Panning for point guard prospects

Sporting News, The, August 2, 2004 by Mike DeCourcy

It nearly is impossible to catch Kansas coach Bill Self without that wide, disarming grin spread above his chin. Right now, though, he's got a reason to smile. Many of the other coaches in this gymnasium are searching for point guard prospects like blackjack bettors wishing for another ace. The supply is short, but the Jayhawks grabbed theirs early in the game.

Down on the floor at Shadow Ridge High in Las Vegas, Alaska's next exceptional basketball product, Mario Chalmers, is playing with some not-so-great Alaskans. They are competing in the Adidas Super 64 event, one of three amateur club tournaments that recently took over this city. Chalmers is strong, long and fluid. He is an alert passer and effective shooter. He does not yet have a feel for what awaits him at Kansas--playing with, and trying to enhance, other talented players. As he figures that out, he'll likely become the best point guard to emerge from the high school class of 2005.

That might be the least flattering compliment Chalmers ever receives.

Never has the importance of effective playmaking been more obvious. Rarely have there been so few apparent options for teams seeking to add talent at point guard. This is not an especially good year for colleges to be seeking any sort of help at any position, but the shortage is worst where it matters most.

Recruiting analyst Dave Telep of TheInsidersHoops.com figures some point guards will be recruited two levels above where their talent suggests they should play. That would mean a guy who ought to be in the Southland Conference will wind up in the Big 12. "I don't know what the junior college ranks look like," Telep says, "but somebody's got to go check them out."

The importance of employing a capable point guard can be gauged by measuring the gap last season between Georgia Tech and Michigan State. Those schools were the final choices for Jarrett Jack when he was recruited three years ago. Tech got him and two years later surged toward the top of the ACC and into the NCAA championship game. Without him, the Spartans struggled to create a consistent offensive flow, received only a No. 7 NCAA Tournament seed and lost an opening-round game to Nevada.

Indiana's miscalculation of Marshall Strickland's ability to play the point led the Hoosiers to finish 11th in the Big Ten in field-goal percentage. Louisville collapsed to a 4-9 finish after Taquan Dean, who had been successfully converted from shooting guard, injured his groin and could contribute only token minutes.

Programs now are so convinced of the value of point guard play they will employ as many as can fit into a lineup. Connecticut's 1999 NCAA championship team, with Ricky Moore and Khalid El-Amin, helped pioneer the dual-point approach. Following their success, Duke showed no reluctance to add Chris Duhon to a program that already featured Jason Williams. Wake Forest frequently uses Chris Paul, Taron Downey and Justin Gray together. Any one of them is capable of running a championship-level team.

The list of high school seniors who might manage that in the next few years is painfully short:

Byron Eaton, 5-10/185, Lincoln High, Dallas. Eaton was planning to choose between Oklahoma State and Cincinnati by the end of the July scouting period. He is strong, stocky and efficient--not jet-quick but with enough bounce in his step to penetrate defenses. He will make sound decisions, and he'll hit free throws. "As long as I don't turn the ball over and I get 10 assists, I've had a good game," he says.

Chris Douglas-Roberts, 6-51165, Cass Technical, Detroit. He's hard not to like as a player, but not everyone is convinced he's a point guard. Considering Cedric Bozeman's struggle to master the position as a bigger point at UCLA, whoever gets Douglas-Roberts will want to have an alternative plan.

J.P. Prince, 6-7/175, White Station High, Memphis. Although he has a lesser national reputation, Prince got the better of Douglas-Roberts in a Nike All-American Camp confrontation and seemed more natural at the controls of an offense. Prince's father was a longtime college assistant, so he has some of that coach's-son feel for the game.

Devan Downey, 5-10/155, Chester (S.C.) High. Small and speedy, he has toughness that makes his size less of an issue. But it's still an issue. That he is an effective defender does not completely remove the danger he can be overpowered.

There are a few others on the market with decent reputations, but these are the prizes. There is one more player who bears watching. Jeremy Pargo of Chicago's Robeson High has good genes (his brother Jannero has played in the NBA), and he was selected to the all-star game at the Reebok ABCD Camp despite entering the summer ranked outside the top 100. More important, Eaton raves about Fargo's strength and quickness. "We have the same style of game," Eaton says.

With the pickings so slim, coaches will take any suggestions they can get.

SPEED READS

* USA Basketball sent a clear message to North Carolina's Rashad McCants when he was cut from the Young Men's national team. If each coach who works with a player has issues--from Matt Doherty to Roy Williams and now Kelvin Sampson in this case--you can assume the problem is with the player.