NCAA Basketball: Top 10 programs that can be called ‘Point Guard U’
By Amaar Burton
2. NCAA Basketball ” Point Guard U” programs – North Carolina Tar Heels
It can easily be argued that North Carolina has the longest and most impressive list of great college point guards, and therefore should be called Point Guard U before any other program.
What keeps UNC out of the top spot for me is that the Tar Heels aren’t primarily known for their point guards. It isn’t the school’s most high-profile position, like centers at Georgetown or running backs for USC football.
In that sense, North Carolina is a victim of their own well-rounded success and for having bigger legends at other positions. If you ranked the top 10 players in Tar Heels history, how many of them are point guards? Maybe one or two. UNC is more known for shooting guards and small forwards like Jordan, Worthy, Carter and Jerry Stackhouse … or for power forwards and centers like Tyler Hansbrough, Sam Perkins, Rasheed Wallace and Bob McAdoo.
The godfather of UNC point guards and the one who would definitely rank in the school’s overall top 10 is Phil Ford.
Averaging 18.6 points and 6.1 assists per game in four seasons, Ford’s trophy case includes the 1978 Wooden Award along with a slew of other National Player of the Year awards from that year, three All-America selections, ACC Player of the Year in 1978, and ACC Tournament MVP in 1975. He led North Carolina to the 1977 national title game, but they lost to Marquette.
Ford was the No. 2 pick in the 1978 NBA Draft by the Kansas City Kings. He won Rookie of the Year and was voted All-NBA in his first pro season, but that was essentially the peak of a pro career that lasted seven years.
Kenny Smith is known today more for his work as an NBA television analyst, but before that, he was a star point guard at UNC. “The Jet” was an All-American and three-time All-ACC pick. He helped Carolina make it to the Elite Eight twice, in 1985 and 1987.
Ray Felton was the point guard for UNC’s 2005 national championship team, running the show for a “Big 3” that included sharpshooting wing Rashad McCants and go-to big man Sean May. Felton also won the 2005 Bob Cousy Award. He averaged 12.9 points, 6.9 assists and 2.0 steals per game that year before going pro and becoming a first-round NBA draft pick.
Four years later, it was like deja vu in Chapel Hill. Ty Lawson was the point guard for UNC’s 2009 national championship team, running the show for a “Big 3” that included sharpshooting wing Wayne Ellington and go-to big man Tyler Hansbrough. Lawson also won the 2009 Bob Cousy Award (and ACC Player of the Year). He averaged 16.6 points, 6.6 assists and 2.1 steals per game that year before going pro and becoming a first-round NBA draft pick.
North Carolina’s next and most recent national title team in 2017 was led by Joel Berry II at point guard. They also had something of a “Big 3” with Justin Jackson on the wing and Kennedy Meeks in the paint, though that trio wasn’t as decorated as previous versions.
Berry was voted Final Four MOP after scoring a game-high 22 points to go with six assists in the national title game victory over Gonzaga. Berry was not drafted by an NBA team and has been working his way up through the G League ranks.
Other notables: Ed Cota, Marcus Paige, Kendall Marshall, Larry Brown, Cole Anthony, Coby White, Jeff McInnis, Shammond Williams