Strengths: Mack is a gamer. He's a proven scorer with the desire to have the ball in his hands with the game on the line, and arguably the biggest reason why the Bulldogs were able to make it to back-to-back national title games. Mack's biggest strength is scoring the ball. While his efficiency numbers were down this season, much of that can be explained by his increased role in the Butler offense; 34.1% shooting from deep does not reflect how dangerous Mack is from beyond the arc. He's capable of getting to the basket, but he lacks the vertical explosiveness and the quickness to really beat his man off the dribble. Mack was used primarily as a weapon in the pick and roll this past season, and he's pretty effective running it. Weaknesses: Mack has never really proven to be a true point guard. Like many players at his position, he is a scorer with the ability to create for his teammates. There are also question marks about his quickness and his explosiveness. Will he be able to get by a defender in the NBA? Will be be able to guard NBA point guards? The biggest question mark, however, was exposed in the national title game. Mack was covered by UConn's Jeremy Lamb, who is a long and lanky defender that was able to challenge Mack's shooting from the perimeter. With his jumper taken away, Mack struggled to get into any rhythm offensively, and as a result the Bulldogs posted one of the ugliest national title game performances ever.
Comparisons:
Best Case Scenario: Derek Fisher. Fisher is a 17 year NBA veteran, having carved out a terrific NBA career as a role-playing point guard. He protects the ball, he plays some defense, he gets the ball in the hands of his star teammates, and he knocks down open threes. Fisher also has a reputation for being a guy that hits big shots. Mack is a little bigger than Fisher and is more of a combo-guard than a point guard, but if Mack wants to have an NBA career, he should start modeling his game after another mid-major point guard. Another comparison I've seen that I like is a poor man's Chauncey Billups.
Worst Case Scenario: The worst case scenario for Shelvin Mack will be a career in basketball's minor leagues, be it overseas or in the NBDL. That's not necessarily a bad thing. While he may struggle to score in the NBA, Mack will probably be more effective getting to the rim in a league with some lesser athletes.
Outlook: You'd think that after playing for a team that made back-to-back national title games, Mack would be more of a known quantity. But at this point, his future as a professional player looks to be uncertain. Mack's biggest issue is that he is stuck in the dreaded tweener category. He's a scoring guard with point guard size but without ideal point guard athleticism. He needs the ball in his hands to be effective, but he may not be effective enough to warrant having the ball in his hands. I love Shelvin Mack. He was one of my favorite players to watch the past two seasons. He's terrific in crunch time and is, simply put, a winner. And while I think he will be a great teammate wherever he ends up, I'm just not sure there is a place for him in the NBA.
Draft Range: Early-to-Mid 2nd Round
And the experts say...
Chad Ford: "Scouts had high expectations for Mack coming into the season, but for much of the year he really struggled to find his shot. That changed somewhat in the tournament. He had huge games against Pittsburgh and VCU, going a combined 18-for-27 from the field and 12-for-18 from 3. But against a longer, more athletic UConn backcourt, led by Lamb, he struggled once again. He shot 4-for-15 from the field in the title game, which was actually pretty good compared to the rest of the Butler team. Factor in rough shooting nights against Wisconsin and, to a lesser extent, Florida, and I'm not sure what you have."
Draft Express: "Mack's development into primarily being a pick and roll half court guard is part an evolution in his game, and partly because of Matt Howard's development into a perimeter threat. Mack shows a good feel for the pick and roll game, showing an ability to drive to his right off the pick and roll, as well as good patience in waiting for the big to recover to get an open look from deep. Mack has NBA three point range with an ability to hit long distance shots off the dribble."
Swish Scout: "Combo guard with a compact build, NBA 3-point range, and showed some ability to take over the game in the NCAA with some gutsy play. Mack isn’t a natural PG who can step in and run the show for a team, but he’s a secondary ball handler who can buckle down on D and knock down some big shots for a team. "
There are a litany of factors that you can point to and say "this was why UConn beat Kentucky."
