best defensive guards in the JB era? | Syracusefan.com

best defensive guards in the JB era?

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CuseinNYC

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JB said in his press conference that MCW might be the best defensive guard he's ever had.

I'd never thought about this question before he said that. The other names that come to mind in recent memory are Q Duany, Jason Hart, and Triche. I'd view the Flynn/Devo backcourt as some of our least memorable on this front. I don't know the 70s at all, and in the 80s, I was paying more attention to the offense. Who else should be on this list?
 
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CuseinNYC said:
JB said in his press conference that MCW might be the best defensive guard he's ever had.

I'd never thought about this question before he said that. The other names that come to mind in recent memory are Q Duany, Jason Hart, and Triche. I'd view the Flynn/Devo backcourt as some of our least memorable on this front. I don't know the 70s at all, and in the 80s, I was paying more attention to the offense. Who else should be on this list?
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Moss, Hart

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For years, I had Heart as the best defensive guard in the zone era.

I do think MCW passed him though. My all defesive team for the zone would have MCW and Rautins an t the two guard positions. They both played very good positional defense AND got a lot of steals which is very hard to do.

Triche and Sims may be the most underrated, and come in just below those three.

Before we started playing zone consistently Sherman Douglas was a very good defensive point guard, but he would not fit in with the way we play now. Stevie Thompson would have been great at the top of the zone though.
 
rrlbees said:
Hart.


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Hart.

If I remember correctly, JB was still utilizing a little M2M while Hart was here, so he was being a beast on the defensive end in two defensive styles.


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General20 said:
For years, I had Heart as the best defensive guard in the zone era.

I do think MCW passed him though. My all defesive team for the zone would have MCW and Rautins an t the two guard positions. They both played very good positional defense AND got a lot of steals which is very hard to do.

Triche and Sims may be the most underrated, and come in just below those three.

Before we started playing zone consistently Sherman Douglas was a very good defensive point guard, but he would not fit in with the way we play now. Stevie Thompson would have been great at the top of the zone though.
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I agree with your first point. I always thought Hart was the best, but MCW was an absolute menace at the top of the zone. Best I've ever seen.
 
Though he may have played more forward than guard, Stevie Thompson was a tough defender and belongs in the conversation.
 
I'd have to go with Hart, mainly because that's exactly what allowed him to stick in the NBA for a decade. If he hadn't been a great defender, no way he sticks in the NBA nearly that long.
 
I agree with everyone saying Hart. I thought Rautins was unbelievable by his senior year but from start to finish for 4 years I would go with Hart barely over Rautins and MCW.
 
Moss, Douglas, Hart, Rautins, Triche, Waiters and MCW were all outstanding in their own way.
 
Jason Hart is the best on-the-ball defender in SU basketball history.
 
General20 said:
My all defesive team for the zone would have MCW and Rautins an t the two guard positions. They both played very good positional defense AND got a lot of steals which is very hard to do.
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I agree . . . that combo would be very hard for opposing guards to penetrate

I also agree that Triche is underrated - he excelled at tipping balls in the lane; other players picked up easy steals that were really generated by Triche's anticipation and activity.

I have high hopes for Cooney, as well. He really seems to have put his redshirt year to good use and looks like he knows his responsibilities as well as anyone ever has.
 
moqui said:
I agree . . . that combo would be very hard for opposing guards to penetrate

I also agree that Triche is underrated - he excelled at tipping balls in the lane; other players picked up easy steals that were really generated by Triche's anticipation and activity.

I have high hopes for Cooney, as well. He really seems to have put his redshirt year to good use and looks like he knows his responsibilities as well as anyone ever has.
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I was just thinking that too. He is a truly disruptive force in the zone. When you think about how he played on defense last year relative to most freshmen (and how Ennis looks now) you have to think Cooney has a chance to be one of the best ever.

I'd be willing to bet that the majority of Cornell's turnovers came when Cooney and Gbinije were playing together at the top of the zone, even though they were paired up a small percentage of the time.

Cooney and Gbinije look to be this year's answer to MCW and Triche on the defensive side, but Gbinije is going to have to prove he can handle his offensive responsibilities for that tandem to get much time together.
 
Nobody has mentioned Josh Pace, probably because he got most of his minutes at forward, but he was GREAT at the top of the zone. Best I have seen at fighting over the high pick, quick to the ball for rebounds. Obviously, Hart and Moss deserve all the plugs they are getting, but Pace was the most underrated great defender at guard I have seen at SU.
 
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