The best point guards in college basketball

In college basketball, you’re only as good as your point guard. The quarterbacks of the offense, these five young stars could become household names before Selection Sunday.

5. Jalen Crutcher (Dayton)

An outsider may have just seen the 2019-20 Dayton basketball team as the Fighting Obi Toppins. The consensus National Player of the Year was fantastic, but Jalen Crutcher was a big reason why the Flyers were on their way to a one-seed.

Crutcher averaged 15.1 points and 4.9 assists per game while shooting 46.8% from the field and 42.4% from behind the three-point line. A penetrator that excels in transition, he also creates havoc defensively, constantly applying pressure on foes. Most importantly, he’s got ice in his veins...

4. Collin Gillespie (Villanova)

Villanova is a preseason darling in college basketball and Collin Gillespie is a big reason why. A 6'3" senior who averaged 15.1 points and 4.5 assists per game last year, Gillespie is a beacon of consistency. A solid shooter that takes care of the ball, he does everything that Jay Wright needs to keep the Wildcats’ offense moving swiftly.

Gillespie's three-point shooting numbers dipped ever so slightly to around 35% last season. If he can get that to around 40%, you’ll be hard-pressed to find another contender in the Big East.

3. Marcus Garrett (Kansas)

Filling in for Devon Dotson as Bill Self’s point guard this season, what Garrett lacks in scoring ability he more than makes up for with defense. With his fast hands and long 6'5" frame, he stole just shy of two passes a game and consistently shut down the opponents’ best player.

The 2020 Naismith Defensive Player of the Year, Kansas can stay near the top of college basketball if Garrett can create offense in Dotson’s absence.

2. Cade Cunningham (Oklahoma State)

The top-ranked freshman in all of college basketball and likely the No. 1 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, Cunningham could have a Trae Young-like impact on college basketball this year, and not because they both attend schools in Oklahoma or that they even play similar styles.

Young relied on finesse and deep three-point shots to produce, whereas the 6'7" Cunningham uses his physicality to impose his will on opponents on the way to the rim. Hopefully, Cunningham does not get lost in Stillwater like Anthony Edwards got lost in Athens last year.

1. Ayo Dosunmu (Illinois)

Dosunmu isn’t much different than Cunningham. Another big, physical ball-handler, once Ayo gets going downhill and puts a defender on their heels, he’s won. An exceptional finisher and a lengthy athlete with a solid pull-up jump shot, if Dosnumu becomes more polished from three-point land, he could surpass Luka Garza as the favorite to win National Player of the Year honors.

Dosunmu gets the nod over Cunningham because of the college junior’s experience, and because he actually has some help inside with Kofi Cockburn, arguably the best one-two punch in all of college basketball.