Miami's Newest Shot-Maker Perfecting His 'Craft'

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1,222 days after Kam Craft committed to play college basketball for head coach Travis Steele, he finally did.

That three-plus-year journey didn't play out exactly like either Craft or Steele would have predicted back in July 2021. Steele, then the head coach at Xavier University, is now in his third season leading the Miami University program. And even though Craft still ended up joining Xavier after Steele's departure, he suffered a knee injury during the Musketeers' 2022-23 season and played only four more games over the next year and a half before entering the transfer portal.

However, the two men reunited this spring when Steele earned a recruiting commitment from Craft for the second time. So when the Miami RedHawks' 2024-25 opener tipped off at Appalachian State Monday night, Craft was wearing the Red and White, with Steele on the sideline shouting encouragement.

And it didn't take the 6-6 wing long to make up for lost time. Kam Craft

Despite not having taken the court for a competitive game since the 2023 NCAA Tournament nearly 20 months earlier, Craft fired up a three-pointer on Miami's second possession of the season that found nothing but net for the RedHawks' first points.

That long-range jumper kickstarted Miami toward an impressive 77-63 road victory over an App State team that went unbeaten at home a season ago and outscored visitors by an average of 20 points a game. Craft poured in a total of 16 points in 22 minutes in his RedHawk debut, setting a new career high in the process.

"It just felt amazing to be back out on the court again," Craft said. "I'm super grateful. It's been a long journey, but it felt good to be back out there."

During one pivotal stretch late in the second half of Monday's game, Craft showed off his immense offensive potential with baskets on three straight trips down the floor. He drained a three-pointer from the corner off a kick-out from Mekhi Cooper, then followed that with a tough step-back jumper from well behind the arc to beat the shot clock. On the RedHawks' next possession, a quick pump fake and drive got Craft all the way to the rim for a layup, stretching the lead to double digits.

Kam Craft

"Kam can really score. He can shoot the ball with elite range, and he can shoot it on the move…but he's way more than a shooter," Steele said afterward. "He's 6-6, he can finish at the rim, he's athletic, he's long, he's got a really good mid-range, and he can create his own shot…he has that ability when a possession goes awry, he can fix it real quick.

"He can make tough shots."

Craft finished the opener with a solid stat line of 6-for-11 shooting (including 4-for-7 from deep), as the RedHawks' newcomers combined to produce 49 of the team's 77 points, including three double-figure scorers: Craft, guard Peter Suder (17 points) and forward Antwone Woolfolk (10).

"We have a very young team…but I think we're a very connected team and we have really good chemistry," Craft said. "We have a lot of depth and a lot of pieces, and I think if we can figure out how to play at the level we did [Monday] consistently, we can be really good.

Steele echoed those sentiments. "To go on the road in a hostile environment and beat them there, I think it was a great statement and a great way to kick off the year…

"I think fans will absolutely love our team…I really hope that Oxford and all the students get behind this group, because we could do some special things!" Team Celebration

And while Craft's offensive outburst will certainly help get Miami fans excited for the upcoming winter, his head coach wasn't surprised at all by what the Chicago, Ill. native showed in his first game as a RedHawk.

"I was happy for him, because I see it in practice…our guys have a lot of confidence in Kam, and I want him to have that confidence," Steele explained. "For him to have the performance that he had in game one is a great building block for him. He's played [even] better; I can tell you that. I've seen a lot more, and I think you'll see him continue to get even more aggressive as that confidence continues to build."

"Coach Steele instills that confidence in me," Craft said. "My teammates do a good job of getting me open…and whenever I'm open, I'm going to find a way to make shots…

"We have a very flowing offense that's fun to watch, and a great group of guys…it's a fun brand of basketball."

Both Craft and Steele appreciate the comfort level and familiarity that comes with a coach and player who have a long-term history together, even if they'd never actually been part of the same program until 2024.

Huddle

"We got really close during the [first] recruitment period," said Steele. "Then it's come full circle two years later.

"When he entered the portal…it was a very, very quick recruiting process. But that relationship was already there...you want to know as a coach what you're getting, but it's the same for him: 'Man, I'd better go with somebody that I trust, somebody that I know.' I think it was a two-way comfort.

"I love him as a player; I love him more as a person."

"When it comes to recruiting, familiarity helps a lot," Craft agreed. "We already knew what to expect from each other. What I am as a player, what he is as a coach: I think that just made it really easy to reconnect."

Craft was a top-100 recruit out of high school, making a name for himself on the Nike EYBL circuit and earning an invitation to compete along a host of future NBA Draft picks at the 2022 Jordan Brand Classic in his hometown. With a father and mother who both played college basketball themselves (at VMI and Concord [WV] respectively), "it was kind of obvious that I was going to be an athlete growing up," he recounted.

And even though the 20-year-old Sport Management major has only played 16 college games since then, Steele's message to the player he's waited literally years to coach is a simple one. Kam Craft

"All of his goals are still intact," Steele said. "That's what I told him. Nothing has to change.

"'Coming to Miami, your goals should be the exact same as they were coming out of high school. You've got time; you've got to go prove it and let the work show.'

"And I think he's taking advantage of that opportunity."

Find more Front Row Features at: MiamiRedHawks.com/FrontRowFeatures

Kam Craft and the Miami University men's basketball team host Wright State in the 2024-25 home opener on Saturday, Nov. 9 in Oxford. Tipoff at Millett Hall is set for 1 p.m.; season, mini-plan, group and single-game tickets are available now!

Miami's Newest Shot-Maker Perfecting His 'Craft'

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Mekhi Cooper

Kam Craft

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