The Point Guard

A lot of talk lately about needing PG play.  Is the offense the right offense?  Do we have PGs? etc…..

Rysheed Jordan was the #3 ranked PG per Rivals last year.  Check out the Top 10.  Bolded are the statistical leaders for each category.  Outside of Frankamp who has barely played, Sheed and Roddy Peters have the fewest MPG

1. Andrew Harrison (Kentucky)

29.1 mpg
10.9 ppg
2.4 rpg
3.3 apg
2.6 tpg
38% from field
32% from 3
71% from line

2. Kasey Hill (Florida)

23.1 mpg
7.3 ppg
1.7 rpg
3.2 apg
1.5 tpg
41% from field
16% from 3
69% from line

3. Sheed

19.5 mpg
6.9 ppg
2.8 rpg
2.5 apg
1.3 tpg
33% from field
14% from 3
69% from line

4. Tyler Ennis (Cuse)

32.7 mpg
11.7 ppg
3.2 rpg
5.6 apg
1.2 apg
43% from field
41% from 3
74% from line

5. Anthony Barber (NC State)

28.9 mpg
12.3 ppg
2.8 rpg
4.5 apg
2.2 tpg
42% from field
31% from 3
71% from line

6. Nigel Williams Goss (Washington)

32.6 mpg
12.4 ppg
4.4 rpg
4.1 apg
2.7 tpg
45% from field
29% from 3
64% from line

7. Connor Frankamp (Kansas)

7.2 mpg
2.0 ppg
.9 rpg
.5 apg
.2 tpg
30% from field
25% from 3
67% from line

8. Derrick Walton (Michigan)

25.1 mpg
7.9 ppg
2.6 rpg
2.7 apg
2.0 tpg
42% from field
34% from 3
74% from line

9. Demetrius Jackson (Notre Dame)

24.5 mpg
7.0 ppg
2.9 rpg
1.9 apg
1.1 tpg
43% from field
42% from 3
78% from line

10. Roddy Peters (Maryland)

20.4 mpg
6.4 ppg
1.3 rpg
3.4 apg
2.6 tpg
48% from field
17% from 3
71%  from line

And for Branch I he was ranked #14 among 2011 PG's.  I took the 2 PG's before and after his ranking to see where he compares.

12. Shannon Scott (Ohio State)

28.2 mpg
8.7 ppg
4.3 rpg
4.0 apg
2.3 tpg
47% from field
33% from 3
68% from line

13. Tracy Abrams (Illinois)

28.9 mpg
12.6 ppg
4.0 rpg
3.2 apg
1.8 tpg
38% from field
26% from 3
73% from line

14. Branch

12.4 mpg (dropped from 23.2 last year)
4.1 ppg (dropped from 6.1 last year)
1.0 rpg (dropped from 2.4 last year)
1.7 apg (dropped from 2.7 last year)
1.4 tpg (dropped from 1.9 last year)
49% from field (up from 37%)
25% from 3 (up from 18%)
70% from line (up from 61%)

15. Cezar Guerrero (Fresno St now)

28.6 mpg
14.5 ppg
2.4 rpg
4.3 apg
2.8 tpg
44% from field
38% from 3
86% from line

16. Shane Larkin
No stats necessary

Moose, the stats alone suggest that Jordan might bec as good as Ennis if he played more minutes. We know that isn't true. Jordan gets into foul trouble, and his jumper hasn't been there against good teams. Ennis is the best of the group listed, and quite possibly the best overall in the nation.

Jordan has to be given the keys. He has to be allowed to keep playing after he makes a mistske. Lavin's low tolerance for mistakes has hurt us. This kid is a freshman, but he hasn't played his game often enough IMO.

There's been some sentiment from some of the talking heads on ESPN/CBS etc over the past few seasons that maybe the PG position isn't as important as it used to be in college hoops. I think after last year with Larkin/Burke/Siva being so important to good teams that they are realizing the PG position is more important than ever in college basketball. Look at the teams in the top 10 of the AP poll and their point guard play:

1: Arizona: TJ McConnell is the perfect PG for that team. Great passer, runs the offense well, gets after it on D, and rebounds well for a small guy.

2. Syracuse: We all know how good Ennis has been.

3. Ohio State: Craft is one of the best defensive PGs of this generation and runs an offense very well.

4. Wisconsin: Traevon Jackson has been a big reason they have been so successful and Brust can play the position in spurts as well.

