Who is the best young point guard in all the land??
Being a person who admires the point guard position more than any other in basketball, I love all the hype and discussion going on in college basketball right now. It really is a toss up depending on what you look for in a lead guard but it is fun to look at and dissect D.J. Augustin, Mike Conley, Javaris Crittenton and Darren Collison. While some discussion focuses on who is the best within college basketball, I'm looking at them as NBA prospects for this piece. Let's begin, shall we?
Our competitors:
Javaris Crittenton 6'5 200 lbs
I read somewhere earlier in the year that compared Javaris to Steve Francis and after watching him a few times, I would have to agree with that. While he displays more heart, his intangibles are very similar. He is a big lead guard that has freakish athleticism. He is at his best slashing and attacking the rim. He has a good handle and shows pretty good court vision. He also rebounds well due to his size and leaping ability.
While many may not agree, I don't like his skill set. While he does give the ball up, he isn't a true pass first point guard. He is a scoring guard that will put up good numbers in the pros and the thought of him potentially becoming an all-star isn't out of the question. But, he would fit in better with a slower tempo team that runs more half court sets with isolations.
Darren Collison 6'1 165 lbs
The thing that I think about when I watch Darren is poise. He has obviously had good coaching in the past and Howland is fantastic at getting his players to play both properly and hard. I guess those go hand in hand. Darren knows when to push, when to slow it down, when to shoot and when to pass. A lot of this is coaching but a lot of this is something that just resides within a player. He is a flash in the open court and you can thank his Olympic parents with their super duper DNA. His stroke is solid and I can only see it improving. To top all this off, he's a great on the ball defender that is a terror in the passing lanes.
Really, the only knock on Darren is going to be size. Teams all want giant point guards and when a point guard is a traditional size, he will be labeled as undersized. He will never be a giant both in height or in bulk but I wouldn't be shocked if he ended up being at about 175 lbs before it is all said and done.
D.J. Augustin 5'11 175 lbs
The thing I like most about D.J. is his ability to take over a game with his scoring when he needs to and then just simply distribute when he needs to. While Collison understands this, he can't score at the rate that D.J. can. He can shoot it from inside, mid-range and deep. His passing is top notch and he may have the best vision in college hoops outside of Jordan at Marist. He's a strong kid both mentally and physically. You can tell he's been in the Texas weight training program and he survived the disaster of Katrina with his family.
The knocks and D.J. are going to go back to size. He is probably 5'10 and people will question if he will constantly be posted up in the pros and if he'll be able to get his shot off. He is a bit turnover prone but I don't harp on that too much because he's trying to make the right play. Also, he needs to learn to stay within himself and not get too out of control. Really, the thing to remember here is that he is just a kid. Most of these things only come with experience.
Mike Conley Jr. 6'1 180lbs
Mike is another pass first point guard that shows great poise. He is very unselfish and always looks for his teammates before he ever thinks about shooting. But, as he showed against Wisconsin, knows when it is time score. He is a great on the ball defender and is actually probably the best defender amongst this group, which is saying a lot. He is also the son of a former Olympic athlete and is blessed with terrific athleticism and strength.
The biggest knocks on Mike are going to be his height and his jump shot. He doesn't possess the scoring ability of Javaris or D.J. . This can always improve but his array of floaters and mid-range game are probably always going to be his bread and butter.
Now I'm sure you're asking, well, who do you really like as the best pro? Honestly, that's a really tough question. All of these guys have great strengths and a few weaknesses like anybody. Right now though, before the tournament, I'm leaning towards D.J. Outside of Javaris, all of these guys will be labeled as undersized. While Mike and Darren play great defense and are fantastic point guards in their own right, D.J. has tremendous vision and a great ability to score. He is a great competitor that should be able to be a pretty good defender before it is all said and done. Then again, this all may change after March. We're lucky to be in an era where the pass first point guard is coming back and we've got so many people carrying the torch.
Note: I understand that Ty Lawson is very talented and is in the same mold as Raymond Felton but I wanted to dissect players that are currently being discussed in draft circles. Don't sweat it Tar Heel fans...
