there are numerous point guards returning this season who are very gifted, though college basketball lost some talent, albeit underrated, lead guards last season. most notably, Davidson's Jason Richards, who led the nation in assists and was impressing on the Heat's roster before blowing his ACL.
just off the top of my head, here are a few good ones to watch:
as has already been mentioned, Duke's
Greg Paulus returns. the now-senior led the ACC in assists as a true freshman. and though he struggled as a sophomore, he played much better last year.
Nick Calathes from Florida was 10th in the nation in assists last season as a freshman. took the SEC by storm last year, and was named SEC Newcomer of the Year and the SEC co-Freshman of the Year. Calathes led UF in scoring and assists.
Bryan Mullins of Southern Illinois just might be
THE toughest player in the country. he's also the reigning Conference Defensive Player of the Year.
Ben Woodside plays for small North Dakota State, but he has big-time game.
Washington State's
Taylor Rochestie is, in my opinion, the best point guard in the PAC-10, though he often gets overlooked for "flashier" black guards. in fact, i did a piece on him last year and compared his numbers to those of "real" point guards, and let's just say the cream rose to the top.
Mike Trimboli for Vermont gets virtually no hype outside his conference, but every coach in it knows he's the key to VU's success.
Purdue's
Chris Kramer isn't your typical point guard. he's as likely to guard a small forward as another point, but he's a demon on D. he was once again the best Defensive Player in the Big Ten and was rightly named its Defensive POY. he doesn't score a lot, as he prefers to pass. but he will dunk on your head.
Matt Bouldin at Gonzaga doesn't get talked about nearly as much as black backcourt mate janerro pargo, but he's just as good if not better. they're both combo guards, and whoever gets the inbounds pass usually runs the offense. Bouldin is a pre-season all-conference player in the West Coast Conference.
Eric Hayes of Maryland is a solid player who quietly goes about playing good basketball. he's very underrated, in my opinion.
North Carolina's
Bobby Frasor, who tore his ACL Dec. 27 against Nevada, has recovered from his injury and should once again be an important contributor to the team. Frasor has suffered foot problems in previous years. most people forget that as a freshman he was 2nd in the ACC in assists (and lead part of the year) to fellow frosh Greg Paulus and was a McDonald's All-American before injuries de-railed his career.
Kyle McAlarney at Notre Dame is one of the best shooters in the country and is equally comfortable playing at the two, though he's really a point. he returns to run the Irish offense.
Saint Mary's
Patrick Mills is half-white/half-aborigine and a heck of a player. he represented Australia in the '08 Olympics and was the West Coast Conference Newcomer of the Year last season. whatever your stance is on his bloodlines, he's not a black american, and he is a damn good point guard.
i'm sure there are many other guys i've overlooked. but these are the first ones that came to mind. feel free to add any others.
