It’s a Big Year for Little Guys in College Basketball

Let’s hear it for the little guy in college basketball, the guards.

For years, thanks to an overabundance of 7-footers dunking and blocking their way to stardom, guards haven’t had much of a shot at the spotlight.

But with the absence of dominating big men such as Ralph Sampson and Patrick Ewing, headline grabbers now include senior guards like Johnny Dawkins, Mark Price, Dell Curry, Andre Turner, Steve Mitchell and Scott Skiles; plus juniors Dwyane (Pearl) Washington, Steve Alford, Kenny Smith, and sophomore David Rivers.

Even the nation’s leading scorer, Wagner’s 6-2 Terrance Bailey, averaging 30.1 points, is a backcourtman.

“It’s a good crop from the standpoint of depth,” said Marty Blake, director of scouting for the National Basketball Ass. “As for point guards, it’s the best we’ve seen in a number of years. There’s a lot of good players who have potential for greatness. There’s a strong possibility that 10 to 13 of the top 28 picks will be guards.”

When Blake talks about guards, he’s referring to seniors and also projecting some college forwards or swingmen--Ron Harper of Miami of Ohio, Rafael Addison of Syracuse and Anthony Jones of Nevada Las Vegas--who will have to make the transition to backcourt in the pros.

But there appear to be plenty of legitimate college guards to stock the NBA for years to come.

Duke’s climb from the Atlantic Coast Conference also-rans to one of the nation’s top teams is directly tied to Dawkins, a 6-foot-2, four-year starter who should become the leading scorer in Blue Devils’ history by season’s end. He was averaging almost 19 points a game this season through last Sunday.

He came through in the clutch last weekend in close victories over North Carolina State, by hitting two free throws with two seconds left, and Notre Dame, by blocking Rivers’ last second shot. He’s shown the ability to handle the point guard spot when Tommy Amaker’s in foul trouble and he teams with Amaker in helping Duke lead the ACC in forcing turnovers (20 a game).

Price, 6-1, playmaker and long-range shooter, has been a prime factor in leading Georgia Tech out of the ACC cellar to among the nation’s best. He’s only the second player in Tech history to top 2,000 career points and leads the Yellow Jackets in scoring (17.7) and assists.

“Mark Price is having a phenomenal year,” said Tech Coach Bobby Cremins. “He’s done it all for us. He’s become our team leader, he’s our playmaker, our top scorer and the person we turn to for the clutch shot.”

Says Virginia assistant Dave Odom, “The little sucker won’t die. You can nail him in the ground and shovel dirt on him twice, and he still won’t die.”

Memphis State Coach Dana Kirk said of Turner, his 5-10 point guard: “He’s an excellent leader who’s consistent offensively and defensively. Look at our won-lost record the four years he’s been here. I like to have the ball in his hands at the end of the game. He’s got the green light to do what he wants with it. He knows what I want.”

Turner, once nicknamed Andre Turnover, is now known as the Little General. While averaging 14.1 points, he also has averaged 7.5 assists to 3.0 turnovers this season. Last season, his buzzer shots won two NCAA playofff games.

“I’m convinced Andre Turner is the first guy here from Mars,” says UNLV assistant coach Ralph Readout. “He’s so quick, it’s incredible.”

Curry, 6-4, recently became the leading scorer in Virginia Tech history, and ranks as one of the top scorers in the nation (23.8), including 41 points at Cincinnati on Jan. 18.

“Dell Curry is so explosive,” said Western Kentucky Coach Clem Haskins. “You can stop him for awhile, but you can’t stop him for a full game. He is a terrific shooter. If I was going to coach a pro team, I sure would like to have him on my side.”

VMI Coach Marty Fletcher adds, “In his time at Virginia Tech, Dell Curry has sufffered in this area in comparison to Michael Jordan of North Carolina. But as far as true guards are concerned, who’s better than Curry?”

Skiles, 6-1, has had his problems off the court, but has virtually carried Michigan State this season, averaging 26.8 points on 57 percent shooting from the field and 90 percent foul shooting. He’s also been good for 4.8 rebounds and 6.8 assists.

“He’s the Larry Bird of college basketball,” said Minnesota assistant coach Phil Saunders. During one stretch, Skiles hit 45 points against Minnesota, 40 against Michigan and 36 against Wisconsin.

“In my book, Michigan State has both the Big Ten Player of the Year and Coach of the Year (Jud Heathcote),” said Iowa Coach George Raveling.

It’s possible that Syracuse’s stocky 6-2 Washington will leave the Orangemen after this season for the pros, which is more suited to his flashy, wide-open game.

“Pearl looks like he’s 35,” Blake said, “but he plays a great transition game and his outside shooting stymies the zone.”

Washington has been turning it on lately for the Big East leaders, averaging 27.8 points in the last five games, 15 points a game for the season. He makes fewer mistakes, averaging 7,.8 assists to 3.2 turnovers, and will soon break his own school record for most assists in a season.

Indiana’s Alford is having his best season, even though he’s slumped to 85 percent from the foul line -- a figure most players would love to have. It was 91 and 92 percent in previous seasons.

“This year I came into the season in the best condition of my life,” said the 6-2 Alford. “I added 10 pounds over the summer, and that has helped my strength and endurance.”

Picked for the U.S. Olympic team after his freshman year, Alford is averaging 22.9 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.9 steals. He also is hitting 56 percent from the field.

Alabama-Birmingham’s Mitchell, 6-1, “may be the top pure point guard around just for way he handles the ball,” according to Blake. And UAB Coach Gene Bartow, says, “He’s a great talent. He can do it all.”

Mitchell is scoring 17.1 point a game and averaging 5.3 assists to 2.7 turnovers.

Smith, 6-3, of top-ranked North Carolina averages 11.8 points.