DeAndre Liggins and Darius Miller combined to shoot 2-14. Terrence Jones never got into a rhythm offensively. The Wildcats have just five second chance points despite getting 15 offensive rebounds. Josh Harrellson looked like Josh Harrellson from the past three years, not the past three weeks. All of those assertions would be correct.
But the biggest problem Kentucky had was that Brandon Knight, the guy that had been the Wildcat's sparkplug all season long, struggled. He was 6-23 from the floor and 3-11 from deep. He finished with 17 points, but as Calhoun put it last night, those were "expensive points".
The credit -- or blame, depending on your perspective -- for that 6-23 performance lands squarely on the shoulders of Shabazz Napier and Kemba Walker. Those two did a terrific job of keeping Knight in check. They hounded him when he had the ball in his hands and made coming off of every screen difficult. They gave him no room to breathe offensively, cutting down driving lanes and forcing him to take tough, contested shots all night long.
And that is exactly what the Huskies are going to need Walker and Napier to do against Shelvin Mack on Monday night.
Mack plays almost the same role for the Bulldogs that Knight plays for Kentucky. He's technically their point guard, but he's more of a scorer that handles then ball than anything. He's the guy who has the ball in his hands when Butler really needs a back or at the end of a clock. He's Butler's play maker. He's the guy they rely on to take, and make, big shots.
He's also going to be a much more difficult matchup for Walker and Napier.
Brandon Knight is quick and agile. He's tough, but he's not all that strong. When he is playing well, he is beating defenders off of the dribble. Mack is a much stronger player. He can bull his way to the rim and keep a defender on his hip. As good as Walker and Napier are defensively, their real strength on the defensive end of the floor comes in their quickness and agility.
Mack will be a tough matchup for the UConn guards.
Then again, Mack is a tough matchup for anyone. That's generally the case when you are an all-american.
And slowing down Mack, keeping him from having the kind of performance he had against Kentucky, Pitt, and Florida, will be UConn's first priority on Monday night. Continue reading...
HOUSTON - Shelvin Mack and Zach Hahn are not easily confused.
In appearance or in style of play.
Mack is a ball-dominating point guard, a penetrator with deep range on his jump shot. He's built like a full back which allows him to bull his way to the rim and bounce off of defenders. He's developed a reputation for hitting big shots in the clutch, meaning he is just as strong mentally as he is physically.
Hahn may as well be Mack's polar opposite. He's a scrawny, left-handed jump shooter. He had taken all of 32 shots from inside the arc this season coming into tonight's game. The muscle definition in his arms is reminiscent of an 11 year old's.
But it was Hahn who sparked, and Mack who carried, the decisive run in Butler's 70-62 win over VCU in the first semifinal on Saturday. After VCU went on an early run, Butler had regained control of the game late in the first half, taking a 34-28 lead into the break. But another hot VCU start -- they opened the second half on a 11-2 run -- had the Rams in a position to take control of the game.
Cue Zach Hahn.
The senior hit a three with 13 minutes left in the game to put the Bulldogs up 39-38. After scored on a layup and drew a foul, putting VCU back ahead by two, Hahn drilled another three. Brandon Rozzell gave VCU the lead back, but Hahn hit a tough, up and under layup with 12:22 left in the game that gave the Bulldogs a 44-43 lead.
All told, Hahn scored eight straight points. Coming into tonight, he had hit four shots and scored nine points in the four tournament games.
"There's certain guys that think they should be playing in these games," Butler head coach Brad Stevens said after the game. "He's one of those guys. He just has a mindset of, 'When I'm open, I'm gonna make it'. I'm gonna take big ones."
"He's not the most athletic guy in the world. He's not the biggest guy in the world. But there's a reason why he's playing major minutes in the national semifinals. Just another great senior in this program."
