There is only one Tim Craft

Shown here cutting net after winning Big South tournament in 2019, Tim Craft is moving on from Gardner-Webb and taking over at Western Carolina. (Photo by the Charlotte Observer)

By Jacob Conley (@gwujake)

Tim Craft is leaving Gardner-Webb.

Those are six words I never thought I would type.

Coach Craft seemed to be the pillar of Boiling Springs that could not be moved. With the shifting sands of college basketball, as assistant coaches left and player after player jumped in the portal, Tim Craft stayed. He was always there.

I first met Coach Craft as a wet-behind-the-ears reporter for Gardner-Webb’s student newspaper, The Pilot. I did not know what I was doing, but I thought I did. Often times, as an assistant, he would be tasked to do the interviews after a loss. He took the time to answer all my questions, both good and bad, such as, “Why can’t we shoot better at the foul line?” As a side note, I’m still asking that question 20 years later. It’s just that experience has taught me how to better phrase that question.

Craft left GWU after the 2006-07 season, returning in 2013 to take over for Chris Holtmann (Yes, that Chris Holtmann, who most recently coached at Ohio State). He immediately built on a solid foundation and took the program to new heights. Over 11 seasons, Craft averaged 17 wins a season (197 in all), with six during his tenure coming against Power 5  Schools (Nebraska, Purdue, Clemson, Wake Forest. Georgia Tech and Georgia).

Two of those Power 5 wins came in the 2018-19  season. Led by two seniors, David Efianayi and DJ Laster, and a heralded freshman in Jose Perez,  Gardner-Webb defeated Georgia Tech and Wake Forest on the road. Later that season, the Runnin’ Bulldogs defeated Campbell and Big South Legend Chris Clemons on the Camels’ home floor in the Big South semifinals. In the championship game against Radford, Laster dropped a career-high 32 points in the victory that sent GWU to its first NCAA Tournament of the program’s Division I era.

I was on hand in Columbia, South Carolina as Gardner-Webb jumped out to a 14-point lead on No. 1 seed and eventual national champion Virginia. Even though they lost, as a GWU alum, those are the moments I will never forget.  As important as the NCAA Tournament was and as deeply as that season will be etched in my memory, it’s the moments shared that people don’t see that are far more important.

Over the past several years, I would make one road trip a year with the team, usually when they played a big name like Virginia Tech or North Carolina. For those who don’t know, I have cerebral palsy. That makes climbing steps and getting to my seat on a charter bus very challenging. Guess who was behind me every step of the way, offering words of encouragement and lending a helping hand?

Tim Craft.

I could fill tomes with similar stories about Tim Craft. Suffice it to say, he will be missed.

I’ve covered sports for more than 20 years and I would like to think I have remained a professional throughout. I’ve cried twice during the past two decades over things that have happened in the sports world: When GWU beat Radford to qualify for the NCAA Tournament, and today.

Tim Craft was more than a coach. He is a friend. I’m sure the Gardner-Webb administration will hire a good coach to lead the Runnin’ Bulldogs into the future, but even if they coax Mike Krzyzewski out of retirement and he brings several national titles to Boiling Springs, he won’t be Tim Craft.

There is only one, and he will be sorely missed.