Point Guards Are Becoming the Dominant Figures

In this age of specialization, a new big man has emerged in college basketball.

He may be no taller than a Spud Webb growth chart, but he has one of the biggest roles in the game. The evolution of the college game in the past decade has forced the point guard to become a more important figure on the floor -- arguably the most important player.

Guards used to be guards. Now coaches talk about the lead guard or point guard, and the shooting guard or big guard. But remember, when a coach diagrams a play using numbers to represent positions, everything begins with the No. 1. And that’s the point guard.

The point guard was a player for the ‘80s, thanks to the shot clock, the three-point shot, switching defenses, up-tempo styles, fast breaks and more defensive pressure on the ball.

“The people who administer the game are the point guards,” Georgetown Coach John Thompson said.

Or, as University of Connecticut Coach Jim Calhoun said, “The point guard? Well, the guy who has the ball determines what’s going to happen in the game. It’s really that simple.”

Isiah Thomas. Pearl Washington. Steve Alford. Muggsy Bogues. Mark Wade. Kenny Smith. Michael Jackson. Mookie Blaylock. Sherman Douglas. Rumeal Robinson. Chris Jackson. Kenny Anderson.

They were -- or still are -- the administrators of the ‘80s in college basketball. Don’t expect things to change in the ‘90s.

“In college basketball, you can win without dominating big people,” Calhoun said, “but you can’t win without good guards. There’s no question: You can win with guards. If you’re really solid on the backline, you’re going to be able to control tempo -- both offensively and defensively.”

Consider the Syracuse Orangemen this season. Based on pure talent, Coach Jim Boeheim may have the best starting five in the country in Derrick Coleman, Billy Owens, LeRon Ellis, David Johnson and Stephen Thompson. But there isn’t a point guard among them.

Give Douglas, the all-time NCAA assists leader, an extra year of eligibility and the Orangemen would be a consensus preseason No. 1. With Thompson moving from forward to the point, Syracuse simply gets the nod as No. 2 in the Big East Conference.

“We’re going to find out,” Boeheim said with a chuckle when asked the importance of a good point guard. “We’ll be a good case in point.

“There’s not too many good teams that don’t have a good guard. But I think you have to have good balance. We don’t have any real guards. What we have are good athletes and good players. Stevie knows he doesn’t have to be Sherman. Billy can handle the ball. Derrick can handle it. I think we’ll have more guys handling it, instead of one guy with the ball. That can make you a better team. And I think we’re going to be pretty good.”

Thompson has been coronated the king of dunking by one preseason publication. That won’t do him much good on the perimeter. As Boeheim’s point guard, Thompson will have to be a ballhandler, a distributor and a jump shooter before he can even think about being a dunker.

“The transition to point guard has been pretty easy,” Thompson said. “I’ve been practicing against Sherman Douglas all my career. The toughest part is that I’m the type of guy who likes to go in there and get a lot of offensive rebounds. Now, when I pass off to the wings and a guy takes a jump shot, I’ve got to stay back and protect against the fast break.”

Ah, the duties of a point guard. It’s easy to play the word association game and say “playmaker.” Once upon a time the point guard could cross midcourt and recite the axiom “Think pass first, then think shot.” It isn’t quite so simple these days.

Providence point guard Carlton Screen, who combines with Eric Murdock to give the Friars perhaps the best backcourt in the Big East this season, offered this job description:

“You have to have leadership qualities first of all. You have to be very athletic. So much emphasis is put on the point guard because they have to bring the ball up against pressure defenses. They have to read different defenses. And they also have to get the ball to the right people at the right time. A lot of people take that for granted, but it takes split-second decisions on the court. And you have to be on the same wave-length as your coach.”

Providence Coach Rick Barnes counts on Screen to paint a portrait of his coaching philosophy every time the Friars play.

“We believe in a balanced attack and we’ve got a point guard who believes that too,” Barnes said. “He’s got to distribute it and get everybody involved. When you get a guy thinking that way, it creates great chemistry.”

At recruiting time, a coach may anguish over the always desirable 7-foot center. Guards are more plentiful. But on the practice floor, a special bond develops between coach and point guard.

“Your point guard is so important because he’s really an extension of the coach,” University of Hartford Coach Jack Phelan said. “He really has to be a general out there.

