'20-21 Top 5 BE PG's Debate

[GumbyDamnit!]

Thought I'd start some debate about the best BE players by position. I know each team's on court alignment is a bit different but I'll break it down as 1). lead or PG, 2). off-guard, shooting or 2G, 3). Wing/forward (we'll pick 10 of those) and 4). Big Man.

So let's talk about PG's/lead guards. Below is a very casual fan's look at the 11 players who will lead each team's offense for 20-21. Fans of the teams, feel free to chime in if I missed egregiously on any.

Returning Vets (alphabetically):

Rasheem Dunn (SJU) - A bulldog. I thought RD had a really underrated year last year, in his first at this level in a new program and system. He's not a shooter, but does a little bit of everything else to make an impact on the game. He makes you work on both ends. Anderson needs to polish him up a bit as a floor general and he needs to be able to hit down an outside shot to keep defenses honest, but he seems to have to a strong work ethic.

Collin Gillespie (VU) - From unheralded recruit to Ryan Arch clone, Gillespie is one of those players that you love on your squad and can't stand as an opponent. Not overly athletic, not super quick, not a lights out shooter but he finds a way to hit big shots, to find the right open player, to grab a loose ball, or make a big defensive play when most needed (hello Kansas). He's the unquestioned floor general in the Nova attack, and has gotten better each year. He also takes care of the ball with a very good A/TO ratio (2.5).

Charlie Moore (DePaul) - Asked to do a lot last year, Moore responded. Had some really big moments in and out of conference last year. Not terribly efficient (43.7% eFG%) but needed to shoulder the load, and mostly did so. Top returning assist man in the league. Probably needs to reduce his volume for DePaul to be more effective. Sneaky good back court combination potential with Romeo W.

Aaron Thompson (BU) - More of a defensive stopper and pass first PG, AT is cut in the Butler Way. He makes things really hard on you for 40 minutes, and makes very few mistakes. He just kind of wears you down over time. Good assist man, can score but mostly within the arc using guile and strength. Like Dunn if he can hit down an outside shot more consistently he would be a problem.

Marcus Zegarowski (CU)- AA Candidate. Silky smooth. Makes good decisions. Can get wherever he wants on the court. Can shoot and pass and run an offense to precision. Might be the best PG in the country. The odds on favorite for BE POY. Z can do it all. He's incredibly efficient as a shooter (58.2 eFG%) and makes those around him better. The only question mark is the injury. Will Z be 100% or will there be some drop-off as he returns to full health?


The New Guys:

Bryce Aiken (SHU) - Probably the most hyped of all transfers (Harvard) was Aiken. All reports are that he is very talented; can really score when needed (hmmm...I recall a SHU guard who could do the same, but can't remember his name). Can shoot from 3. He's not a big assist man and does not rebound particularly well from the guard spot. The IVY league is not major college BB so you wonder about his being able to meet the physicality of stepping up in class; he's a bit undersized. So I don't know if Aiken will be a volume scorer like Powell or will be a more traditional PG in Willard's system. One of the more intriguing players in the BE for 20-21.

Jared Bynum (PC) - JB had a pretty good Frosh year at St. Joe's in the A10. He scored well and shared the ball, not a bunch of TO's that you sometimes see with Freshman lead guards. He shot decently, grabbed some rebounds. It's always tough to predict how some of these transfers are going to pan out. But if he spent the sit year working on his game and getting stronger Bynum could be an X factor next to a talented group of wings and big men. If Bynum has a decent year, I think PC ends up in the top 5 in the league.

DJ Carton (MU) - Graduate one dynamic guard, add a new one. Carton is really talented. He had an impressive 1 year stint at Ohio St. Quick, strong, can shoot, confident. He's what you want in a lead guard. It'll be interesting to see if DJ tries to become an MH2 scoring guard or if he is more of a true PG/leader. Has already proven that he can handle a high level of play. Could easily be an All-league performer.

RJ Cole (UConn) - High scoring, do a-everything guard from Howard U. Huge step up in class is the challenge. Good shooter, high assist rate, grabbed a good amount of rebounds for his size. Seems capable in that Luane Pipkins kind of way. It might take him a while to adjust to being more a part of a team than the #1 option. There will probably be good Cole and bad Cole in the early going but the kid seems talented. We'll see.

Jalen Harris (G'town) - Played at Arkansas in the SEC. Not a big scorer or shooter. Can distribute the ball a bit. But I think it'll be difficult seeing him making a big impact for the Hoyas. Probably will do best if he plays within the system and gets the ball in the hands of the guys who are better suited to score. Big question mark with this transfer.

Dwon Odom (X) - Frosh. Hopefully his presence will allow Kyky to play off the ball where he is best. You never know what you're going to get from a Frosh. Top 50 player in HS. Known as an athletic and physical scorer inside the arc (which has seemed to be the X blueprint for many of its recent players). He could be great or he could struggle. It's asking a lot of a Frosh to compete against some of the chiseled vets he'll see in the BE. We'll see if he's up to the task when the ball is tipped.

