What a year it’s been in the ACC! Yes, everyone else has already said it, but for once the general media has it right. It was a great year and I hope it continues. I can’t remember a year when the conference was so competitive from top to bottom. There may not be a great team like there has been in recent years, but the depth this year is unprecedented.
One of the key reasons for that depth this year is the startling number of really good point guards. Chris Duhon, Raymon Felton, Jarrett Jack, Chris Paul and John Gilchrist – all excellent point guards. TJ Bannister at Virginia only got significant time late in the season, but he might join that group of top players as well. The really cool thing about the current crop is how young they all are. With the exception of Duhon, all the guys listed above are sophomores or younger. No less an authority than Phil Ford, perhaps the greatest point guard in ACC history, thinks this is the best group ever.
Best group ever, huh? That’s a tough one. It’s possible that this group could become the best group, but I don’t think they can lay claim to that yet.
I decided to go back and look at some of the great years for point guards in the ACC. I’ve only really watched games since the early 80’s so that’s as far back as I can fairly go. Looking back, three years stood out with excellent guards, 1986, 1991 and 1993.
In 1986, the league had Mark Price at Georgia Tech, Tommy Amaker at Duke, Kenny Smith at UNC and Tyrone Bogues at Wake Forest. An excellent group. In my opinion, Price and Smith are right there in the running for best ACC point guards of my lifetimes. Amaker helped lead his team to the NCAA championship game that season. Bogues is still remembered as perhaps the most feared defensive point guard of all time.
In 1991, you had Kenny Anderson at Georgia Tech, John Crotty at Virginia, Chris Corchiani at NC State and Bobby Hurley at Duke. Anderson may have been the most talented player to ever play in the ACC. The only reason he isn’t listed as one of the best three or four players ever is that he only played two years of college ball. Corchiani and Hurley finished their careers as the top two assist men in college history and both are undisputed as their schools’ best points. Of course, Hurley led his team to two NCAA titles and one title game loss (the infamous UNLV game where he had the runs). Crotty, like Corch and Hurley at their schools, is considered the best point guard in Virginia history.
Finally, there was 1993. Hurley was still at Duke, a senior then, and the league also had Sam Cassell at Florida State, Cory Alexander at Virginia, Travis Best at Georgia Tech and Chris Whitney at Clemson. This group probably wasn’t as strong in college as the previous two classes, but Cassell, Best and (especially) Whitney really blossomed in the NBA. Alexander had injury problems in subsequent years, but was probably the most physically talented guard in Virginia’s history.
So there you have it – three great years for point guards. Is this year’s group in that class? Probably so, but it’ll be a few years before we can really know for sure. Talent-wise, they compare already, but they have a little work to do to compare in the production department.
Did I miss any of your favorite guards or maybe a particularly good year? Click on the Comments link below and let me know.


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