Peak offseason part two- Combo guards and shooting guards
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Part 2 of this exhilarating series! Ranking all our 2-guards. I did not include Devonte Graham because I felt like he was more of a point guard who started in a 2PG system than he was a shooting guard or even a combo guard. I didn’t include McLemore either because I feel like he is a wing more than a shooting guard. Here goes:
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Mario Chalmers(could play point but more of a combo guard). I felt like this spot came down to Chalmers vs Braun. Both were good shooters, both could drive, both were national champions. Both were good defenders. While Braun has some advantages such as scoring more, having more length, and being a better rebounder, I think Mario takes the cake. Mario was historically good at steals, a better secondary ball handler, a more efficient shooter, was a big part of a 2008 team that was better than the 2022 team Braun was on, and hit the biggest shot in KU history. Plus, I think Chalmers could have scored as much or more than Braun had our 2008 offense not possessed such deadly balance.
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Christian Braun (I counted him as a SG because he was our secondary ball-handler throughout 2022 and, while he was a swiss army knife, he always felt to me more like an oversized combo-guard/shooting guard than a true wing).
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Marcus Garrett- He did cause spacing issues, but more than made up for it with his defense. I consider him to be the best defensive player on this list. Plus, on offense, he found ways to contribute like driving, setting screens, and leading the team in assists his final two seasons. While he didn’t win a tourney like Chalmers or Braun, he was a big part of our unofficial 2020 Natty
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Malik Newman- The 2018 March Madness run that he had was unreal. He had his ups and downs during the regular season but he showed up when it mattered most.
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Elijah Johnson. This is 2012 2-guard Elijah being ranked. His 2013 performance as our PG was ranked yesterday. EJ gave us solid defense and mediocre offense for the most part BUT played really well in the 2012 tournament. We don’t make the FF without him. This puts him ahead of Selden and McCullar overall, because Selden choked against Nova and McCullar choked against Arkansas.
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Wayne Selden- He was a little inconsistent but he could take over games. I considered both Selden and McCullar for this spot, but I decided on Wayne becuase McCullar was injury plagued his senior year (the best ability is availability) and because I think Wayne’s offense is a little more valuable than Kevin’s defense.
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Kevin McCullar
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Brady Morningstar. I don’t think he was quite as good a defender as Kev, but he was plenty good. And he was a better shooter than Kevin. But Brady choked really badly in March Madness.
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Tyrel Reed. Similar to Brady Morningstar, but not quite as good at defense.
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Zeke Mayo. He could have been much higher on the list, but he always disappeared when we needed him most. He was also a bad defender and seemed to have a bad attitude when things weren’t going well.
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JR Giddens
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Quentin Grimes
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Nike Timberlake
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Ugh, when you look at em all in a list like that, not a ton of talent at the 2 spot?
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@rockchalkjayhawk A couple of our best “2 guards” were actually point guards who started and helped run 2PG offenses. Devonte Graham and Tyshawn Taylor. If we were to include them, this list would look a lot stronger IMO.
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Well it’s hard to argue with the first two choices.
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Can someone refresh my memory? Was it 2012 SG EJ or 2013 PG EJ who dick punched an opponent in a losing effort (Michigan?) in the tourney?
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Feel like McCullar could have been #2 if he stays healthy and has a strong tournament. #7 is fair though with how it played out
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@HoraceZontal That was 2013 EJ.
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I assume this list is bill self era only. I think there have been some deserving guards from prior eras
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Yeah this list made me yawn a bit! But Mario, even despite the shot heard round the Jayhawk world, is one my all timer Jayhawks. Just a clutch performer. To be honest, I really wasn’t thinking Christian would’ve been too high on a list like this until his last season when he really jelled.
