Big 12 Basketball: Top 10 point guards entering 2021-22 season

Jared Butler, Mac McClung, Miles McBride. Those are the some of key names of the Big 12 Basketball point guards that helped the conference receive the No. 2 conference ranking, according to KenPom.

Although those three aforementioned players are in the NBA, the Big 12 has loaded up during the off-season with an overwhelming mixture of experience, production, and winning cultures.

With the top two guards being comfortably placed on the list, No. 3 through No. 8 is a wildcard and could easily be altered by the season’s end.

Impactful returning point guards who had outstanding freshman seasons, to new systems and rebuilding schemes headlines the majority of the league.

Although expansion talks dominate the headlines of the conference, the basketball landscape is reloading and the point guards are the top priority.

Here’s a look at each team’s projected starting point guard and where they rank in the Big 12 in 2021-2022.

10. Jordan Goldwire/Umoja Gibson, Oklahoma

2020-2021 stats: Gibson 9.1 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 41% 3P. Goldwire 5.8 PPG, 4.0 APG, 2.9 RPG (Duke)

Oklahoma is in a unique situation, with the entire starting lineup rebuilding, the mass exodus of players to the transfer portal, and transition of head coaches.

One of the few key pieces returning is Gibson. Although Gibson did not receive a ton of attention, he was a spark plug last season, when Brady Manek was injured and Austin Reaves was in a shooting slump.

Gibson, the University of North Texas transfer, averaged 9.1 points per game last season while shooting 41% from beyond the arc and a shade above three rebounds.

Gibson did start in 15 games, notably when Manek was out of the lineup and logged in a season-high 29 points in a home win against West Virginia on January 2.

The other veteran in the backcourt will be Goldwire. Goldwire spent four years inside Coach K’s system with 27 starts in 116 career games played.

Goldwire did not score often in his Duke career, but was a solid distributor of the ball, with four assists per game last season.

Both are expected to get playing time, but who will be the go-to point guard for the season is still up for discussion. The Sooners could run a three-guard lineup with those two and Elijah Harkless. Who will be carrying the ball up the court more often, is the more anticipated question.