NCAA Basketball: Top 10 programs that can be called ‘Point Guard U’
By Amaar Burton
7. NCAA Basketball ” Point Guard U” programs – Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
The Georgia Tech point guard lineage has heavy New York ties.
The two most famous names on the list are Stephon Marbury and Kenny Anderson, sons of Brooklyn and Queens, respectively. They traveled south from the self-proclaimed basketball Mecca to Atlanta to make their marks in college before going on to decorated pro careers.
Anderson was New York’s most touted high school sensation since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. In his freshman year at Georgia Tech, he led the Yellow Jackets to the 1990 Final Four (losing to UNLV). In two seasons, Anderson averaged 23.0 points, 7.0 assists and 2.6 steals per game before being picked No. 2 overall in the 1991 NBA Draft. He played 14 years in the league and earned one All-Star nod.
Marbury was another NYC high school phenom who was nationally famous before he played his first game at Georgia Tech. In his freshman season, he averaged 18.9 points, 4.5 assists and 1.8 steals per game and led the Jackets to the Sweet Sixteen.
Marbury was picked No. 4 in the historically loaded 1996 NBA Draft and was a two-time All-Star and All-NBA pick. Including his post-NBA run in China, “Starbury” has a borderline case for the Hall of Fame.
Growing up not far from New York, Travis Best came from Massachusetts and earned three All-ACC nods at Georgia Tech between 1991-95. Best averaged 16.6 points, 5.6 assists and 1.8 steals per game, winning an ACC tournament title and making a Sweet Sixteen run in 1993.
Then there’s Mark Price.
The native Oklahoman is not from anything like the basketball hotbeds of New York and New England, but he racked up more accolades in college and the pros than Marbury, Anderson or Best.
Price was a four-time All-ACC pick and three-time All-American who also won ACC tournament MVP in 1985. Price is Georgia Tech’s all-time leader in steals and 3-point shooting percentage, averaging 17.4 points, 4.0 assists and 1.9 steals per game in his career.
Price was a four-time NBA All-Star, four-time All-NBA selection, and a member of the exclusive “50-40-90 Club,” putting together a season (1988-89) in which he shot at least 50 percent from the field, 40 percent behind the 3-point arc, and 90 percent at the free throw line.
Other notables: Jarrett Jack, Iman Shumpert, Drew Barry, Will Bynum, Craig Neal, Javaris Crittenton