Butler never trailed again after Hahn made that up-and-under layup.
And while Hahn deserves the credit for getting Butler back into the lead, this game was won by Mack. Two possessions after Hahn hit that layup, Mack drilled a deep three to extend the Butler lead to four points. After two Skeen free throws, Mack hit another three. After a driving layup and a tough, fadeaway 15 footer from the wing, Mack had scored 10 straight points and given the Bulldogs a 54-47 lead with less than nine minutes left.
VCU never got closer than four the rest of the way.
"An incredible basketball player, he has a will and determination that's unlike some other guys," Matt Howard said after the game. "You know, he many times has carried this basketball team, and that's still playing within our offense."
"That's what Shelvin is, he's a great basketball player. Again, you saw evidence of that again tonight."
Howard is exactly right.
Mack is not as highly regarded as his point guard counterparts playing in the second semifinal. He's not going to be an NBA player. His physical limitations are the reason that a kid from Lexington -- a kid that turned out to be a college all-american -- didn't end up at Kentucky.
What makes Mack special is his heart. His leadership. All those cliched sayings that coaches have about "intangibles" and "things you can't teach"? That's all Mack. At some point, you have to look past how tall a player is or how high he can jump. Mack is a shot maker. He is the kind of player that a coach not only can trust, but wants, to have the ball in his hands late in a game.
"He was a killer tonight. He stepped up and made some huge, huge shots, particularly from behind the arc," VCU head coach Shaka Smart said after the game. "He's a high-level player. I think he's as good of a college basketball player as any of the guards in the Final Four."
"I'm not an NBA guy. I don't know how all that works. But I would take Shelvin Mack on my team just as quickly as I would take any of the other guards that played in this tournament."
All told, Mack finished with 24 points on 8-11 shooting from the floor and 5-6 from three. But for how well he shot the ball, Mack had just a single assist. It came with 3:04 left in the game. With just six seconds left on the shot clock, Mack drew the VCU defense and gave the ball up to senior Shawn Vanzant. Vanzant buried a three that put Butler ahead 61-54.
It was arguably the biggest bucket of the game.
That's why Brad Stevens trusts, and wants, the ball in Mack's hands at the end of the game. Continue reading...
Missouri is the most exciting team in the country to watch this season. Not just because they play a hectic, up and down style -- its called the "Fastest 40 Minutes in Basketball" for a reason -- but because every game they play seems to come down to the wire. This is already this third time this season that we have used a game that the Tiger's have played in as Game of the Week.
Wednesday night's matchup was no different. Illinois jumped out to a 10 point lead early in the first half, but a 17-2 run by Mizzou that spanned the two halves gave the tigers a 35-29 lead early in the second half. Illinois answered with a 12-2 run of their own, and it was on. Both teams made big shot after big shot. It was like a boxing match between two fighters with glass jaws but not all that much skill. Illinois and Mizzou were both landing haymaker after haymaker, waiting for the other team to drop. Eventually, Missouri took a 62-58 lead when Brandon Paul missed two free throws with 48 seconds left. Michael Dixon tracked the ball down, but it was stolen from him in the back court by Mike Davis, setting up an exciting sequence (jump to the 1:30 mark, and don't mind the music in the back ground):
The intentional foul called on Tisdale may have cost Illinois the game, but it was the correct call. Two handed shoves in the back of a player moving at full speed are dangerous, and they are the precise reason that the intentional foul was added to the rulebook.
That sequence is the perfect example of Missouri basketball. A potentially momentum changing three is made off of a turnover, cutting Mizzou's lead to one with 44 seconds left. Most teams hold the ball for one shot in that situation. Missouri threw an inbounds pass to Marcus Denmon, who was already heading up the floor. He took one dribble and passed ahead to Laurence Bowers, who was wide open on a wing. Layup, foul, six point possession, game over.