5. Michigan State: Appling is a solid and experienced PG.

6. Wichita State: VanVleet is insanely good. 87 assists to 18 turnovers so far.

7. Baylor: Kenny Cherry has been better than expected and was huge in their win over UK.

8. Villanova: Arcidiacono, Chennault, and Ennis have been a 3 headed monster at PG with all having a 2.5 assist/turnover ratio or better.

9. Iowa State: Deandre Kane is a serious player of the year candidate. Had 30, 8, and 9 the other night.

10. Florida: Scottie Wilbekin is another solid, experienced PG that can run an offense well.


To further the point: UMass is surprising everybody with their start mainly because Chaz Williams has been terrific while Kansas has been disappointing due to their inconsistent PG play.


This shows us just how important Sheed and Branch are to this team. Sheed needs to be our best player if we are going to do some damage going forward while Branch has to be a competent backup. We cannot go long stretches of games in big east play with Greene, Harrison or Dom running the offense.

Moose, the stats alone suggest that Jordan might bec as good as Ennis if he played more minutes. We know that isn't true. Jordan gets into foul trouble, and his jumper hasn't been there against good teams. Ennis is the best of the group listed, and quite possibly the best overall in the nation.

Jordan has to be given the keys. He has to be allowed to keep playing after he makes a mistske. Lavin's low tolerance for mistakes has hurt us. This kid is a freshman, but he hasn't played his game often enough IMO.

I don't care what numbers say. Ennis is so much better than Jordan. Ennis is such a great decision maker, plays with great poise & pace, and he's thriving in his role for #1 team in the country.

That really isn't a slight to Jordan at all either.

Quote from: Poison on January 09, 2014, 11:28:47 PM

Moose, the stats alone suggest that Jordan might bec as good as Ennis if he played more minutes. We know that isn't true. Jordan gets into foul trouble, and his jumper hasn't been there against good teams. Ennis is the best of the group listed, and quite possibly the best overall in the nation.

Jordan has to be given the keys. He has to be allowed to keep playing after he makes a mistske. Lavin's low tolerance for mistakes has hurt us. This kid is a freshman, but he hasn't played his game often enough IMO.

I don't care what numbers say. Ennis is so much better than Jordan. Ennis is such a great decision maker, plays with great poise & pace, and he's thriving in his role for #1 team in the country.

That really isn't a slight to Jordan at all either.

I agree.  At the college level, Ennis is light years better than Jordan.  Jordan is shooting 14% from three...that is just horrible.  Ennis is 41% and already runs the show as well as anyone.  I'm not sure Jordan will ever have the kind of composure Ennis possesses as a true freshman.  Jordan has done a great job lately of drawing contact--tremendous actually--but he hasn't done anything to create for his teammates. 

The NBA might be a different story.  Ennis isn't big and he doesn't really wow you with athleticism.  Jordan has ideal size and athletic ability, but he needs to be careful about raising red flags with off the court stuff.  He's not the type of talent that is worth gambling on in any way if question marks start to come up.

Are these other point guards capable of fouling out of games in twenty-four and FIFTEEN minutes?  Do you know how hard it is for a point to foul out of a game in 15 minutes?

Big Foot guarding Wilt Chamberlin wouldn't foul out in 15 minutes.

Nice info Moose, great for discussion. re: Ennis, I agree with Dave's assessment above and will add he is a very grounded kid from a solid family. Additionally he has had the benefit of receiving tremendous coaching in HS and AAU arena. That foundation is quite evident in his heady play. To immediately take charge at PG is perhaps the most difficult role to assume. To have a polished skill set, knowledge of the game and good support system certainly has benefited Ennis. The only folks whispering in his ear are telling him to work hard and get better.

It was a different time, but the attributes noted above can are the same  Mark Jackson had. There are differences in their makeup, but similarities in their support systems, attention to fundamentals, feel for the game, maturity and work ethic. I sense those qualities will also serve Ennis well in the NBA.

AJ English

Marco, today's the day for the big, big news that's you said was breaking this week.  Do u know what it is and will u tell us or his your credibility just shattered?

Marco, today's the day for the big, big news that's you said was breaking this week.  Do u know what it is and will u tell us or his your credibility just shattered?

First 5,000 fans at tomorrow's game will be given a FREE Khadim Ndiaye poster.

Quote from: hnk on January 10, 2014, 08:59:07 AM

Marco, today's the day for the big, big news that's you said was breaking this week.  Do u know what it is and will u tell us or his your credibility just shattered?

First 5,000 fans at tomorrow's game will be given a FREE Khadem Ndiaye poster.

Poster is of Ndiaye dribbling off his foot out of bounds

Why would Nova and Iona fans want a poster of Ndiaye?