Top 16 College Backcourts

Author:
SI Staff
Publish date:
Oct 14, 2010

Top 16 College Backcourts

Xavier

There will be plenty more shots for this crew now that Jordan Crawford's gone; he took 34.1 percent of the Musketeers' attempts when he was on the floor last season. Holloway, who wants to be known as "Tu" instead of "Terrell," is the next star. He was actually more efficient than Crawford in '09-10 (with a 113.0 Offensive Rating to Crawford's 111.2), and drew more fouls per 40 minutes (5.0 to 4.6).

St. Mary's

Most of attention -- for good reason -- was on center Omar Samhan during the Gaels' trip to the Sweet 16. But St. Mary's has a pair of ultra-efficient, workhorse guards in Dellavedova (right, who averaged 36.4 minutes with a 117.5 Offensive Rating) and McConnell (left, 36.1 minutes, 126.2 OR). McConnell actually shot a higher percentage on threes (an absurd 51.0) than he did on twos (50.6), making him one of the nation's accurate long-rage gunners.

Memphis

The Tigers are the greenest backcourt on this list, but anyone who watched Jackson and Will Barton (pictured) on the summer circuit knows how much havoc they're likely to wreak on Conference USA. Kendrick is an elite wing recruit, and Carmouche spent last season as the lead guard at New Orleans, escaping before that school began its transition to Division III.

Missouri

English (pictured) is the Tigers' high-usage guy (31.6 percent of shots, 14.0 ppg), while Denmon is a gunner who makes 40.7 percent of his threes. Dixon Jr. is expected to blossom in an expanded role now that J.T. Tiller and Zaire Taylor have graduated, while Pressey, the son of ex-NBA point forward Paul Pressey, is a point guard who should thrive in Mizzou's up-tempo attack.

Purdue

Moore (right), who declared and withdrew from the NBA Draft, has been the Boilers' leading scorer for the past three seasons, and there's no reason to think he couldn't do it for a fourth. Jackson (left) didn't have the sophomore year he'd hoped, missing the first 19 games due to a foot injury, but he's healthy and back to run the point. Johnson is a four-star shooting guard who'll be a nice role player as a freshman, and could emerge as a go-to-guy a few years down the road.

BYU

Fredette (pictured), who averaged 22.1 points and 4.7 assists as a junior, and pulled out of the NBA Draft this spring, is among the early front-runners for national player of the year honors. Emery isn't well-known outside the Mountain West, but he's a deadeye shooter (43.1 percent on threes) and had the fifth-highest steals percentage (5.0) in the country last season.

Syracuse

The Orange have an excellent two-headed point guard in Triche (25) and Jardine (11), who'll both be looked upon more to score in the absence of Wesley Johnson and Andy Rautins. Waiters is a well-built, four-star wing guard who was Syracuse's second-best recruit (after five-star center Fab Melo) in the Class of 2010. Jones played sparingly as a freshman but shot 44.6 percent on threes, the best on the team. That skill could help him earn his way back onto the floor.

Ohio State

Buford (right), a 6-foot-5 shooting guard, is the Buckeyes' next pro prospect in the backcourt; he was overshadowed by Wooden Award winner Evan Turner last season, but is projected by DraftExpress as a second-round pick in 2011. Lighty (left) was the captain of Seth Davis' All-Glue Team in '09-10, and Diebler is one of the deadliest long-range shooters in the Big Ten.

Washington

Thomas (right), a charismatic, pint-sized (5-8) point guard, led the Huskies in scoring last year (16.9 ppg), and remains the Pac-10 player with the most national name-recognition. Overton (left) has established a rep as a hyper-annoying defender, while Gaddy, who was formerly a five-star point guard prospect, is looking to rebound from a subpar freshman year.

Pittsburgh

Gibbs (pictured, 15.7 ppg, 39.0 percent threes) and Wanamaker (12.3 ppg, 35.7 threes) emerged as one of the Big East's best guard duos last season, powering the Panthers to surprise tie for second place in the league. Neither Gibbs, a junior, nor Wanamaker, a senior, was an ultra-hyped recruit, but they're finally earning recognition: Pitt is likely to begin this season ranked in everyone's top 10.

Kansas

Selby, a 6-foot-2 combo guard, has yet to be cleared by the NCAA, which is reportedly investigating his ties to a business manager for fellow Baltimorean Carmelo Anthony. If Selby does get to play, he'll be regarded as one of the best talents in the Big 12, because he has more power and explosiveness than 99 percent of his peers in college. Taylor (pictured), a 6-3 combo guard, broke his hand throwing a punch before last season and didn't have the breakout sophomore campaign that many expected; he'll be looking to redeem himself while keeping KU atop the Big 12.

Butler

Mack (pictured) drew rave reviews this summer for his work with the USA Basketball's Select team, which scrimmaged the senior national team prior to its gold-medal run in the FIBA Worlds in Turkey. He appears poised for huge junior season. Nored is one of the nation's best lockdown defenders, a rep he earned during the Bulldogs' run to the national title game last March. Hahn provides long-range scoring off the bench, while Vanzant, another reserve from last year, is a quality defender in his own right.

Villanova

Fisher (pictured), who averaged 13.3 points as a junior and reportedly scored 105 in a single New York streetball game this summer, takes over the lead-guard role from the departed Scottie Reynolds. Wayns was stellar in a backup point-guard role as a freshman and is viewed as a prime breakout candidate for '10-11. Stokes has been described by 'Nova coaches as a "beast" who can lock down on D and also shot a high-30s percentage on threes.

Georgetown

Freeman (pictured), a 6-foot-3 senior, averaged 16.5 points last year while shooting 44.4 percent on threes, and is the Hoyas' most viable All-America candidate. They're transitioning to a guard-dominated offense now that Greg Monroe has moved on to the NBA, and that should mean more looks for Freeman and point guard Chris Wright, whose scoring tends to be a bellwether for Georgetown's success. Clark quietly had an excellent sophomore season, shooting 42.4 percent from long range and averaging 10.4 points.

Michigan State

The dismissal of senior shooting guard Chris Allen, the Spartans' best three-point gunner, certainly hurts. But Lucas (right), who's returning from a ruptured Achilles he suffered in the second round of the NCAA tournament, is the best player in the Big Ten -- and one of the best point guards in the nation -- if he's healthy. Summers (left) showed flashes of brilliance in the NCAAs, scoring double-figures every tourney game, and Lucious gained invaluable experience by admirably filling in for Lucas at the point.

Duke

The Blue Devils lost Jon Scheyer, the point guard who led their national-title team in scoring and had a 3-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio ... and their backcourt might actually be better in '10-11. Irving is a freshman floor general who plays well beyond his years; Curry, who transferred from Liberty and sat out last season, is a lethal outside shooter; and Smith (pictured), a senior who passed on the NBA Draft, is a star in his own right who looked phenomenal in this past summer-camp circuit.