Best Point Guards in the NCAA Right Now
The point guard position is one of the most important to fill in any basketball team. This player controls much of their team’s play and usually has the ball more than any other player.
With March Madness coming soon, this is a good time to consider who the best point guards in the NCAA are just now.
Jahvon Quinerly – The Alabama Crimson Tide
Jahvon Quinerly played for the Villanova Wildcats before joining Alabama after he went through a difficult time in Pennsylvania and got caught up in controversy over the social media post where he appeared to criticize the team. After having to miss out on a year of action due to transfer rules, he quickly got up to speed and scored 18 points against Jacksonville State, helping the Crimson Tide reach the Sweet Sixteen stage of March Madness last year.
Quinerly’s shooting ability has improved in the last year or so, although some analysts believe that he still needs to work on his playmaking to move onto the next level in the sport. Alabama has been going through a difficult spell but could still make the NCAA tournament following a hard-fought 68-57 win against Arkansas. They aren’t among the favorites to win the Championship but Quinerly could be the key to how far they progress.
Will Richardson – The Oregon Ducks
Will Richardson posted impressive figures playing for Bradwell Institute, Liberty County High School, and Oak Hill Academy. As a four-star recruit to college basketball he chose Oregon over offers he received from some of other major college basketball programs. Thumb surgery before his junior season caused him to miss about a dozen games and curtailed his progress. However, Richardson has recovered well and averaged 11.3 points and 3.9 assists as a junior.
With a good range of the skills needed to excel in this position, Richardson could go on to have a very solid career as a pro once he leaves college. In terms of March Madness in 2022, the hopes of the Ducks getting there are very much still in the balance at the time of writing. He recently played a big part in helping Oregon hold off WSU 62-59 and will be hoping to get the chance to shine in March as the action heats up.
Jaden Ivey – The Purdue Boilermakers
As point guard for one of the teams with the best chance of winning the NCAA tournament this season, Jaden Ivey is a name to look out for in the next month. An all-round sports star at high school, he started his freshman season slowly as a foot injury caused him to miss some games. However, he recovered and went on to record a season-high 26-point game and a season average of 11.1 points.
Ivey secured a dramatic win for the Boilermakers at the start of 2022, with a three-pointer to win the game against Ohio State with less than a second left. If he can carry on improving his shot-making there is every chance that he leads Purdue on a long run deep into the NCAA tournament this year. They currently are in the top 5 of the odds on popular bookmakers like this one: https://www.bovada.lv/sports/basketball/college-basketball
Andre Curbelo – The Illinois Fighting Illini
André Curbelo was born in Puerto Rico but moved to the US as a teenager. He was picked up by Illinois as a four-star recruit and averaged 9.1 points in his freshman season, as well as averaging four rebounds per game. His strong footwork is one of Curbelo’s best traits, while the amount of turnovers is an area for him to work on.
Will we see Curbelo shine during March Madness in 2022? Illinois isn’t far off the favorites, at odds of around +2800 to win the tournament. They were first seeds in 2021 but this year the projected bracketology sees them as fourth seed, making them play against 13th seed New Mexico State. Kofi Cockburn is another of this team’s star players and their recent win against Northwestern showed why Illinois might be in for a memorable March this year.
JD Davidson – Alabama Crimson Tide
Another point guard from Alabama, JD Davidson was a five-star recruit and rated as one of the best point guards in this year’s class. He averaged 30.4 points as a junior with Calhoun High School, helping him to win the Alabama Mr Basketball title. His senior season saw him increase his average to 32.4 and earn a second consecutive title as Alabama Mr Basketball.
This saw Davidson receive offers from programs such as Auburn, Memphis, and Kansas. He chose Alabama and recently helped them achieve a tough 68-67 win over Arkansas. Their season has been up and down with wild swings in their results but they are still in with a chance to win March Madness if their key players like Davidson come into good form at the right time.
