Kansas basketball will have to replace two All-Americans; however, that doesn’t mean the Jayhawks are going to be void of leadership.
When Kansas basketball fans think about the best guards of the Bill Self era, guys like Frank Mason, Sherron Collins, Tyshawn Taylor, and Devon Dotson, come to mind. Next season’s team doesn’t appear to have that offensive superstar at the point guard position, but offensive stats aren’t everything. Enter: Marcus Garrett.
The defensive master that won the Big 12 and Naismith Defensive Player of the Year awards last season is everything Kansas needs at the point guard or off-guard next season, depending on where Self plays him. He’s a complete game-changer on the court, and Self obviously believes in him, considering he played 32 minutes per game last season.
Despite this, critics say that his offensive numbers aren’t great: 9.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per game. Rob Dauster of NBC wrote that “The best Jayhawk teams have had a killer at [point guard], and I’m not sure Garrett qualifies as such.”
Whether he plays point guard or not, Garrett is going to be a leader on next season’s Jayhawks team, and he’s definitely a killer. He was instrumental in Kansas’ success last season, just look at some of his biggest games from the previous season, like when Kansas played Oklahoma at home or No. 14 West Virginia on the road.
Statistically, he led Kansas in assists despite not being the team’s primary ball-handler while only averaging about 1.7 turnovers per game. Garrett even shot 32.7 percent from behind the arc, which isn’t too bad considering his preferred method of scoring involves getting to the rim.
With three years of college hoops experience under his belt, Garrett is only going to get better as his senior season approaches. If he can bump his points per game average up even just four points, there’s no way that he wouldn’t be considered one of the most valuable players in the conference.
While Garrett isn’t an offensive superstar like some of his predecessors, he contributes in ways that are sometimes hard to quantify. He can certainly lead this Kansas team to immense success next season, and maybe even pick up an All-American selection too.