“Everybody gets so excited about having that big man in the lineup that we lose sight of the fact that guys like Michael Adams and Sherman Douglas can win as many games for you as a Patrick Ewing. Now you have to have that person who can control the game and run the show for you. You can’t worry about size any more. He can be a killer at 5-10 if he’s a Michael Adams type.”

Guys like Adams and Douglas are part of the rare breed. They elevated the artistry of the point to a higher level. But there are plenty of good ones around. Michigan’s Rumeal Robinson, a tremendous penetrator who came into his own duing the NCAA tournament last season, is the top name nationally this season. Oregon State’s Gary Payton, one of the most underrated players in the country, has a shot at breaking Douglas’ assist record.

There are more: Virginia Tech’s Bimbo Coles, North Carolina State’s Chris Corchiani, Memphis State’s Elliot Perry, LaSalle’s Doug Overton, Siena’s Marc Brown, Arkansas’ Lee Mayberry.

The Big East Conference, deemed a big man’s league this season, won’t have Douglas or Georgetown’s Charles Smith. But Screen is joined by talents such as Boo Harvey of St. John’s, Chris Smith and Tate George of UConn, Dwayne Bryant of Georgetown, and Sean Miller of Pitt.

“I think it just comes natural,” Syracuse’s Thompson said of the position. “Last year we sat around and waited for Sherman to (be the leader). Now the responsibility is up to me. I could’ve done it last year from my position. But it was his job and he did such a good job of it.”

Perhaps it is as easy as Thompson says. But at today’s blazing tempos, coaches have relinquished much of their control during games. The point guards are pushing the buttons now.

“That’s when a coach really has to get his point across during practice,” Boston College Coach Jim O’Brien said. “Once the game starts and the guys are running up and down, you might as well sit back and cross your legs.”

In the final minutes of last season’s NCAA championship game, the entire nation sat back and watched Michigan’s Robinson and John Morton of Seton Hall decide the game. It was Robinson’s mad dash into the lane at the end of the overtime period that gave Michigan its 80-79 victory.

Robinson seized the moment, drew a foul and hit two free throws to win the championship. After the game, Robinson said he sensed it was his time to be special.

“At this time, it is quickness and strength and the instincts. ... You cannot think,” Robinson said. “It is the chance to be special. When you have the ball and are moving, the defender is weakest. Stop and he gets strong. You must stay moving, stay strongest. Your mind is your teammate.”

Instincts are the key. When you combine quicker, more athletic players with sophisticated defenses, a point guard has to face more decisions. And he faces them on the fly. There’s no time to check a list of options.

“There are definitely times when you have to take over,” Screen said. “Your scorers might be off on a given night. The big guys might be sluggish. Then it’s time for you to take over.”

That’s the challenge Robinson was talking about. If a point guard isn’t aggressive all the time, those opportunities might be wasted.

Take a look at the 100-point games run up by schools like Oklahoma and Loyola-Marymount and it’s obvious the game has changed. Possessions have been shortened. Rarely do you see a team consistently in danger of letting the 45-second clock expire.

But it isn’t just the shot clock that has led to an accelerated pace.

“Pressing defenses have sped up the game,” St. John’s coach Lou Carnesecca said. “Kids emulate the best. There’s no doubt the pros have influenced it.”

The quest is to get the ball past the defense as quickly as possible and to score easy baskets. A point guard who wants to cradle and caress the basketball can make that impossible.

“When I was at Northeastern and we were averaging 80-some points a game, people said it must be easier to coach,” Calhoun said. “I think it’s harder. Instead of running your offense for 25 feet, you run it for 95 feet. I think that’s more difficult to do. But more fun.

“Why has Syracuse become so popular? I say it has as much to do with the style of play as the (Carrier) Dome. Kids enjoy that style.”

Said O’Brien: “Nine out of 10 (recruits) you talk to want to play in a system where they are running and pressing and are given a little freedom. Kids aren’t interested in going to places where they have the shackles on.”

Thompson certainly won’t be wearing Orange shackles in Syracuse. That’s never been part of the uniforms in Boeheim’s time as coach. But the jury will be out on Thompson for a while. Boeheim insists this isn’t an experiment but it remains to be seen whether Thompson has the instincts of a point guard.

Thompson isn’t worried.

“I enjoy the challenge,” he said. “People will question our backcourt this year. But Billy and I are both winners. I don’t question it at all. I’ve just got to remember to keep those (big) guys happy. I’d better give them the ball or else they’ll never outlet it to me.”

Sounds like Thompson is getting the hang of things.