NCAA Basketball: A look at Texas Tech and Loyola Chicago’s “big” point guards

In NCAA Basketball, assists are typically generated by guards, but for Texas Tech and Loyola Chicago, it’s the big men that have done the distributing.

Texas Tech forward Chris Clarke and Loyola Chicago center Cameron Krutwig might not appear to be similar players, at least on the surface. Clarke played three seasons at Texas Tech before missing last season due to a suspension (details not disclosed). He found his way to the Red Raiders as a graduate transfer for his final collegiate season. Krutwig, on the other hand, is a junior that was a member of the Ramblers’ Cinderella Final Four squad as a freshman.

(Credit to KenPom and sports-reference for statistics and Stadium, Next Ones and Loyola Ramblers for GIFS)

Krutwig

Clarke

There’s one statistical measure, however, that ties the two players together and demonstrates their unique skill sets: assist rate. Assist rate measures the percentage of teammates’ baskets a player assists on while they are on the court. Historically, it’s been the “little men,” players 6-5 or under, that have fared best in this statistical category.

1. Over the last 13 seasons (as far as KenPom data goes back), 260 players have finished in the top 20 in assist rate. 252 of the 260 (96.9%) have been 6-5 or under. Otherwise stated, only 8 of the 260 (3.1%) have been over 6-5.

2. 130 players have finished in the top 10, and 126 of the 130 (96.9%) have been 6-5 or under. Only 4 of the 130 (3.1%) have been over 6-5.

3. In the last 13 seasons, there hasn’t been a single season in which more than one player over 6-5 has finished in the top 20 in assist rate.

Still with me? Hopefully so, because although it’s VERY early in the 2019-20 season, Texas Tech’s Chris Clarke (6-6) and Loyola Chicago’s Cameron Krutwig (6-9) have a chance to change this narrative, at least for a season.

“Big” Point Guards

Clarke (45.8%) and Krutwig (40.8%) are currently ranked 5th and tied for 19th respectively in assist rate. If the season ended today, Clarke would finish with the highest assist rate of any “over 6-5” player in the last 13 seasons. Along with Krutwig, they would be the only “over 6-5” pair to both finish in the top 20.

It remains to be seen whether these players will be able to keep up the pace, but their passing abilities are very real. Clarke averaged 3.0 assists his junior season at Virginia Tech (5.0 this season), and although Krutwig’s current 6.2 assists average far exceeds last year’s 2.4, his 3rd-best assist rate in the Missouri Valley Conference last season suggested he might be capable of this.

Different Approaches

Although they’re both over 6-5, Clarke and Krutwig rack up assists in very different ways. Clarke is capable of filling a sort of prototypical point guard role, handling the ball on the perimeter, running pick-and-rolls and pushing the ball in transition.

At the same time, he’s also an adept passer when gets the ball in “big man” territory in the paint. He consistently makes hard, crisp passes that occasionally have a high degree of difficulty.

In comparison, Krutwig does his distributing almost exclusively out of the post. A dangerous interior scorer (16.6 points per game), the junior draws the attention of defenses and then picks them apart, finding teammates for open looks.

The lefty’s one-handed rocket passes hit shooters right on the money. 96.0% of Loyola’s 3-pointers have been assisted this season, and Krutwig can be credited for a lot of them.

Conclusion

Chris Clarke and Cameron Krutwig might not finish the season top 20 in assist rate, but due to the “historical rarity” of high-assisting big men, this is definitely something worth rooting for.

Regardless of how it pans out, both players’ passing abilities should be appreciated. They each provide valuable dynamics to their respective offenses.