It’s no secret that recruiting for KU basketball has been a challenge in the class of 2017. However, signees Marcus Garrett and Billy Preston are a terrific start to the class. Head coach Bill Self and staff now turn to the point guard position, where Trevon Duval and Trae Young are the main targets.
The 2017 crop of point guards is one of the thinnest in recent memory. After the top four of Duval, Collin Sexton, Young, and Quade Green, there’s a precipitous drop off to the remaining top 10 guards in the 247 Composite ranking. As such, multiple high profile programs are competing for a slim number of impact guards. The terrific 2016 class, full of one-and-done talents, compounds the problem. Most big programs, like Duke, Kansas, and Kentucky, need guards. Those two factors add much intrigue to the late signing period for college, and KU basketball fans.
Recent developments in the point guard class of 2017 have given us some clarity with the remaining uncommitted prospects. In the early period, Kentucky signed two guards: Shai Alexander and Quade Green. Those signings essentially eliminate Kentucky from landing another guard. There are three top-10 point guards in the 247 Composite that did not sign in the early period: Matt Coleman, Duval, and Young.
In this list, we’ll run down all three. We’ll give a brief scouting report for each, and tell you which schools are in good shape to land these highly touted recruits. Will any blue bloods be left out of the 2017 version of point guard musical chairs? And which of Duval and Young fits better at Kansas? Which one should fans prefer?