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Ranking the Final Four: Point Guards

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Outlook: As was the case across the country this season, the point guard sport is absolutely loaded in this year’s Final Four. As a matter of fact, there is an argument to be made that the best, and/or most important, player on each roster is the starting point guard.

Ranking the PGs:

1) Kemba Walker, UConn
This isn’t even a question. Kemba hasn’t just been the best point guard in March and arguably the best point guard in the country all season long, there is a large faction of people that matter that believe that the man known as “EZ Pass” has been the best player in the country this season. He’s averaging 26.3 ppg, 5.9 rpg, and 5.3 apg in UConn’s nine tournament games in March, but that only begins to tell you his value to this team. Walker is the Huskies’ leader in every sense of the word, on and off the court. He’s made too many big shots this season to count. He’s nearly impossible to defend one-on-one, but he’s unselfish enough to pass the pass when he has people open. He’s the reason UConn had a chance at making the tournament, forget the Final Four.

2) Shelvin Mack, Butler
I’m giving Mack the nod as the second best point guard in the Final Four. While Matt Howard has been the guy that has hit the game-winners, Mack has been Butler’s rock. He scored 30 in their win over Pitt and added 27, including what amounted to the game winning three pointer, against Florida in the Elite 8. Mack isn’t necessarily Butler’s point guard, per se. With the lineup that the Bulldogs have, he’s probably listed as an off-guard. But he is the guy that makes plays and he is the guy with the ball in his hands in crucial situations. And as an added bonus, he’s the only player on this list that has had success in the Final Four.

3) Brandon Knight, Kentucky
What Knight has provided this Kentucky team cannot be understated. What’s surprising, however, is that Knight actually has been. All the stories written on the Wildcats the past week have been about Josh Harrellson and DeAndre Liggins, about John Calipari’s rivalry with Jim Calhoun, or about the struggles of Terrence Jones. Has anyone made mention of the fact that Knight has hit two game-winners in this tournament in games that he struggled? Or that in the other two games he has scored a combined 52 points? Knight is a playmaker on this team. And he’s their closer down the stretch.

4) Joey Rodriguez, VCU
The fact that Rodriguez is the “worst” point guard in this field should tell you something about the quality of the point guard play in the Final Four. J-Rod (yes, I’m calling him J-Rod) has been terrific in the tournament. He orchestrates the VCU offense, he gets into the paint and finds open shooters, and he’s one of those point guards that never gives up his dribble unless he has too.

Future Pros: Kemba Walker is going to be a lottery pick come June. He’s got pro written all over him. Brandon Knight has a shot at playing his way into the lottery as well, but he doesn’t have quite as much upside as Walker. Joey Rodriguez is not going to be playing in the NBA.

As far as Mack is concerned, his physical tools don’t lend themselves to the next level. He’s not the kind of athlete that they look for at the next level. He also doesn’t have the size of someone like Chauncy Billups. That said, the kid is a terrific basketball player. He’s a clutch shooter and a winner (sorry for the cliche). If he doesn’t make it in the league, I’d bet he’s got a nice professional career overseas waiting for him.

Essential to winning a title?: Umm, yes!

Is it any wonder that in a tournament as unpredictable as this one that all four teams in the Final Four have quality back court play? Or that teams with question marks at the point this season -- Arizona, Kansas, Florida -- lost in the Elite 8?

Point guards at the leader on the floor. They are an extension of the coach. They are the guys that facilitate the offense and get the ball to the players that need the ball in their hands. Point guard play could very well determine who wins this year’s national title.