April 19, 2009

Rivals.com Staff

At the College Basketball Roundtable each week, we ask each member of the coverage staff for his opinion about a current topic in the sport.

This week's question: If you're building your ideal college basketball team, where do you start? With a dominating big man? A do-it-all wing player? A top-flight point guard?

Mike Huguenin's answer: Give me the elite point guard. The reason is simple: He has the ball in his hands the most and controls the game. You can have the best frontcourt in the world, but if your point guard is subpar, how often are your big men going to get the ball? The same goes for your wing guys; unless they can create off the dribble ? and, frankly, there really aren't that many wing guys who can do that in college basketball ? they're at the mercy of your point guard. If you have an elite big guy and an elite wing player, you can win a lot with "just" a solid point guard. But an elite point guard coupled with a solid big man and a solid wing player? The point guard can raise the games of your other players because he can do so many things.

Jason King's answer: A dominating post player would be nice ? and so would a poised point guard or a versatile wing. To me, though, the biggest key to any winning team is the coach. Recruiting and hobnobbing are important, but the coaches that make it the furthest are the ones who get the most out of their players while making smart decisions during games. Luring talent to your school is one thing, but knowing what to do once it gets there is another. Need some examples? How about Virginia Tech, Baylor and Clemson. Each team was stocked with talent and experience last season, yet a lack of consistency and poor performances against superior coaching caused them to underachieve. Sure, Baylor got hot and beat a few good teams in the NIT, and Virginia Tech upset then-No. 1 Wake Forest. Anyone can get on a roll. But how did those teams fare when the shots weren't falling. Did they pull together, strategize and rev up the intensity needed to win a close game? Or did they wilt under pressure? Glance at their results and you'll find your answer. On the flip side, schools such as Michigan, which basically had two good players, were able to win games they had no business winning (i.e. Duke, UCLA and Clemson) thanks to the coaching of John Beilein. Having talent keeps you in the game, but a good coach - as much as anything - helps win it.

Steve Megargee's answer: I think it comes down to whether you want to start with an elite point guard or a dominating big man since those are the two most important positions on the floor. I'd lean toward the point guard because he's more likely to make an instant impact and also probably has a better chance of staying in school for multiple seasons. Even the most dominant big men usually take a year or two to develop. Ohio State's B.J. Mullens was the top prospect in the 2008 class, but the 7-footer never emerged as a dominant player and still left for the NBA draft after just one season. Georgetown had the nation's top freshman center in Greg Monroe this season and still failed to make the NCAA tournament. Greg Oden proved a freshman center can emerge as an immediate force when he led Ohio State to the 2007 NCAA championship game, but he also left after just one season. Point guards seem to have an easier time adjusting to the college game, as Memphis' Derrick Rose proved a year ago while leading the Tigers to the title game. And while Rose followed the Oden path by leaving college after one season, point guards seem more likely to stay in school for a while because big men are so prized by NBA franchises. North Carolina's Ty Lawson showed this year how much an elite point guard can mean to a program. The No. 9 overall prospect in the 2006 recruiting class, Lawson has stayed in school for three seasons and was North Carolina's most valuable player this year while leading the Tar Heels to the national title. The examples of Lawson, Rose and Mullens show that it's easier to predict the future success of a point guard than a big man. That's why I'd look for a point guard first.