
The Athletic Coast Conference has long been defined by its guard play for years. NCAA legends such as Jay Williams, Kenny Anderson and Chris Paul have gone through the ACC basketball gauntlet, as well as star players such as Raymond Felton, and more recently Marcus Paige and Malcolm Brogdon. And of course, there are legends such as Bobby Hurley and Phil Ford. ACC Basketball has been defined by terrific point guard play seemingly since the conference formed in
Typically, the better your guards, the better your record in ACC basketball. Especially when you look at point guards in particular. We have seen the North Carolina dynasty thrive off of elite point guards. We saw Raymond Felton dominate, then to be succeeded by another top-tier point guard in Ty Lawson, then Lawson was replaced by Kendall Marshall- who was replaced by the revered Marcus Paige, and has since been replaced by Joel Berry II. That makes about 15 years straight of having a terrific point guard on the team, and we have all seen the success that the Tarheels have had in that time span.
We have seen the importance of quality point guards on the other side of Tobacco Road as well. In their two national championships this decade (2010 and 2015), they have had a prolific point guard at the helm. Jon Sheyer and Nolan Smith were both very good guards that could play the point in 2010, while Tyus Jones was unquestionably one of the best point guards in the ACC in 2015. On the flip side, a loaded team in 2016 fell short of expectations, due to the fact that there was not a reliable point guard who could run the team.
Point guard play is important everywhere, but nowhere more so than in ACC basketball. Though, this season we have not seen the high level of play from ACC point guards that we are used to seeing. There have not been any players to set themselves apart from the rest.
This begs the question: Who is the best point guard in all of ACC basketball this year?
The Honorable Mentions
There are two point guards who are not quite worthy of consideration for being the top dog in ACC basketball but have played well enough to deserve a shout. The first being NC State’s Markell Johnson. Johnson is the best defensive point guard in the conference, but scoring limitations really hurt him in this conversation. He is also second in the conference in assists per game at 6.6 APG, while also leading the league in steals with 2.4 SPG. He runs the show and is a perfect fit in Kevin Keatts’ system. The sophomore point guard leads the ACC in both steal percentage and assists percentage. Though, until he shows he can score, he cannot be in the top-tier of point guards.
The other guard that deserves a mention is Syracuse’s Franklin Howard. Howard comes in just behind Johnson in assists (third in the ACC) and steals (second in the ACC) but he does score much better. The Orange point guard is averaging 15 points per game thus far. So why is he not quite of the elite stature yet? Howard leads the ACC in turnovers by a fair margin and is quite an inefficient player in general. If Howard can become more consistent over a longer stretch of games, he can take the step up.

The Contenders
There is a nice group of guards to choose from as the best point guard in all of ACC basketball.
A point guard for one of the best offensive teams in the country leads the pack. Virginia Tech’s Justin Robinson has been a standout guard this season. While not all the Hokies’ offensive success is due to him, Robinson has certainly contributed. Robinson, personally, has been good-but-not-great this season. He averages 10.7 PPG, 6.1 APG, and 1.8 SPG. His assists and steals averages are good for fourth and sixth in the ACC, respectively. Robinson struggles to create for himself, as he is just average as a pick-and-roll ball handler and in transition. When you struggle to create separation and score at a high rate, you’ll fall behind the rest of the elite ACC point guards.
Notre Dame’s Matt Farrell could very well be the 2nd best point guard in the ACC, but he is not quite the best. Farrell is averaging 16.4 PPG to go along with 5.5 APG, which is good for 6th in the ACC in assists. Farrell is a methodical, smart senior point guard who seems to always make the right decision. He also shoots the 3 at a nice 39.2%- 6th in the conference. Give him any type of space that allows him extra time to make a decision, and he will punish defenses.
Looking at his numbers from being freed by off-ball screens, as well as when he is a pick-and-roll ball handler, Farrell is one of the best in the country and scores on about 46% of his shots in those situations per Synergy. What keeps him from being at the top is mostly his defense. Due to his lack of athleticism and size, Farrell often finds himself beat in man-to-man defense, having to rely on help defense or switch.
North Carolina’s Joel Berry was easily a favorite to land this honor but a preseason hand injury might have resulted in a small step back for some. Berry was voted preseason All-ACC First Team and came third in voting for Preseason ACC Player of the Year. Though, so far it is looking like Joel Berry isn’t even the player of the year on his own team. The senior guard has been mostly disappointing this season but has put up decent numbers. He has very much been a volume scorer, averaging 17 PPG on about 14 shots per game and 37% shooting. Despite the inefficiencies, he still does the little things right. Often putting his teammates in the right spots, Berry still runs a team as good as you’d like.
While his reputation holds his value up, his overall disappointing performance on the year weighs him down big-time in this discussion. Berry is smart on defense but often struggles in man-to-man against good athletes as well. Being smaller and not a dynamic athlete, Berry struggles to get around screens on defense whether it be on-ball or off. We know he has the potential to be the best point guard in the ACC, he must show it on a consistent basis before he can have the crown.

