The college basketball season starts Friday. Point guards are so essential to college basketball success. Ryan Arcidiacono was a rock for Villanova, helping the Wildcats to win the national championship after frustrating March exits the previous two seasons. Marcus Paige wasn’t relentlessly consistent for North Carolina, but he came alive in the NCAA Tournament and made a steady stream of clutch baskets in the Elite Eight, Final Four, and national championship game to bring the Tar Heels close to a title. At the 2016 Final Four, three of the four teams had high-quality point guards, and two teams with strong point guards played for the championship. Let’s look at the best point guards for the 2016-2017 season, many of whom could wind up as first-round picks in the 2017 NBA Draft.
Monte Morris – Iowa State Cyclones
The absence of Georges Niang at Iowa State, a dependable frontcourt scorer either in back-to-the-basket or face-up situations, means that Morris – though a point guard – has to be more of a take-charge scorer and someone who puts matters in his own hands. It’s true that he’ll have shooting guard Naz Long back on the floor for the Cyclones, but Morris doesn’t have the finisher he had last season. What should help Morris is that he has a better, more established rapport with head coach Steve Prohm. Moving into a second season with his new coach should create a lot more continuity. Given his experience and his comfort level in the Iowa State system, Morris should have a hugely productive season in Ames.
Markelle Fultz – Washington Huskies
The new member of the Huskies comes with a lot of hype which perhaps might not be justified in the coming months, but of all the players on the Washington roster or in the Pac-12, none might be a “one and done” prospect more than Fultz. He has electric speed and a slick handle. If he leads Washington back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in several seasons, he’ll go straight to the NBA for sure… but with the gratitude of college basketball fans at the school, who are starving for success.
Jordan Woodard – Oklahoma Sooners
It’s a moment of motivation for Woodard that he got to the Final Four last April with Oklahoma and then watched his team lose by more than 40 points to Villanova. Woodard doesn’t have Buddy Hield to give the ball to this season. He will have a challenge merely getting Oklahoma into the NCAA Tournament. Woodard, though, has the ball-handling skills and jump shot to be a complete point guard who helps his team in a wide array of ways at the offensive end of the floor.
Edmond Sumner – Xavier Musketeers
This is a player who can lead Xavier to greatness in a way that’s familiar in the Big East. Last season, Villanova was coming off a shocking second-round upset in the 2015 NCAA Tournament (against North Carolina State). Ryan Arcidiacono became a much better point guard and took Villanova all the way. Last season, Xavier suffered the stunning second-round loss Villanova had endured the year before. Sumner could be this season’s version of Arcidiacono, the point guard who elevates his game and becomes tougher in March Madness. We’ll see.
Melo Trimble – Maryland Terrapins
The devastating dribble drive game of Trimble is very hard for defenses to contain in isolation. What keeps Trimble from being higher on this list is that his jump shot lost consistency and effectiveness in the middle of last season. If the jumper stabilizes and holds up for a full season, Trimble can climb higher in these rankings of point guards in Division I college basketball.
On Friday, we got an early taste of what Trimble is capable of as he scored 22 points in Maryland’s opener. Last year, Trimble was a stud as he led the team with 14.8 points per game along with 4.9 assists and it looks like he’s going to be even better this year. If he keeps it up, he’s very likely to be a first-round pick with the potential to wind up in the lottery.
