Ranking the Nation's Top 20 Shooting Guards for 2014-15 NCAA Basketball Season
Recruiting rankings have some merit and are usually decent indicators of future success, but sometimes, guys slip through the cracks.
Take the nation's top two shooting guards this year. I'm not going to ruin the suspense and unveil who they are now, but I will say that neither guy was anywhere to be found in any of the rankings when they were in high school. Both went to quality programs, developed and project to be stars this season.
To rank at the front of this list is impressive. Shooting guard, in my opinion, is the deepest position in college basketball. Simply look at the depth of guys who "just missed the cut." These aren't just participation awards. I could make a case for any one of those guys to be listed in the top 20.
Now, let's get to the fellas who made it.
Just missed the cut: Aaron Thomas, Florida State; Tekele Cotton, Wichita State; Olivier Hanlan, Boston College; Josh Richardson, Tennessee; D.J. Balentine, Evansville; Rasheed Sulaimon, Duke; Sheldon McClellan, Miami; Josh Gasser, Wisconsin; Rodney Purvis, Connecticut; D'Angelo Russell, Ohio State; Norman Powell; UCLA; Jordan Sibert, Dayton; Trevor Cooney, Syracuse; Cameron Wright, Pittsburgh; Gary Bell, Gonzaga; James Woodard, Tulsa; Justin Edwards, Kansas State; KT Harrell, Auburn; Antoine Mason, Auburn; Kenny Gaines, Georgia; Sindarius Thornwell, South Carolina; Alex Hamilton, Louisiana Tech; Rashad Vaughn, UNLV; D.J. Newbill, Penn State
This is the second installment in B/R's positional ranking series in the lead-up to the 2014-15 season. In case you missed it, here are the top 20 point guards. Check back later this week for our rankings of small forwards and power forwards. The centers will come next week, and the series will culminate on November 12 with our ranking of the top 100 players in college basketball.
20. Rayvonte Rice, Illinois
1 of 20
Class: Senior
2013-14 Stats: 15.9 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 1.7 SPG
Rayvonte Rice is a bulldog who doesn't have much of a jumper but still gets his numbers. Rice is really good at plowing into the paint and can overpower most guards.
Rice, a transfer from Drake, played above expectations in his first year with the Illini. Transferring up has become a trend, and the more we see players like Rice prove they can go from a mid-major to becoming the man at a refutable Big Ten program, the more major conference schools will seek out talents like him.
19. Kellen Dunham, Butler
2 of 20
Class: Junior
2013-14 Stats: 16.4 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 1.7 APG
Kellen Dunham is one of the best shooters in college basketball although his 35 percent accuracy from beyond the arc didn't exactly reflect that last season.
What Dunham (and the Bulldogs) were missing was someone to help get him good looks. The return of Roosevelt Jones should help Dunham get his percentages up. He'll still be the go-to scorer, but he'll be able to work off the ball a lot more than last year.
18. Bryce Dejean-Jones, Iowa State
3 of 20
Class: Senior
2013-14 Stats (at UNLV): 13.6 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 3.0 APG
At UNLV, Bryce Dejean-Jones was at his best in transition in an up-and-down game.
Well, he couldn't have picked a better system than Fred Hoiberg's up-tempo attack at Iowa State.
Hoiberg has had tremendous success with transfers, especially guards who can create off the dribble and shoot the rock. DeAndre Kane, for instance, went from a poor three-point shooter at Marshall (24.8 percent) to a dependable shooter at Iowa State (39.8 percent). He also averaged two more points per game, which is surprising when you consider he was playing much stiffer competition in the Big 12.
Dejean-Jones will fill the spot that Kane played in the Iowa State lineup. Who knows if he'll be as good, but it's tough to bet against Hoiberg's record of targeting the right transfers.
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17. D'Angelo Harrison, St. John's
4 of 20
Class: Senior
2013-14 Stats: 17.5 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 1.9 APG
D'Angelo Harrison has developed the reputation of a chucker—and for good reason. He rarely sees a shot he doesn't like.
But on a team that has been offensively challenged, Harrison has had to score, and last year, when St. John's went on a run to at least get in the bubble conversation—winning 10 of 13 Big East games—Harrison averaged 18.4 points in those 10 wins.
