Point and click: in what promises to be one of the biggest seasons for little men. The unique abilities of these point guards will drive their teams and their sport

Sporting News, The, Nov 19, 2001 by Kyle Veltrop

Keep your eye on the ball. Those six words are all it takes to answer this question that has lingered around college basketball since last spring, when seemingly every prep big man who ever has dunked gave college a no-look pass: What do we do now?

Keep your eye on the ball.

If you want to know what there is to get excited about, check out the guys who have the ball the most--when it matters most--because this year's crop of point guards is as good as it gets.

What makes this group so special is its ability to master the skills that define the position. Here we focus on the tire players who excel at the most critical skills of the trade: scoring, ballhandling, defending, shooting and passing.

Picking the player who epitomizes each skill proved challenging--and caused great debate--but after talking with each about his respective skill and listening to him passionately dissect his craft, our confidence is high that ...

* The best scorer is Duke's Jason Williams, who offers an analysis of his offensive repertoire that has to be chilling to anyone trying to check him this season: "When I got to Duke, I was pretty much either going to shoot a long jumper or drive to the basket. But now, I am adding another dimension to my game, a midrange jumper. That will allow me to mix things up more."

* The best ballhandler is Florida's Brett Nelson, who despite some anticipated time at shooting guard will continue to work his magic. "Even if I'm at the 2 guard," Nelson says, "the point guard is going to advance it to me anyway and I'll go with it. I'm still going to have the ball in my hands no matter where I play."

* The best defender is Providence's John Linehan, a 5-9 blur who often is detectable only because he's Velcro-attached to his man's jersey.

* The best shooter is Gonzaga's Dan Dickau, who, during a photo shoot after a late-October practice, missed his first 3-point attempt and knocked down the next 17.

* The best passer is St. Joseph's Jameer Nelson, who likens setting up his high-powered Hawks teammates to finding open receivers from his days as the quarterback at Chester (Pa.) High School.

One final note: Don't lament what the college game lost to the NBA. Instead, celebrate what it still has. For starters, five guys who aren't that big but are the best at what they do.

Well, that's what we think. Here's what they think.

Top five scorers

1 Jason Williams, Duke. He's as good a backcourt scorer as college basketball has seen in years, He broke Duke's 50-year-old, single-season scoring mark with 841 points last season.

2 Troy Bell, Boston College. He led the 27-5 Eagle in scoring 25 times, then scored a team-high 24 points in the gold-medal game for USA Basketball in Japan last summer. BC's hopes rest on his quick return from minor knee surgery October 31.

3 Lynn Greer, Temple. He scored 20 or more points in 13 games, including eight of the team's final 10. He led the nation in minutes and the team in assists, steals, free-throw attempts and free-throw percentage.

4 Roger Mason, Virginia. The early reports are that he's adapting nicely to his new point guard position. He improved his deep shooting dramatically last season and will be a load for any team that tries to check him with a small guard.

5 Jerry Green, UC Irvine. The best point guard you've never heard of was named the Big West's Player of the Year after leading the Anteaters in scoring (19 ppg) for the third consecutive season.

BEST SCORER: JASON WILLIAMS

School: Duke

Year: Junior

Ht./Wt.: 6-2/196

Hometown: Plainfield, N.J.

Williams on scoring

When I was a little kid, I'd imagine that I was playing against Michael Jordan, and I'd do a move on him and then I'd be like, "Oh, he's still there? And I'd have to do another move to score the basket. It's the same thing that I do now. I like to work out by myself, and I'll be walking to the gym and I'll just make up a name and say, "OK, today I'm playing against this John Doe, and he's considered the best defensive player in college basketball. His main goal is to not let me score this game."

Then I'll go out and I'll do weird things, like I'll throw the ball up in the air and make some moves without the ball, or I'll act like I'm calling for a curl, or I'll pick the ball up off the ground and hit a jump shot or drive and do a spin move and hit a layup, all while I'm imagining that my every move is being countered. You don't really realize it until after you are done that you were working really hard to beat nobody, but you beat somebody in your mind. When I make a move in real life and the defender doesn't counter that move, I'll be like, "Whoa ... he didn't even counter my move." Because I always imagine someone countering my moves defensively, and then when they don't counter it, it's easier.

I am a little surprised sometimes when I see a stat sheet after a game. I don't pride my game on how many points I score. The biggest thing for me is whether we win. Sometimes, one of the guys will be like, "J., you scored 19 points straight," and I will be like, "What? No way." It's something you never think about, it just happens.