Pittsburgh Basketball: Jamel Artis to start at point guard?

Who will Pittsburgh basketball use at the point guard position with James Robinson moving on to greener pastures?

With the steady James Robinson gone from Pittsburgh, new head coach Kevin Stallings is searching for a replacement at the point guard position.

Related Story: Projecting Pittsburgh's starting lineup

It’s not easy to find a player who is capable of playing 32 minutes a night, is experienced, averages double figures in points, dishes out five assists per game and rarely turns the basketball over.

In other words, it won’t be easy to find another James Robinson.

The best thing the Panthers could do is play an experienced player who makes good decisions and is capable of providing a bit of a scoring punch from the position.

Insert Jamel Artis.

This has been in the works for months, but it’s notable and intriguing that Artis is currently the favorite to start at the position. Last season, the 6’7″ Baltimore native averaged 14.4 points, 4.8 rebounds and most notably, 3.0 assists and 2.4 turnovers per game.

Artis can obviously score the basketball, however, playing point guard is a different animal. There will be questions as to whether he can run the offense on a consistent basis and whether he can handle the burden of taking the ball up the floor every time down the court. Can he become a better playmaker? Will he turn the ball over less? Is it possible for Artis to score less and distribute more?

On the opposite end of the spectrum, many could argue that Artis already had a high workload last year and putting the ball in his hands more often isn’t a bad thing. Also, this would create a ton of mismatches for the Panthers and produce a ‘hybrid lineup’ as forward Michael Young called it back in July.

The Panthers have just three players under 6’4″ and six players over 6’6″. They have length and toughness and they need to find a way to stand out in the ACC. It’s difficult to play in this conference night in and night out, so finding any way to take advantage of your players’ skill sets is a positive.

The other important factor to keep in mind is that Pittsburgh doesn’t have many options. Jonathan Milligan and Justice Kithcart can play the one, but Milligan is coming over as a JUCO prospect and Kithcart is just a freshman.

Damon Wilson, who stands at 6’5″ and is a sophomore is the other option on the table. He has good leadership skills, has great vision and can break down the defense off the bounce. He also has good athleticism and length to finish in the painted area.

However, Wilson is still young and is still developing as an outside shooter. Counting on him to be the team’s starting point guard is likely a difficult task and won’t create the match-ups problems that Artis is capable of bringing to the table.

Ultimately, I think it’s a shrewd move from Stallings. This could potentially give the Panthers an edge in terms of making it to March Madness and if it doesn’t work, the team could always adjust on the fly.

Next: Ranking NCAA teams by tiers

Putting the ball in the hands of your best player is always a good thing though.