That streak was one of the few times the Johnnies have played consistently the last few years. St. John's has underachieved throughout Harrison's career. He is the star on a roster with enough talent to get to the tourney, and Harrison will need to have a big senior year to get the Red Storm back to the NCAAs for the first time since 2011.
16. Wesley Saunders, Harvard
5 of 20
Class: Senior
2013-14 Stats: 14.2 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 3.8 APG, 1.7 SPG
Wesley Saunders has led Harvard in scoring each of the last two years, and in both of those seasons, Harvard has advanced to the round of 32 in the NCAA tournament. Not that his game needs any sort of qualifier, but it's easy to question how good a guy in the Ivy League can be.
Saunders would be successful at any level because of his slashing ability. He's not much of a shooter, but he's great at getting to the rim or the free-throw line—he averaged 5.9 attempts per game—and is also a good passer for a two-guard.
15. Michael Frazier, Florida
6 of 20
Class: Junior
2013-14 Stats: 12.4 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 1.1 APG, 1.1 SPG
Michael Frazier is a one-dimensional scorer—a three-point ace—but he is really good in that one dimension.
Frazier attempted 264 threes compared to just 79 shots inside the arc last season, and he knocked down 44.7 percent of them. Most of Frazier's threes were on spot-ups off Florida's penetration, usually with Scottie Wilbekin setting him up. He'll once again play with a talented penetrator in Kasey Hill.
Frazier also got better last year at running off screens to get open. That helped him consistently get more looks from the perimeter.
14. D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera, Georgetown
7 of 20
Class: Junior
2013-14 Stats: 17.6 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 2.7 APG, 1.2 SPG
Georgetown missed the tournament for only the third time under John Thompson III last year, and an impressive season by D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera went mostly unnoticed outside of the Georgetown fanbase.
The Hoyas were actually a better team offensively last season than the previous year, when they were a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament. The major difference was that the defense was not nearly as stingy.
Smith-Rivera will be relied upon even more this year with Markel Starks graduating. The junior guard has a good mid-range game and shot a solid 39.3 percent from deep last season.
13. Darrun Hilliard, Villanova
8 of 20
Class: Senior
2013-14 Stats: 14.3 PPG, 2.6 APG, 3.6 RPG, 1.3 SPG
When head coach Jay Wright has had good guard play, his program has always been strong, and Darrun Hilliard's emergence last season was a big reason why Villanova returned to relevance.
Hilliard had been a 30.9 percent shooter from deep for his career until last season when he made 41.4 percent of his threes. The Wildcats do a good job of spacing the floor, and Hilliard is a good spot-up shooter and was also really good creating space for his shot using ball screens. Now that James Bell has graduated, Hilliard's role in Villanova's offense should only grow.
12. Wayne Selden, Kansas
9 of 20
Class: Sophomore
2013-14 Stats: 9.7 PPG, 2.5 APG, 2.6 RPG
At Bill Self's basketball camp this summer, the Kansas coach introduced Wayne Selden as a player who could end up as an All-American.
The expectations are big for Selden in KU's program, especially now that he could be "the man" on the perimeter with Andrew Wiggins no longer around.
Selden looked the part that day Self introduced him with such lofty praise, and he has the ability to be special. He's a bulldozer attacking the rim and should only get stronger in that area. He had knee problems last season and had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee to clear that up this offseason. Add that explosiveness to a year of seasoning, and Selden could be in for a big year.
11. Marcus Foster, Kansas State
10 of 20
Class: Sophomore
2013-14 Stats: 15.5 PPG, 2.5 APG, 3.2 RPG
Based on expectations and production, no one had a more impressive freshman season in college basketball last year than Marcus Foster.
Foster was a natural scorer from the start, which is impressive considering Bruce Weber's motion offense usually takes some time to pick up. Weber used Foster in a lot of different ways, running him off screens in an effort to get him free for his jumper or simply getting Foster the ball and letting him shoot off the dribble. He was actually more accurate on jumpers off the dribble (45.9 percent) than catch-and-shoot (39.1 percent), according to Synergy Sports' numbers (subscription required).
