Big Ten: Ranking Top 5 Best Guards In Conference

The Big Ten may be down this year in terms of team talent, but they’re as high as ever on individual talent, especially in the back court. While a player like Frank Kaminsky will be receiving All-American votes, the depth of talent when looking at guards is arguably second to no other conference in the nation.

A quick look at the stats will show you that 10 players in the Big Ten are averaging at least 15 points, with seven of those being guards. While that is pretty much par for the course in terms of the amount of players averaging at least 15 points (if not slightly above average), it’s the depth that makes the conference so talented. Both Caris LeVert and Zak Irvin of Michigan, both top guards in the conference and country, are not at that 15-point plateau.

With all that being said, narrowing down a list of the five best guards in the conference is not an easy task simply because the talent pool is so high. There are going to be skilled players left out, so let’s first take a look at those that just missed the cut in our honorable mentions.

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Honorable Mentions

James Blackmon, Indiana – Blackmon would have been a shoo-in for this last earlier in the season, but the freshman appears to be starting to run into the freshman wall. He has 16 points total in his first two Big Ten games and has slowed his pace from his torrid start to the year.

Rayvonte Rice, Illinois – About three days ago, Rice would have been another easy top-five inclusion, but his broken hand will keep him out of the Illinois line-up for multiple weeks and outside of our top five. However, expect him to come back with a vengeance and determination when he does re-enter the line-up.

Zak Irvin, Michigan – Some may consider Irvin to be more of a small forward than a guard, but even including him in the list of guards, he’d be excluded from this list, which again shows how good the Big Ten has it right now.

Next: Melo Trimble, Maryland