The final player to look at before getting into the winner is Duke’s Trevon Duval. Someone who I, honestly, never thought would be in this conversation. Duval currently leads the ACC in assists and is running the team much better than anyone thought he would. It was widely known that the elite athlete could get to the rim and finish, but Duval has answered the questions about his ability to facilitate a good offense. Sure, having elite teammates helps and is probably fluffing up some of that, but Duval has looked mature and smart in most of his time. He seems very secure in his ability to run the offense.
Defensively, Duval has been very good- especially when Duke deploys a zone. Duval has shown fantastic defensive instincts and the knowledge to execute the proper rotations and closeouts when Duke (rarely) goes into a zone defense. Though, this is not to take away from his ability on the ball. In man-to-man isolation situations, Duval is allowing just .667 points per possession and causing a turnover in just under 27% of such situations.
Where Duval comes up short in this conversation is scoring the ball. Duval does not get to the rim and finish quite as easily as he did in high school, but that is still his only source of consistent scoring. He is shooting the ball extremely poorly- scoring on just 22.5% of his actual jump shot attempts. When you look at three-point shots alone, it gets worse. Duval is shooting a miserable 15.2% from deep on the season. Duval is a one-dimensional scorer, making him much easier to defend against. This massive short-coming keeps Duval from being the top dog.

The Winner
The best point guard in all of ACC basketball is sophomore Ky Bowman of Boston College. Weird, right? Boston College is home to the best point guard in ACC basketball. That is right. Not Duke, not North Carolina, not Louisville or Notre Dame. Boston College. Bowman is posting 16.6 PPG, good for 9th in the ACC, 5.6 APG- ranking 5th in the ACC, and going for 6.9 rebounds per game- which is outstanding for a guard. Dropping 30-10-9 on 50% shooting against Trevon Duval and Duke essentially solidified his spot at the top- for the moment at least.
His dynamic athleticism is leg-up over everyone, and if he gets into a pick-n-roll situation: good luck. Bowman absolutely shines when he is able to create the gap to go by a defender. In PnR situations in which he hits the corner and takes it to the basket, he is scoring on almost 62% from of his attempts. On the other hand, after fooling the defender and going away from the pick he is averaging 1.3 points per possession, scoring on 60% of his field goal attempts. Not only does he get to the basket and finish well, but he is shooting the ball rather nicely as well. His midrange game (17 ft and closer) is solid, shooting about 41% from the field on such jump shots. In catch-and-shoot situations, Bowman ranks in the 80th percentile in the nation, shooting about 43%. Defensively, Bowman has been solid. Not great but not awful. Bowman prefers situations in which he guards the ball, such as isolation or PnR defense. His athleticism and strength allow him to fluster his opponent.
Bowman’s all-around proficiency and dynamic scoring potential propel him to the top of the ACC point guard ladder. There are close followers, but Ky Bowman is the king right now.
We have already seen him lead Boston College to an upset win over Duke, so what else can Bowman lead his team to? Guard play rules the ACC, so stay tuned to the best point guard in the ACC- Ky Bowman.