rest could solve the problem. After being sidelined for a month and half he returned to the court against Southwestern and played nearly two quarters before his biggest fears were realized.

“The doctor felt like there was a chance (if he played) that it would be OK or that it could break in half,” Craig said. “It broke in half.”

Craig’s sophomore season was over, but the biggest worry was how long it would take to come back. He skipped the baseball season but by the time the AAU season began over the summer he was back on the court. When November rolled around, he was back to his old self.

But that did not end the worries. He tweaked the foot a few times early in the season — tweaks that made him pause out of caution — and he quit baseball this season after his foot swelled following an early practice. However, those worries didn’t stop him from averaging 25.2 points and 9.8 rebounds per game while leading the Pacers to their first sectional title since 2013.

Along the way, he became just the sixth player in program history to reach 1,000 points and set the school record for points in a season with 654. With 1,162 points, Craig is already third on Switzerland County’s career scoring list and Brad Burk’s career mark of 1,456 is well within range.

But Craig is not worried about records. As humble as it gets, his only concern is wins and leading the Pacers to heights they’ve never achieved.

“I have (thought about the record) but it’s just one of those things that you dream about. I’m not gonna force and rush to get there,” Craig said. “Hopefully it comes, but we’ll just see what happens.”

Craig has already turned his attention to the summer basketball season. While he’s had some contacts with a few college coaches, he has fielded nothing concrete as yet and is hopeful of drawing some attention this summer.

In the meantime, he will continue to hone his skills and prepare for his senior season. Switzerland County returns three starters and Craig is confident of continued success.

“We have three returning starters and we have some good role guys coming back and our JV was pretty decent this year. So we’re definitely looking forward to it,” Craig said. “And we’re hoping that the culture we built is gonna lay over from last year.”