So let's rank a top 5. IMO it's:

1. Marcus Z.
2. Gillespie
3. Carton
4. Aiken
5. Moore

[GoldenWarrior11]

I would rank Moore above Aiken. It's very difficult to "jump up" in conferences as a transfer. Aiken will be fine, but I don't envision him having the same stats or efficiency with regularly more skilled talent and competition on a nightly basis. Moore had a solid year for DePaul last year, and he will only be better.

Carton as #3 fits. He was exceptional in the B1G last year. He will be battle-tested coming in (which is not always the case with the transfers MU gets).

[Hall2012]

Aiken's a high major talent - he was a 4* recruit out of high school with numerous high major offers but chose to prioritize academics with the Harvard degree. He'll have no problem transitioning to the Big East and will likely enjoy having more talent around him than he did at Harvard.

Willard's also had a lot of success lately with point guards "jumping up" in conferences (Derek Gordon, Quincy McKnight) and Aiken's his most talented one yet. I'll be surprised if he isn't in the All Big East discussion.

[Savannah Jay]

This may be totally unfair, but I think Charlie Moore and DePaul will be what they usually are in conference. Charlie almost single-handedly shot DePaul out of the game against CU in Chicago. I think he was 0-10 from the field in the second half, 3-15 for the game that was a 3 point CU margin at the half. That appears to be what DePaul's conf season looks like in total. Moore's poor shooting holding them back.

I think I'd take Thompson over him. While Thompson's 3 pt % was atrocious last year, his overall shooting % is better than Moore's. He just shoots a lot less.

[kayako]

Debate? Zegarowski was the best pg last season and should be one of the best in the country. Shouldn't even be close if there is a season.

Gillespie is as solid as it gets, so a safe bet for second. Then there's a whole bunch of question marks.

[gtmoBlue]

Being the big DePaul homer that I am... Charlie Moore had a good season and will be All BE this season.
Carton is as good as advertised...the Warriors will not miss a beat.

1 Moore
2 Carton
3 Zegarowski
4 Aiken
5 Gillespie


...don't mind me...

[xufan02]

Xavier fanatic here. I don't see Dwon Odom starting at point guard for Xavier. I think you will see KyKy Tandy and Paul Scruggs as our primary ball handlers. Dwon is probably the first guard off the bench, but I see him as a 12-15 minute a game guy.

Projected starters:
Guard: KyKy Tandy
Guard: Paul Scruggs
Guard: Nate Johnson
Forward: Jason Carter
Forward: Zach Freemantle

[Xuperman]

Xavier fanatic here. I don't see Dwon Odom starting at point guard for Xavier. I think you will see KyKy Tandy and Paul Scruggs as our primary ball handlers. Dwon is probably the first guard off the bench, but I see him as a 12-15 minute a game guy.

Projected starters:
Guard: KyKy Tandy
Guard: Paul Scruggs
Guard: Nate Johnson
Forward: Jason Carter
Forward: Zach Freemantle

Man, I would find it hard to believe that is anywhere close to a consensus. Nate Johnson could start BUT, if he gets starter minutes, we are in deep do-do!

Out of the 2 redshirt bigs and the 2 incoming wings, someone better earn the 5th starting spot over Johnson or it could get ugly. I am confident it will be Colby Jones emerging at the 3, BUT Wilcher may shoot his way into that spot OR Miles could be the real deal and we go big in the frontcourt.

As for the PG ranking, IMO, DJ and Aiken should not make any top 5 out of respect for those already BEast proven.
Any arguement that Colin Gillespie is not #1 is a very tough sell....the better arguement would be is he top 5 in the NATION.

Gillespie
Z
Thompson
Moore
Dunn

Thompson is way under rated.....he is going to go alpha dawg for BU.

[Savannah Jay]

Any arguement that Colin Gillespie is not #1 is a very tough sell....the better arguement would be is he top 5 in the NATION.

Zegarowski played slightly more minutes per game, scored more points per game, more assists per game, more rebounds per game, and shot substantially better (48.8% vs 40.6% overall, 42.4% vs. 35.7% from 3) than Gillespie. Marcus averaged slightly higher TO per game (2.6 vs 1.9) but that's the only area where Gillespie had a better stat.

I agree with kayako on this one.

[GumbyDamnit!]

Xavier fanatic here. I don't see Dwon Odom starting at point guard for Xavier. I think you will see KyKy Tandy and Paul Scruggs as our primary ball handlers. Dwon is probably the first guard off the bench, but I see him as a 12-15 minute a game guy.

Projected starters:
Guard: KyKy Tandy
Guard: Paul Scruggs
Guard: Nate Johnson
Forward: Jason Carter
Forward: Zach Freemantle

You guys know better than me. If you consider Scruggs your lead guard I’d have him #3 on this list. If it’s KyKy, I’d prob have him just out of the top 5. I think KyKy’s skill set is that of 2 guard.
The truth is both are prob just “combo guards” sort of like what Phil Booth was for us.