It deserves to be noted: UAB 68, VCU 65
In a battle of anagrams, VCU took a 19 point with just 13 minutes left in the game. UAB was able to whittle that down to nine at one point, but eventually UAB took a 65-53 lead with just 5:08 left in the game. That's when Jamarr Sanders took over. He hit a three to cut the lead to nine, but neither team scored until Sanders scored four points -- one of two free throws and then a three -- when he picked up a steal on back-to-back possessions, cutting the lead to 65-60 with 1:30 left. After Aaron Johnson picked up a steal, he hit one of two free throws. UAB grabbed the rebound off of the miss and the ball ended up in Sanders' hands. He buried another three, and the lead was now just 65-64 with 1:15 left. VCU had possession, but they turned the ball over again, and with just 10 seconds left in the game, Sanders drove, drew a foul, and hit both free throws to take the lead 66-65. Two more Johnson free throws sealed the win.
All told, Sanders had 12 of his 29 points in the final five minutes. UAB had not been closer than nine points since the 14:50 mark of the first half. That's not quite Jay Williams-vs.-Maryland territory, but Sanders' performance was quite impressive nonetheless.
Player of the Week: Klay Thompson, Washington State
I know that Washington State was beaten pretty handily by Butler in the final of the Diamond Head Classic, but that does nothing to diminish the week that Thompson had. In the three games in Hawaii, he averaged 26.3 ppg, including 31 in the loss to Butler that kept things close. He was 25-46 from the floor and 13-25 from three. It was, without a doubt, an impressive performance, and Thompson's play this week is a huge reason why Wazzu's name is being tossed around as a potential top 25 team and a sleeper in the Pac-10.
What makes this performance by Thompson so impressive is not that he shot the ball well. We've known that Thompson was a good shooter. That is no secret. But, like we said after the win over Gonzaga, Thompson has become an all-around player. He's jumping passing lanes. He's creating for his teammates. Most importantly, however, he's been able to put the ball on the floor and attack the rim while handling physical, one-on-one defense much better than last year. Thompson started out the 2009-2010 season on fire, but once Pac-10 play came around his numbers dropped considerably. He likely will not find defense as physical as Butler's in the Pac-10 this season. He had 31 against Butler and kept the Cougars in the game despite subpar performances from Reggie Moore, DeAngelo Casto, and Faisal Aden.
The All-they-were-good-too team:
G: Darius Morris, Michigan: Granted, it came against Bryant, but Morris had 26 points and 12 assists in his only game of the week. It was the fifth time he's reached double figure assists and his fourth double-double of the season. Morris is now averaging 15.3 ppg and 7.5 apg on the season.
G: Jio Fontan, USC: Fontan averaged 17.0 ppg, 4.0 apg, and 3.5 spg while leading the Trojans to a 2-0 week, including a win at Tennessee, to bounce back from a tough loss to Kansas in Fontan's debut.
G: Doron Lamb, Kentucky: Lamb had 32 points on 11-12 shooting (7-8 from three) as he set the Kentucky freshman scoring record, previously held by Jamal Mashburn, in a win over Winthrop.
F: Travis Franklin, Colorado State: Franklin led the Rams to a win in the Cancun Governer's Cup by averaging 22.3 ppg, 6.0 rpg, and 2.0 spg, including a 25-point, 9-rebound performance against Gary Flowers and Southern Miss in the final.
F: Justin Harper, Richmond: Harper averaged 20.5 ppg and 8.0 rpg, leading the Spiders in scoring in both games, as Richmond knocked off UNC-Greensboro and Seton Hall. Harper had 24 points and hit six three against the Hall.
Bench: Jimmer Fredette, BYU; Justin Hurtt, Tulsa; Chris Singleton, Florida State; Matt Howard, Butler
Team of the Week: Butler Bulldogs
Butler may have given life to their chances of earning an at-large bid this season with a win in the Diamond Head Classic out in Hawaii. With wins over Florida State and Washington State, as well as Utah, Butler landed themselves two quality victories against teams that will likely be in the tournament come March. Without much in the way of a resume booster from here on out, the Bulldogs are going to want to win the Horizon Tournament to be safe, but the resume is not what was important coming out of this week.
