Point Guard of the Future?

In watching the Duke/UNC game, I couldn't help notice how many unforced errors there were in the game (shocking, I know). But it seemed a good majority of the turnovers came from the point guard, Larry Drew II.



I like Larry Drew II and think he has done a serviceable job as the point guard for this year's team, but I'm not sure if he isn't just the second coming of Quentin Thomas. Many times this season, we have seen Drew drive the lane and try to have an amazing pass, but only for the rock to end up in the hands of the opposing team, which is why I question him as the point guard of next year's team.



I'll be honest, I don't pay close attention to recruits until they arrive on campus, but with the struggles this year's team has had, it's hard not to focus on next year's class a bit more than in the past. UNC is bringing in Kendall Marshall, a 6'3" PG, who is rated a 4 star recruit and is the 32nd ranked player in his class, but the the 9th overall PG.

For comparison's sake, Larry Drew II was the 71st rated player, and the 10th overall PG in his class.



In reading about Marshall, he is said to be the best passer in the class, according to ESPNU. Here is what rivals says about Marshall:


With a superb basketball IQ, Marshall plays with surprising poise and at a deceptive pace. He sets up for a burst that is just fast enough to beat his man and controlled enough for him to read the situation with precision. The leftly also has a more-than-reliable jumper and has a knack for delivering the pass with timing whether it is off his penetration in the half court or a
pass up the court in transition. Improving his explosiveness and improving on the defensive side of the ball are his next challenges.


Here's what Rivals said about Drew during his senior year of high school:

With a good mind for the game, Drew has a knack for running a team and finding an open man. Perhaps the best thing he does, however is shoot the ball from behind the arc. His foot speed and overall athleticism is an area for concern as a high-major prospect although.

Now, on paper it appears that Drew is the better shooter, which is most likely accurate and Marshall is faster and a better passer. But next year, Drew will have 2 years under Roy Williams' system, but the turnovers can be such a team-killer, especially when you are a team that's built for making runs.

I don't know who will start next year, but I posted this to pose the question of what could possibly happen next year. Personally, I like a pass-first point guard and while Drew has shown that at times, I'm not sure it translates as well as Marshall's game could in the UNC system. We'll see what happens. It could be worth noting that this situation could play out similar to Bobby Frasor and Ty Lawson during Lawson's freshman year. That year Frasor started the first 6 games and then Coach Williams took the reigns off of Lawson and the rest is ACC Player of the Year history.

GQ the Rapper

Quentin Thomas is trying to become a rapper. I remember reading an article last year about this time about how he was trying to pursue this avenue as a career. He goes by the name of GQ, which the article says was given to him by Mike Copeland. I would have preferred Q, but that's me. It appears as though Q has made some progress as he has a song on the upcoming NBA Live 10. I'm not a huge fan of rap (actually, not at all), but Q was always known for writing poetry during his playing days at UNC and it seems that he is able to use that in his career now. I wish him all the best as he continues this dream of his.

Season in Review: Larry Drew II

Maybe it’s ironic that Larry Drew took Q’s number 11, because sometimes, he played like Q did his freshman year. I understand the PG position at UNC is the toughest position to play because the PG is the leader on the court. I also understand that Ty Lawson was a special player who was a good player as a point guard (not necessarily a good leader) and he is the second freshman to take over a Roy Williams-coached UNC team (Bobby Frasor was the other). So coming into the season, I expected big things from Drew. I heard some talking heads say he was close to as fast as Lawson.

Please don’t think I’m being super critical of Drew yet, because I do like Larry Drew. Playing those games without Ty Lawson showed me of what he could be in the future. I have decided to break all the players down like I do games: Things I don’t like and things I like.

Things I don’t like:
1. Decision making. Sometimes he forced. Sometimes he made a horrible pass. I know the game is rushed and different pace in the ACC, but some seemed like careless mistakes. Some of it might be pressure to do well and increase playing time, etc…but he did have a year to learn under Lawson. I’m confident he will improve by the time his career is done.

2. Shot selection. Sometimes he had no business taking some shots. Some were forced. Some were 3’s that he shouldn’t be taking, but this should improve too.

Things I like:
1. Passing ability. During the ACC tournament, I thought he played well and gave me a reason to have hope that he could be a good player. He has low turnovers and average assist numbers. He had quite a few nice dump offs to Ed Davis in the ACC tournament

2. Aggressiveness. This relates to his shot selection. He was aggressive in taking it to the hole quite a number of times throughout the season, but some of the shots he flipped up were like….whoa! But Drew is aggressive and looks for his shot sometimes. I think he’s a smart player, who just needs some experience.

3. Stats. If you look at his stats, they are not jaw-dropping. But he did have more assists than turnovers and seems to be a pretty good rebounding guard. If he could pick up his shooting percentages, that would be awesome.

I compared Larry Drew to Quentin Thomas because that’s who he reminds me of. Q struggled his first year and then had some injuries, but I think we can all say that we liked Q at the end of his career. I think their games are very similar in the fact that they can both pass well and look to get others involved, as well as their timely baskets. I’m a little hesitant to hand over the reigns to Drew next year (but I’m not the coach and have never seen him practice) because of some of the cons listed above. I’m almost hoping that this John Wall recruiting works in UNC’s favor, but I know the player that Larry Drew can become and know he will improve him game – that’s what college basketball is for.