Who’s ready to watch blue-blood schools destroy colleges you never knew existed? We sure are! With the college hoops season here, let’s look at the pool of the top college basketball shooting guards for the 2022-2023 season to see who has the best chance to bring home the Jerry West award.
Mid Major Darling: Taevion Kinsley – Marshall
Mid-major conferences have produced several elite two-guards over the past decade, including Ja Morant and C.J. McCollum, two of the best in the NBA. With that in mind, let’s look to the Marshall Thundering Herd’s Taevion Kinsley.
Kinsley is one of the better scorers in the country at 19 points per game the last two seasons, and he lights up the rest of his stat sheet with the rare triple-double. The only problem is that Marshall is near the bottom of the barrel in Conference USA, so Kinsley would need to lift the Herd out of the rubble and into the NCAA tournament to have a chance at the award.
Diaper Dandy: Nick Smith - Arkansas
Freshmen impact the hardwood floor more than any other sport, putting Arkansas’ Nick Smith on the radar. Smith, the top-ranked guard of this class, can put up numbers in Eric Musselman’s high-octane offense since he’s projected to be the focal point.
The Sharpshooter: Santiago Vescovi – Tennessee
The pre-season eleventh-ranked Volunteers should be a mainstay in the SEC again, thanks to Santiago Vescovi. The returning first-team All-SEC shooting guard loves shooting the three, attempting over seven a game. But what makes him a threat is that he makes most of them, sporting a 40 three-point percentage. Tennessee’s top scorer is no longer on the team, giving Vescovi a chance to make up for the lost points.
Championship Pedigree: Adam Flager – Baylor
Flager is returning to Waco after being a solid contributor to the Baylor Bears over the past two seasons. With his defensive prowess and shot from behind the arc, Flagler will have the spotlight on a team that won a national title two years ago. Baylor should be flirting with a top seed all season, so Flager will have many opportunities to show out.
Riding the Momentum: Isiah Wong – Miami
Other than Saint Peters’ march to the Elite Eight, the Miami Hurricanes were the biggest surprise to advance multiple rounds in the NCAA Tournament in 2022. They will look to improve their seeding this season with Isiah Wong in the backcourt. Wong’s senior leadership, along with K-State transfer Nijel Pack, should make Miami a threat to free themselves from North Carolina and Duke’s shadow in the ACC.
The Alpha: Marcus Sasser – Houston
Houston is a legitimate contender to cut down the nets in April, with Marcus Sasser coming back for the Cougars. Before an injury derailed his season, Sasser was putting himself in the conversation for the West award, so there’s no reason he can’t do it again with a better Kelvin Sampson-led squad.
It’s the most wonderful time of year for sports fans. As baseball ends, we have football, hockey, and basketball leading the way into the spring season and beyond. This list of the top college basketball shooting guards for the 2022-23 season gives you a leg up on whom you should lay action on. Pregame’s CBB picks against the spread provide insight that you cannot get anywhere else, turning you into a winner.