Foster took an unreal 31.3 percent of K-State's shots when he was on the floor, and he was at his best late in the year in the postseason. In three postseason games (Big 12 tournament and NCAA tournament combined), he averaged 21.7 points per game. That suggests what seems obvious: He's only going to get harder and harder to defend the more experienced he gets in Weber's offense.
10. Aaron Harrison, Kentucky
11 of 20
Class: Sophomore
2013-14 Stats: 13.7 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 1.9 APG
If the Aaron Harrison who showed up in the NCAA tournament is the one Kentucky gets all season this year, he probably deserves to move up this list.
Harrison was Mr. Clutch in the tourney, knocking down the game-winner in three straight games and draining 15 of his 30 three-pointers for the tournament. For the entire season, however, he shot 35.6 percent from distance. He needs to become more consistent with his jumper to be considered one of the top shooting guards in the country.
9. Malcolm Brogdon, Virginia
12 of 20
Class: Junior
2013-14 Stats: 12.7 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 2.7 APG, 1.2 SPG
Virginia head coach Tony Bennett likes guards with size who can shoot, and Malcolm Brogdon, at 6'5", fits perfectly.
Brogdon was the leading scorer on last year's team that won the ACC and got a No. 1 seed in the tournament. Along with the Cavaliers, he kind of sneaked up on everyone after sitting out the previous season while recovering from foot surgery.
He was extremely consistent once conference play hit, scoring in double figures in all 18 games and averaging 14.8 points per game. That's more impressive when you consider Virginia plays at such a slow pace.
8. Buddy Hield, Oklahoma
13 of 20
Class: Junior
2013-14 Stats: 16.5 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 1.9 APG, 1.4 SPG
Buddy Hield has been a great fit in head coach Lon Kruger's run-and-gun system at Oklahoma.
Last season, Hield scored the 13th-most transition points in college basketball, according to Synergy's numbers (subscription required). The Sooners like to spread the floor, and Hield does a great job of finding space on the perimeter for catch-and-shoot jumpers. He made 90 three-pointers last season after knocking down only 19 as a freshman.
Kruger told me at Big 12 media day that he expects Hield to put the ball on the floor and attack the rim more this season similar to how he played as a freshman. Hield definitely has the ability to be both a shooter and slasher.
7. R.J. Hunter, Georgia State
14 of 20
Class: Junior
2013-14 Stats: 18.3 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 1.7 APG, 1.9 SPG
How good is R.J. Hunter? Well, he was the Sun Belt Player of the Year last season in a league that included Elfrid Payton, a lottery pick this past June.
The country would have been introduced to Hunter in March if it weren't for Payton's Louisiana-Lafayette squad knocking off Georgia State in overtime of the conference finals after Georgia State had swept the regular-season series.
Hunter has a ton of range and does a really good job of moving without the ball. He also has an extremely quick release. Combine the range, release and his height (6'5"), and he has no problem getting off shots. He was impressive this summer at LeBron James' camp, where one scout told ESPN.com's Jeff Borzello that Hunter is the "best shooter in the country."
6. Chasson Randle, Stanford
15 of 20
Class: Senior
2013-14 Stats: 18.8 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 2.1 APG, 1.0 SPG
Chasson Randle is one of the toughest guards to defend in the country.
You can't back off him because he's a good shooter (39.7 percent for his career from distance). If you close out hard and depend on help at the rim, Randle has a really good in-between game and can knock down a pull-up jumper or hit a runner in the lane.
Most casual fans had no idea who Randle was until the NCAA tournament. Even Kansas' star freshmen gave off the impression that they didn't know much about Randle before their matchup in the tourney.
So learn the name. He's one of the best scorers in the country, and Stanford has enough talent returning and coming in to get back to the tournament.
5. Joseph Young, Oregon
16 of 20
Class: Senior
2013-14 Stats: 18.9 PPG, 1.9 APG, 2.8 RPG, 1.3 SPG
Not much is left at Oregon. Only Joseph Young and Elgin Cook return from the team's top eight scorers.
Young was not shy about gunning last year, his first with the Ducks after transferring from Houston, and there will be plenty of shots for him to take this year.
The Ducks roster is depleted because of the sexual assault case that forced out Damyean Dotson, Dominic Artis and Brandon Austin, and it's in even worse shape than anticipated after freshman JaQuan Lyle was not able to enroll at Oregon.
