As I sit down to write this column, the 1/1 date seemed to be a sign for me to focus on some college basketball ones, or point guards as they are more commonly known. Or maybe I am following Perry's lead from earlier in the week. Either way, let's look at some point guards who might "assist" you in your quest for college fantasy basketball glory.
Big Ten
Jordan Hulls/Jeremiah Rivers, Indiana - After Rivers missed some critical free throws late in a loss to Loyola (MD), Tom Crean inserted freshman Hulls into the starting lineup against Bryant. With the loss of star guard Maurice Creek, though, Rivers was right back in the starting five in a win over Michigan. With Creek done for the year, you can expect to see both point men getting minutes in the IU backcourt. Rivers is the more known commodity, but with limited shooting range and a 53.4% success rate from the free throw line, most of his scoring is reserved for drives to the basket. Consequently, he's averaging 7.2 points, but he's able to make up for that by providing 5.6 rebounds and 4.5 assists. Rivers also has eight steals in his last three games and is Indiana's top defender, as evidenced by his work against Manny Harris. His scoring won't improve much with Creek out, but his intangibles will keep him on the floor, where he can help your rebound and assist totals. Hulls was the Indiana Mr. Basketball last year but got off to a slow start. His first double-digit scoring game came in his first start and followed it up with 11 points against Michigan, including a number of crucial free throws down the stretch. He's had a couple decent assist games as well and will chip in with a few rebounds, but his main value comes from protecting the ball and knocking down shots. He's averaging 0.6 turnovers per game and has turned the ball over more than one time just once. Hulls is also a terrific shooter despite a rather unorthodox delivery, and he's knocked down 10 of 22 from deep in his last five games. If you can retain players from year to year, I think the best is yet to come from Hulls.
Kalin Lucas, Michigan State - Lucas made headlines for being "excused" from practice last week and responded well against UT-Arlington. Tom Izzo's beef with Lucas was largely related to his leadership, and a look at his stats don't show significant change from last season. He's averaging 15.7 points (14.7 last year) and is shooting 49.7% from the floor, a substantial increase from last year's 39.5% clip. He's also connecting on better than 40 percent from beyond the arc and is contributing 1.2 steals. However, his rebounds are down slightly to 1.6 per game, and his assists have fallen from 4.6 to 4.1 while his turnovers have increased. Last season, Lucas had Travis Walton who was the team's emotional leader and got everyone in position, but this year Lucas has been asked to take on more of those responsibilities. Lucas has scored in double-figures in all 13 games but is getting to the line at a more sporadic rate. He's been held to two or fewer rebounds nine times, including donuts in three of his last four. He's tallied at least four assists in eight games but has two or fewer in four others. Lucas has the experience to turn things around, but he needs to start being more aggressive on offense by getting into the lane to get to the free throw line or dish to open teammates.
Demetri McCamey, Illinois - One of the great things about college basketball is the ability to see players evolve and improve over time. McCamey came to Illinois thought of largely as a scorer, but he's made a smooth transition to the point over the last couple seasons. His assists per game have gone from 3.3 as a freshman, to 4.6 last year, and finally to the impressive 5.6 mark this season. He's handed out at least five dimes in nine of 13 games, including the last five. Don't think he forgot how to score though, as he leads the Illini in scoring and has five games with at least 19 points. McCamey is also shooting better than ever before in his career, making 48.5% from the field and 37.2% from three-point range. The biggest knock on McCamey is the turnovers, with at least three in 10 of 13 games. Still, I think Bruce Weber will live with that if McCamey can continue to involve the inside duo of Mike Davis and Mike Tisdale while providing leadership to talented freshmen Brandon Paul and D.J. Richardson.
Michael Thompson, Northwestern - Things looked bleak for the Wildcats when star Kevin Coble was lost before the season even started. John Shurna seemed poised to step up, but the 5-foot-10 Thompson has been every bit as valuable for Northwestern, who earned a spot in the Top 25 last week. He's played at least 39 minutes in eight of 12 games, including all 45 minutes of the OT loss to Illinois. He has 10 games with at least 12 points and is connecting on 40.5% of his threes. In spite of the increased scoring burdern, Thompson has managed to increase his assists from 3.7 to 4.2 apg while decreasing his turnovers to just 1.3 per game. He has at least four assists in eight games and has stepped it up with 31 dimes in the last five. With the emergence of Shurna and Drew Crawford on offense, there is no shortage of talented players for Thompson to pass the ball to, which bodes well for his chances at keeping up his impressive early season averages of 15.9 points, 4.2 assists, 2.6 rebounds, and 1.3 steals.
