| #51 Craig Forth |
| 7'0" | 255 lb | Center |
| HS: Columbia | East Greenbush, NY |
| Born: 3/4/1983 | Albany, NY |
| Season | Cl | Pos | G | GS | Min | FG | FGA | % | FT | FTA | % | 3Pt | 3PA | % | Asst | Reb | DReb | OReb | Fls | DQ | TO | ST | BS | Pts | PPG | APG | RPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001-02 | Fr | C | 36 | 36 | 780 | 74 | 167 | 44.3% | 29 | 46 | 63.0% | 0 | 0 | 0.0% |
41 | 162 | 89 | 73 | 108 | 4 | 45 | 28 | 65 | 177 | 4.9 | 1.1 | 4.5 |
| 2002-03 | So | C | 35 | 35 | 618 | 56 | 115 | 48.7% | 20 | 40 | 50.0% | 0 | 1 | 0.0% | 30 | 116 | 66 | 50 | 90 | 4 | 39 | 14 | 51 | 132 | 3.8 | 0.9 | 3.3 |
| 2003-04 | Jr | C | 31 | 31 | 718 | 77 | 136 | 56.6% | 22 | 34 | 64.7% | 0 | 0 | 0.0% |
22 | 179 | 108 | 71 | 87 | 4 | 39 | 18 | 63 | 176 | 5.7 | 0.7 | 5.8 |
| 2004-05 | Sr | C | 34 | 34 | 662 | 64 | 117 | 54.7% | 30 | 49 | 61.2% | 0 | 0 | 0.0% |
18 | 174 | 109 | 65 | 75 | 4 | 23 | 22 | 36 | 158 | 4.6 | 0.5 | 5.1 |
| Career | 136 |
136 |
2778 |
271 |
535 |
50.7% |
101 |
169 |
59.8% |
0 |
1 |
0.0% |
111 |
631 |
372 |
259 |
360 |
16 |
146 |
82 |
215 |
643 |
4.7 |
0.8 |
4.6 |
Craig Forth was a solid center, who started every game of his collegiate career, one that spanned a National Championship, a NIT Final Four, a Big East regular season championship, and 3 NCAA tournaments. He was a pivotal part of the success of the zone defense with a wide body that could take up a lot of space, and his height helped alter and block many shots. He was tremendous at setting up picks, particularly for Gerry McNamara, and was a decent passer.
Forth was not a player who sustained aggression on the court. He was not a particularly good rebounder, and was slow in the transition up and down the court. He often would miss easy layups that he should have been able to take stronger to the hoop. While he started every game of this career, by the end of his senior season he often was only playing eleven to twelve minutes a game.
He did have a couple of memorable games his junior year. Against UConn's player of the year candidate Emeka Okafor, Forth had 14 points, 13 rebounds, and held Okafor to 2 points in an SU victory. In the NCAA tournament against Maryland, he had 10 points and 12 rebounds in a game the Orangemen won 72-70.
Forth was an outstanding student-athlete, and an Education Major, and was an academic All-American both his junior and senior seasons (third and second teams, respectively), becoming the first Orangeman to ever earn the distinction twice. He was the Big East Scholar Athlete winner in 2005.
Forth would have a career in education, first as a teacher and later as an administrator. He became the principal at Mechanicsville High School in 2016. That same year he was named the Vic Hanson Medal of Excellence winner.
© RLYoung 2005, 2015, 2016