Thursday, May 6th, 2010 at 1:58 pm  |  13 responses

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Top 5 Point Guard Prospects, Vol. 2

University of Kentucky = Point Guard U.

by Jeff Fox

In our first edition of our 2010 NBA Draft point guard rankings, we couldn’t even come up with five legitimate point guard prospects who were expected to be drafted this year. In the four months since then a few things have changed, plus with our decision to relax the criteria on which players would be considered “point guard” prospects, we’ve been able to come up with this solid list. While a lot has changed, the man at the top of the heap remains the same.

1) (Previous Ranking – 1) John Wall | Kentucky | Freshman

Not surprisingly, John Wall has declared for the draft and hired an agent (Michael Jordan’s main man, David Falk). And he is still a lock to go first overall, which is also not surprising considering his skills, athleticism and physical attributes. The only surprise for the time being is what horrible NBA team Wall will have to ply his services for for the next few years.

2) (NR) Eric Bledsoe | Kentucky | Freshman

Here is something you don’t see very often (if ever) — the top two point guard prospects in this year’s draft are both freshman from the same school. A highly touted recruit, Eric Bledsoe didn’t get a chance to run the point very often this season what with Wall having the ball in his hands. This probably was a good thing for the Wildcats, since Bledsoe turned the ball over more than a quarter of his possessions. Still, his length, build, blazing speed and hops make him a late first round pick this year. But, another year at Kentucky could have made him lottery material in 2011.

3) (NR) Armon Johnson | Nevada | Junior

Another new entry in our rankings is lefty Armon Johnson of Nevada. He’s quick, athletic and has decent size (6-3, 195 pounds). But his questionable outside shot and tendency to turn the ball over are red flags, so another year in the desert would probably have done him (and his draft stock) some good. But, with this being a weak draft for point guards, perhaps he’s trying to take advantage of that. He should hear his name called in the late first round-early second round range.

4) (3) Sherron Collins | Kansas | Senior

At 5-11, 205 pounds Sherron Collins is built like a tank. He’s a very fast, very strong, very experienced tank. But he had a down year at Kansas and besides questions about his conditioning, there is also the glaring issue of his lack of height — you can count the number of sub-6-footers in the NBA on one hand (give or take a few fingers. He looks to be a mid-to-late second round pick.

5) (NR) Greivis Vasquez | Maryland | Senior

There’s no denying Greivis Vasquez had one of the best collegiate careers of any player in the University of Maryland’s history. While he is more of a combo guard, his size (6-6) makes him intriguing as a NBA point guard prospect. While he struggles with his shot selection, is skinny and isn’t really a NBA-level athlete, he is super aggressive and creative on the court, with an assassin’s mentality with the ability to score inside or out, set up teammates and crash the boards. He’ll be selected in the second round next month.

Next in line: Terrico White, Mississippi; Mikhail Torrance, Alabama; Alexey Shved, Dynamo Moscow; Matt Bouldin, Gonzaga.

Next up: Shooting Guards

Read more of Jeff Fox at The Hoops Manifesto and The MMA Manifesto.