Big 12
Diante Garrett, Iowa State - Unless your name is Craig Brackins or Marquis Gilstrap, odds are you won't get many shots if you wear the Iowa State uniform. However, the Cyclone bigs do make the point guard's job relatively easy. Garrett averaged 9.8 points and 5.0 assists as a sophomore last year, and while his scoring has dipped slightly, he is now averaging 5.5 dimes. He racked up at least five assists in six of the first seven games, but he's leveled off a bit since then with 17 dimes in the last five contests. In the scoring column, he does have four double-digit games and has at least eight points in six of his last eight. In limited three-point attempts (just 15 so far), he has shown an improved ability to knock down outside jumpers, including a 3 of 5 effort in his last game. While you can't realistically expect much more than 8-10 points per game on a regular basis, with the offensive firepower around him, Garrett will have ample opportunities to rack up assists, which gives him value in leagues that place a premium on dimes.
Tommy Mason-Griffin, Oklahoma - Presumably the decision to give Willie Warren more time at the point was born out of concern with trusting a freshman like TMG with that responsibility, but based on their performances so far, I imagine Jeff Capel would hit the reset button on that decision if he could. Warren has handed out his share of assists, but he's also been a turnover machine. Mason-Griffin, on the other hand, has done his best to cut back on turnovers after some early struggles and in doing so has proven to be more than capable as the floor leader. He set a career high with 10 assists on New Year's Eve against Gonzaga and now has at least four dimes in 10 of 13 contests. TMG's scoring has been equally impressive with at least nine points in 11 games. He actually shoots better from three-point range (43.1%) than he does on two-pointers (37.8%), and he's 19 of 40 from beyond the arc in the last nine games. The Sooners have been disappointing in the early going, but if they can turn it around, the point guard play of Mason-Griffin will undoubtedly be a big reason why.
John Roberson, Texas Tech - The Red Raiders have been one of the biggest surprises this season and Roberson is one of the most underrated point guards in the country. Fantasy owners know him thanks to his 6.4 assists per game as a sophomore last year, and even though his assists have fallen to 5.7 per game this year, you could certainly make the argument that he has improved as a player. At 13.8 ppg, his scoring is nearly identical, but with increased shooting percentages from the field (44.3% compared to 38.0%) and three-point range (37.7% versus 35.5%), he doing it more efficiently. Roberson's five-point effort against New Mexico broke a streak of seven straight double-digit games. He has dished out at least four assists in 10 straight and has 15 steals in his last seven contests. A couple potential concerns have surfaced in recent games though. First, Roberson had just 13 turnovers in the first seven games but has 19 in his last five contests. Probably not so coincidentally, those games have come against the best competition Texas Tech has faced all year. The second concern is the fact that Roberson has at least four fouls in three straight games. That seems more like a fluke, but the 3.8 turnovers per game match up pretty closely to what Roberson averaged last season, so that may continue. Even so, it's tough to turn your back on roughly 14 points and six assists per game.
Tyshawn Taylor, Kansas - As a freshman, Taylor tallied four or more assists just seven times in 35 games, but he's already done it eight times in 12 games as a sophomore. Part of that has to do with Taylor spending less time at shooting guard with freshman Xavier Henry in the mix, but perhaps it also shows some maturity on the part of Taylor, who made headlines for his role in a campus brawl. It might also be a result of his decreased shooting percentages, which could be the product of the injury he suffered during the aforementioned brawl. For fantasy owners who drafted Taylor, the downside is that his scoring is down to 7.3 ppg after posting 9.7 last season. With Henry in the mix and Sherron Collins and Cole Aldrich still around, it's unlikely the point totals start to creep up. However, he's clearly the primary backup to Collins at this point. Taylor is also contributing 2.8 rebounds and 1.4 steals, and he's dishing out 5.8 assists over his last five games. Depending on the size and scope of your league, he's likely not an immediate add right now, but he's certainly someone to keep on your watch list.
*All statistics through the games of December 31.