Luke Winn's Top 16 Backcourts

SI Staff | Oct 20, 2009

Luke Winn's Top 16 Backcourts /

Luke Winn's Top 16 Backcourts

Kansas

Sherron Collins, Tyshawn Taylor, Xavier Henry, Brady Morningstar, Elijah Johnson The Jayhawks have two projected first-round picks in their backcourt in Henry and Taylor -- and neither of them is the team's best guard. That would be Collins, a bullish floor general who averaged 18.9 points last season and is a national player of the year candidate. Morningstar is suspended for the first semester and will likely lose his starting job from '08-09, but he'll be a quality defensive sub for the stretch run.

Villanova

Scottie Reynolds, Corey Fisher, Corey Stokes, Reggie Redding, Dominic Cheek, Maalik Wayns Coach Jay Wright has the deepest guard ranks of anyone in the country. Reynolds' clutch scoring ability was on display in last season's Final Four run; Fisher is lightning-quick, and Stokes shoots 41.8 percent from the three-point line. Cheek and Wayns are both McDonald's All- Americans, although they may have trouble finding significant playing time as freshmen.

Michigan State

Kalin Lucas, Durrell Summers, Korie Lucious, Chris Allen The Spartans lost lockdown artist Travis Walton from last year's Final Four team, but Lucas might be the nation's best pure point guard, and Summers is an impressive athlete with shooting range from the wing. If State's offense is going to thrive, Allen needs to be a more accurate gunner: He attempted a team-high 167 threes last season but made just 31.1 percent of them.

UConn

Kemba Walker, Jerome Dyson, Jamal Coombs-McDaniel, Darius Smith Walker should have a breakout season after taking over for A.J. Price at the point, and Dyson, who's expected to be at full strength following last season's knee injury, is one of the nation's more difficult guards to contain off the dribble. Coombs-McDaniel and Smith are both sleeper prospects who could see serious minutes off the bench.

Cal

Jerome Randle, Patrick Christopher, Jorge Gutierrez Randle is a complete point guard, dishing out 5.0 assists per game while scoring 18.3 points and hitting an amazing 46.3 percent of his threes. Fellow senior Christopher, who's 6-5 with range, creates matchup problems for plenty of opposing two-guards, and Gutierrez is an active defender off the bench.

Washington

Abdul Gaddy, Isaiah Thomas, Venoy Overton, Elston Turner, C.J. Wilcox Gaddy and Thomas might be the most exciting 1-2 duo in the country, while Overton is establishing himself as an elite on-ball defender. Turner and Wilcox will be needed to keep the floor spread and knock down threes in the Huskies' up-tempo attack.

Kentucky

John Wall, Eric Bledsoe, Darius Miller, Darnell Dodson, DeAndre Liggins There's an amazing collection of talent in the Wildcats' guard ranks: Wall and Bledsoe are both five-star prospects, while Dodson and sophomores Miller and Liggins had four-star ratings. Wall, who's projected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2010 NBA draft, is the unquestioned star; how well the supporting cast meshes around him will likely determine Kentucky's fate.

Oklahoma

Willie Warren, Tommy Mason-Griffin, Tony Crocker, Cade Davis. Warren, who averaged 14.6 points per game as a freshman, is the nation's most lethal scorer at the two-guard position; he could have plenty of 30-plus-point outings now that Blake Griffin is no longer the focal point of the Sooners' offense. Mason-Griffin is a bullish rookie point guard with a four-star rating, while Crocker is a savvy veteran with shooting range.

Texas

J'Covan Brown, Avery Bradley, Jai Lucas, Justin Mason, Dogus Balbay, Varez Ward The 'Horns' quality backcourt depth is second only to Villanova's, with six players vying for time at the 1-2 positions. Bradley (pictured), who's both an elite defender and scorer, could be an All-America candidate as a freshman, while Brown, a fellow freshman who sat out last season due to academic issues, is the favorite to win the starting point guard job. Mason is a well-established glue guy who can play the 1, 2 or 3 spots.

Gonzaga

Matt Bouldin, Steven Gray, Demetri Goodson The Zags may have lost Jeremy Pargo and Micah Downs, but this is still an excellent backcourt: Bouldin is one of the savviest combo guards in the country; Gray can light it up from long range and rarely commits turnovers; and Goodson is a ferocious on-ball defender with blazing speed.

Ole Miss

Terrico White, Chris Warren, Eniel Polynice, Trevor Gaskins, Zach Graham The Rebs probably have the most overlooked elite backcourt in the country, in part because the talented Warren (19.6 points per game) and Polynice missed most of last season due to injury. White, who was the SEC Freshman of the Year in '08-09 after averaging 18.3 points in league play, is ready to become a household name and a likely first- round NBA draft pick.

Ohio State

Evan Turner, William Buford, John Diebler, Jeremie Simmons, P.J. Hill Turner, who's taking over the Buckeyes' point-guard duties as a junior, is an All-America candidate and one of the nation's most versatile players. He averaged 17.3 points, 7.1 rebounds and 4.0 assists as a sophomore. Diebler is a classic gunner -- 231 of his 278 field-goal attempts were from long-range -- and Buford is a scoring guard who, like Turner, has NBA potential.

Purdue

E'Twaun Moore, Keaton Grant, Chris Kramer, Lewis Jackson, D.J. Byrd Moore, a smooth combo guard, led a balanced Boilers team in scoring last year with 13.8 points per game. Kramer is considered one of the Big Ten's best defensive stoppers, while Jackson is the team's speediest player and assist leader (3.3 per game). Grant is looking to rebound from a junior season in which he hit just 34.9 percent of his threes; he made 44.0 percent of them as a sophomore.

Maryland

Greivis Vasquez, Eric Hayes, Adrian Bowie, Sean Mosley Vasquez might be the college game's most entertaining player due to his energy, flair and all-around talent. The Venezuelan combo guard's 35-point, 11-rebound, 10-assist effort in a February upset of North Carolina was one of last season's top performances. Hayes is a steady senior point guard, but the Terps need Bowie and Mosley to be more effective on the perimeter, as both players shot below 24 percent from long range last season.

Louisville

Peyton Siva, Edgar Sosa, Jerry Smith, Preston Knowles There's plenty of talent in the Cards' backcourt but also plenty of uncertainty: Smith and Knowles each hit more than 40 percent of their treys last season, but who will create open looks for them with forwards Terrence Williams and Earl Clark gone? Sosa has tremendous scoring ability but needs to emerge as a quality point guard. Siva is considered the most athletic guard in the Class of 2009, and should play major minutes as a freshman.

Missouri

J.T. Tiller, Zaire Taylor, Marcus Denmon, Kim English Tiller was named the captain of Seth Davis' All-Glue Team for his defensive prowess and assist numbers (3.6) last year, but was his 23- point effort against Memphis in the NCAA tournament a sign that he can become a serious scorer? Backcourt mate Taylor had a 3-to-1 assist-to- turnover ratio, while Denmon and English are sophomores who'll be counted on to put up points in the Tigers' up-tempo offense.

Published Oct 20, 2009

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