They can take some satisfaction in that if they could choose to retain one player, it would be Young. He was one of the most efficient scorers in college basketball last season, knocking down 41.5 percent of his threes, 52.8 percent of his twos and shooting 88.1 percent at the line.
4. Stanley Johnson, Arizona
17 of 20
Class: Freshman
2013-14 Stats (High school): 25.1 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 3.3 APG, 2.5 SPG
Based off ability alone, Stanley Johnson is probably the most talented wing in the country. He already has the body of a pro and will be one of the most athletic players in college basketball right away.
Johnson is also in a good situation at Arizona. He could end up as the team's leading scorer—and I predict he will—but he doesn't need to be for Arizona to be good. The Wildcats would be a Top 10 team if he wasn't on the roster. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Brandon Ashley should provide plenty of scoring punch.
Much like Aaron Gordon, Johnson could just blend in and be more of a role player than a star. But Johnson has more of an alpha dog personality than Gordon, and he's also more of a natural scorer. Head coach Sean Miller will be able to use him all over the court—he played all five positions in high school. Even though Gordon didn't put up big numbers, he was still one of the best wings in the country. Johnson could be the same, and it's a good bet his numbers will reflect his value more than Gordon's did.
3. Jerian Grant, Notre Dame
18 of 20
Class: Senior
2013-14 Stats (12 games): 19.0 PPG, 6.2 APG, 2.5 RPG, 2.0 SPG
Jerian Grant was putting up All-American numbers last season until he had to leave Notre Dame because of an academic matter.
Grant is back now, and his role should not diminish from what it was in the early stages of last season. Grant has a great understanding of how to thrive in Notre Dame's offense.
Before you chalk up his gaudy stats in 12 games to beating up on weak nonconference opponents, look at what he did in three games against Big Ten opponents in the nonconference (Iowa, Indiana and Ohio State): 18 points and 7.7 assists per game.
Grant is a great scorer and also a terrific passer, especially for a wing. That type of player can be such a weapon. Simply look at what Lamar Patterson did for Pittsburgh last year.
2. Ron Baker, Wichita State
19 of 20
Class: Junior
2013-14 Stats: 13.1 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 3.1 APG, 1.4 SPG
Ron Baker arrived on the scene two years ago as a knockdown shooter during Wichita State's Final Four run. Last season, we found out Baker is so much more than that.
Baker has gone from an unknown small-town Kansas kid to an NBA prospect. Yes, he can knock down shots, but he's also a great defender and jack-of-all-trades weapon on the offensive end. He was arguably Wichita State's most important piece on offense last season because of his ability get his own shot or create for others off the dribble.
He slid over to point guard last season when Fred VanVleet was out of the game, and coach Gregg Marshall used Baker a lot in the pick-and-roll game.
Defensively, Baker usually locks down his man and also covers a lot of space when he's off the ball. He and VanVleet form the best defensive backcourt in the country, and I'd argue they also have the best basketball IQ.
1. Caris LeVert, Michigan
20 of 20
Class: Junior
2013-14 Stats: 12.9 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 2.9 APG, 1.2 SPG
Caris LeVert has gone from a little-known recruit to a star at Michigan. And being a star guard in head coach John Beilein's offense means the accolades and a fat NBA contract are likely to follow.
Here are the numbers of Michigan's leading scorers (all guards) over the last four seasons.
- Darius Morris (2010-11): 15.0 points per game, 6.7 assists per game, 108.9 offensive rating
- Trey Burke (2011-12): 14.8 points per game, 4.6 assists per game, 105.3 offensive rating
- Burke (2012-13): 18.6 points per game, 6.7 assists per game, 121.2 offensive rating
- Nik Stauskas (2013-14): 17.5 points per game, 3.3 assist per game, 124.1 offensive rating
Morris got drafted 41st, Burke—the national player of the year in 2013—went ninth, and Stauskas was taken eighth in the most recent draft.
LeVert provides the versatility that is perfect in Beilein's offense. He's a great spot-up shooter, just as good off the bounce and an excellent passer for a wing. His skill set is similar to that of Stauskas, who made a big leap once he was the man as a sophomore. Now, it's LeVert's turn.
C.J. Moore covers college basketball for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @CJMooreBR.
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