What's important is that Butler looked like the Butler we expected to see all season long. Matt Howard has really grown as a player in his four season with the Bulldogs. He's now knocking down threes, he's putting the ball on the floor and hitting mid-range shots and fadeaways. He's still a terrific rebounder. He averaged 18.7 ppg and 8.7 rpg this week, upping his averages to 18.1 ppg and 8.2 rpg on the season. Shelvin Mack broke out of his slump this week, scoring 17 points on FSU and 20 on WSU. Andrew Smith looks like he is going to be a force on the block in the Horizon this year. Chase Stigall and Zack Hahn are both knocking down jumpers now. Ronald Nored and Shawn Vanzant are just as pesky and athletic as they were last season. I'm not usually a big believer in the eye test, but this team passed with flying colors this week.
A disappointing week: I don't have an explanation for it.
The only reason I can think of is that teams that aren't as good as they think they are were distracted by the end of the finals and the start of the holiday season.
Regardless, it seemed like every time I looked at the college basketball scoreboard this week, another team had a disappointing performance.
We'll start with the obvious -- Renardo Sidney, Elgin Bailey, and Mississippi State. What else is there to say? These two embarrassed their team and their program and managed to get themselves sent home early from a Christmas trip to Hawaii for fighting in the stands. The Bulldogs are a mess this season.
Then there was Jacob Pullen and Curtis Kelly, who managed to get themselves suspended for accepting discounts on clothing from a department store. The act itself isn't all that terrible -- the fact that these two are NCAA athletes is the only reason anyone is frowning upon them taking advantage of a hook-up -- but it is just another example of the lack of leadership within the Kansas State program. The Wildcats lost to UNLV on Tuesday due to a lack of talent. It wasn't, however, a lack of effort, as Kansas State, for the first time all season, looked like the Kansas State I expected -- scrappy defense, aggressive to the offensive glass, win with floor burns. Now can they do the same with Pullen in the lineup?
Tennessee may have had their season saved with a jumper from Scotty Hopson against Belmont. Tennessee had lost to USC by one point earlier in the week, their third straight loss, before the Bruins came back to take a late lead on the Vols. Hopson hit a runner with 5.7 seconds left, however, and gave the Vols a win. Right now, the Vol's problem is execution in close games. Their last three games have been decided by one point. Two of them are losses, and both of those games Tennessee had a shot to win the game late. The Vols have three games -- against Tennessee-Martin, the College of Charleston, and Memphis -- to get this thing figured out before Bruce Pearl's eight game suspension kicks in.
How about Virginia Tech's season? They have struggled all year long to find the rhythm many of us expected them to have, and over the holiday break news leaked that Dorenzo Hudson will miss the rest of the season with an injury to his foot. Seton Hall is in the exact same boat, as Jeremy Hazell -- who may be out for the season with a wrist injury -- was shot in an attempted robbery over the holiday break.
All told, 18 teams from the BCS conferences lost to team from outside the BCS conferences. Eight of those upsets occurred on Wednesday night. Don't forget, this was a week when there were essentially no games played on Saturday and Sunday. Usually, there are upwards of 175 games played on the weekend. And those struggles? They don't even count games like UCLA beating UC Irvine by one, or Arizona State losing to North Carolina A&T by 11 in the second half, or Minnesota struggling to knock off South Dakota State.
