Iowa State Basketball: Amongst this year’s elite PG play, Tyrese Haliburton has stood tallest
By Cody Larson
It’s fair to dub the 2019-20 college basketball season as “the year of the point guard.” Elite floor generals are scattered in bunches across the conferences, but one has risen above them all: Iowa State Basketball’s Tyrese Haliburton.
Before the season started Tyrese Haliburton was more of a cult favorite amongst avid draft heads. He was the MF Doom of the college basketball scene. While some knew of his utter excellence, many had never given his name any thought. But again, just like those who have never heard the rattling bars of MF Doom, you can’t really blame them.
Haliburton’s 2018-19
- 6.8 PPG
- 3.6 APG
- 3.4 RPG
Haliburton played 33.2 minutes per game last season. Considering that and the stat line above, his 2018-19 season comes across as very underwhelming. But his cult-like following looked beyond the not-so-eye-popping points per game numbers and saw what he could become.
They noticed his incredible assist-to-turnover ratio (4.5) in which he ranked 3rd in all of college basketball. They noticed his consistent shooting stroke from both inside and outside (68.5 percent from two; 43.4 percent from three). They noticed his 6-foot-5, long-armed frame and saw his potential as a prototype, “Swiss Army knife” floor general under an increased role. They were right.
Haliburton’s 2019-20
- 17.3 PPG
- 7.7 APG
- 5.7 RPG
For the 2019-20 season, Iowa State (following departures from key contributors Marial Shayok, Talen Horton-Tucker, and Lindell Wigginton) decided to freshly function a majority of their offense through Haliburton. He has since seen his usage rate rise from 9.2 to 20.8 percent.
His above-listed stats are a result of that. And to make matters better, that stat-junky stats he excelled at under a smaller role have remained impressive. His assist-to-turnover ratio remains at an appealing 3.08, and his shooting efficiency has only dipped by a small fraction (65.2 percent on twos; 42.4 percent on threes).
He’s maintained the same type of play that made him a draft junkie darling last season under a much larger spotlight. He’s no longer a secret anymore. Matter of fact, to up the ante further, he just might be the best point guard in college.