Key Returners: Gordon Hayward (13.1 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 45% 3's), Matt Howard (14.8 ppg, 6.8 rpg), Shelvin Mack (11.9 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 3.5 apg), Willie Veasley (8.9 ppg, 4.3 rpg)
Newcomers: Andrew Smith, Chase Stigall, Emerson Kampen
Butler returns their entire team from last year's 26 win season. (photo credit: IndyStar)
Brad Stevens has quite a program in Indianapolis. The Bulldogs have reached the NCAA Tournament the past three seasons, making the Sweet Sixteen in 2007 under Todd Lickliter. They won 30 games in Stevens' first season at the helm before losing basically everyone, including Mike Green and AJ Graves. Not much was expected out of Butler last year, but on the strength of an excellent recruiting class, the Bulldogs won 26 games and their third consecutive regular season title. The best news? They bring everybody back.
Butler's recruiting class last season was anchored by Gordon Hayward and Shelvin Mack, who both made the U19 team over the summer. Hayward, who stands 6'8", ends up playing the power forward spot for a good number of minutes, but he is much more of a perimeter oriented player. Easily one of the best shooters in the country (he knocked down almost 45% of his threes), Hayward uses the threat of his jumper effectively to sell pump fakes. His biggest limitation as a prospect is his limited athletic profile, but he makes up for it with incredible smarts and craftiness. He knows how to get a defender off balance using jabs, fakes, and hesitations, and once he gets in the lane is satisfied with finding an open teammate instead of forcing a tough shot in the paint. Defensively is where the issue lies. Hayward, as I said, is a match-up nightmare on the offensive end because he plays the four, but his slight frame doesn't hold up against some of the bigger guys on the block.
Mack is as good of a point guard as you are going to find. He is strong with the ball, an excellent defender, and a very good rebounder for his size. He isn't the quickest guy when he puts the ball on the floor, but he is big and strong enough (6'3", 215 lb) that if he gets his shoulders by a defender, he is going to get to the rim. Butler is going to be very talented this season, which means that Mack, once again, won't have to carry the load offensively as much as he will be asked to run Stevens' system. But, as he did last year, Mack is a good enough scorer that if things start to get bogged down, he can carry the team.
Butler likes to lay a four-out, one-in offense, meaning the surround one post with four perimeter players. The other two guys that will be starting on the perimeter are sophomore Ronald Nored and senior Willie Veasley. Nored is a tenacious defender that will harass opposing point guards. He is quick and can get to the rim and out in transition, but he really struggles offensively otherwise, hitting just 23% from deep and 46% from the line. Willie Veasley, a 6'3" wing, is the perfect senior for this team. He does everything well on the court - he can shoot when open, he rebounds the ball, he defends. He turns the ball over a little more than one would like, but beyond that he is exactly what you look for out of a senior leader.
The "one-in" on this team may be the most valuable guy on this roster. Matt Howard, a 6'8" junior and reigning league player of the year, is a bit of a throw back big man. A land warrior, Howard does not have the overwhelming athleticism of many guys playing on the blocks these days. To compensate, he is excellent at gaining position, sealing his man, and finishing inside. He is a strong kid, and has developed a very nice back to the basket game. As the only real threat in the post, Howard is going to be so important to how far Butler can make it this year.
The Bulldogs don't have the deepest bench, but they do have some quality role players. Zach Hahn, a 6'1" junior, is the Bulldogs resident sharp shooter. 6'0" Shawn Vanzant is a scrappy point guard coming off the bench. Avery Jukes, a 6'8" senior, is the guy that will spell Howard inside. And don't be surprised when 6'11" freshman Andrew Smith, who has a nice game on the block and plays with a great deal of energy, sees some quality minutes this season.
Outlook: Butler has been very good for a while now, but this is probably their best team to date as Hayward, Howard, and Mack form one of the best inside-outside-wing combos in the country. Their biggest issue is going to be inside, where they are smaller than most power conference teams. Hayward will need to play big on the block if the Bulldogs have any hope of reaching a Final Four. That said, expect the mismatch that Howard creates to force teams to go small to match-up with them. An excellent defensive team that plays with a great deal of smart, Bulldog fans should expect another Horizon League title, and 30 wins and a deep tourney run is well within their reach. Continue reading...
The season is fast approaching. The first games are on Nov. 9th, and the BIAH live blog during ESPN's season kickoff is just two weeks away. So with just a week until actual games are played, we figured the best way to finish up our 2008-2009 season previews is to give you our Top 10 players at each position. You know how much we love a good Top 10 list here.
A few caveats. First, we're talking about how good these guys are as college players, not how well they project as a pro. Second, while it may be too much power for me, I am making the executive decision on what "position" a player is (and it may not necessarily be what he is listed as on a roster). Third, I am not putting the freshman in the list. As much as I've read about these guys and as many Youtube clips as I have watched, I have yet to see many of them play a real game (the all-star games don't count), and I don't think that I could give an accurate assessment until I see them play. Lastly, I love me a good argument, so if you think someone is too low or too high or the wrong position, leave a comment and let me hear about it.
Here are the point guards. Best Freshman:
John Wall, Kentucky
Abdul Gaddy, Washington
Maalik Wayns, Villanova
Best of the Rest:
Charles Jenkins, Hofstra
Chris Warren, Ole Miss
Courtney Fortson, Arkansas
Jimmer Fredette, BYU
Trevon Hughes, Wisconsin
Mac Hobson, Idaho
Corey Fisher, Villanova
Top 10:
10. Talor Battle, Penn State: Talor Battle was the major reason that Penn State was relevant down the stretch last season. Battle's offensive game is based on his ability to shoot, where he is excellent, especially in the clutch as he knocked down a couple game-winners last year. When he puts the ball on the floor, Battle is good at getting into the paint and is a solid finisher in the lane despite lacking outstanding explosiveness. If he improves his ability to create for his teammates (he averaged 5.0 apg last season, but a lot of that was simply the result of moving the ball around the perimeter), this ranking may end up being too low by the end of the year.
9. Shelvin Mack, Butler: Mack is one of the more underrated point guards in the country. Playing on a team with Gordon Hayward and Matt Howard in the Horizon League will do that to you. But don't doubt his ability. Mack is an effective scorer, capable of carrying the Bulldogs if Hayward and/or Howard happen to be struggling. A big, strong kid (6'3", 215 lb), Mack is an excellent defender and a good rebounder from the guard spot. He needs to improve on his quickness getting into the lane, as well as add some consistency to his perimeter jumper, but the bottom-line is that Mack is the guy that runs the shows for Butler, who most believe will be a top 10 or 15 team this season.
Shelvin Mack is one of the most underrated point guards in the country. (photo credit: Horizon League)
8. Nic Wise, Arizona: Arizona caught a huge break when Nic Wise decided to return to school. With all the turnover in the Arizona program, Wise declared for the 2009 NBA Draft and expected to end up playing overseas this season. But when Sean Miller was able to sign five top 100 recruits this summer, Wise decided that the Wildcats just might have enough talent to be a factor this year. Arizona is going to go as far as Wise carries them. After slimming down before his junior season, Wise had an exceptional junior campaign, at times carrying a Wildcat team with two NBA draft picks on it. While he is capable of creating opportunities for others, Wise is going to be asked to shoulder much more of a scoring load this year as the young Wildcats adjust to the college game.
7. Scottie Reynolds, Villanova: Reynolds doesn't get the national credit that he deserves. He's not a guy that is going to be a great pro, as his athletic limitations will limit his effectiveness at the next level. But at the collegiate level, his smarts allow him to get by. Reynolds is a deadly three-point shooter, but when he is playing his best, he is putting the ball on the floor and going to the rim. Despite an underwhelming vertical, he finishes well in the paint because he is able to use his body to shield his man. He has had his play-making duties reduced with the emergence on Corey Fisher along side him. Where Reynolds is at his best in the clutch. He is the guy that Jay Wright is going to go to when he needs a basket.
6. Jerome Randle, Cal: I've said it before and I'll say it again - Jerome Randle might be my favorite player in the country to watch. The catalyst for Cal's resurgence last season, Randle should once again carry the team that was picked to win the Pac-10. Randle is the perfect fit for the spread system that Mike Montgomery is running in Berkeley. Very solid with the ball in his hands, Randle is adept at beating his man off the dribble thanks to his fantastic ability to change speeds. But you cannot lay off of him as he is one of the best shooters in the country. If Cal is going to win the Pac-10, it will be Randle's play that will carry them there.
Despite his small stature, Jerome Randle is one of the best scorers in the country. (photo credit: DailyCal)
5. Devan Downey, South Carolina: Downey is small, even for a point guard, but he is unbelievably quick. Downey can flat out score. He is at his best when he is attacking the rim, where an effective floater and an impressive ability to create space through contact with the defender allows him to finish inside. Downey tends to settle for threes, but when he is on he can hit four or five in a row from deep. Downey is a high-risk, high-reward kind of guy. He takes a lot of tough shots, but makes a good number of them. He tries quite a few risky passes and gambles for steals on the defensive end, but again, he is successful enough of the time that it isn't a huge issue. Expect big numbers once again from Downey, as his speed and ability to create in the open court will be instrumental in Darrin Horn's uptempo, pressuring style of play.
4. Kemba Walker, UConn: Walker came into UConn as a much-herald recruit out of NYC's Rice High, but was stifled a bit last season by UConn's slower tempo and the presence of all-american AJ Price. With UConn being a smaller, more athletic team this season, expect Jim Calhoun to play a much faster pace with Walker being the catalyst. He is an absolute menace on the defensive end as he may be the quickest player in the country. Offensively, he is near impossible to stay in front of. Despite his small size, Walker can finish at the rim, but he is at his best when he collapses a defense and finds an open man - be it a big at the rim or a shooter on the perimeter. While his jump shot could still use some improvement, Walker is going to be the motor that makes the Huskies engine run this season.
3. Greivis Vasquez, Maryland: Simply put, Vasquez will be the most exciting player in the ACC this season. While his time in College Park has been maddeningly inconsistent, Vasquez improved his decision making last year. He didn't force as many tough shots and more often settled for the smart, easy pass as opposed to the highlight reel play. When he is playing well, Vasquez can completely take a game over, even against a much more talented team (see his triple-double is MD's win over UNC last year). He still will need to focus on making the smart play this year, but in terms of pure talent, Vasquez is good enough to carry an undermanned Terp team to a second straight NCAA tournament.
2. Kalin Lucas, Michigan State: Lucas is the perfect fit for the team-oriented offense that Tom Izzo likes to run. He can play on the ball or off, and is excellent at picking his spots to attack. Not the quickest player in the world, he is excellent at changing speed and direction when putting the ball on the floor. Lucas is going to be instrumental for the Spartans this season as Izzo is going to look to play a quicker pace than he did last year. Lucas is valuable for a talented MSU team because he can run a team and keep an offense moving without dominating the ball, but if the shot clock is winding down, he is more than capable of creating a good shot, either for himself or for a teammate.
Sherron Collins and Kalin Lucas are the two best point guards in the country. (photo credit: daylife)
1. Sherron Collins, Kansas: Collins is an easy pick atop these rankings. First team pre-season all-american and the star player and leader for the consensus best team in the country. Collins is a great scorer at this level. He is strong enough to get to the rim on just about anyone, but he has three-point range well beyond NBA line. What makes Collins so good is he really developed into a point guard last season. While he had to shoulder a bulk of the scoring load for a young Jayhawk team, he was a good decision maker. He knew when he should pass and he knew when he needed to shoot. But the biggest difference between Collins and anyone on this list is his ability to make a big play when you really need it. If you are down one with 15 seconds left on the clock, is there anyone in the country you would rather have with the ball in their hands?
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