The point guard is the quarterback of a basketball team, guiding the offense and making decisions on the fly. Over the past several years, that role on the UW basketball team was filled admirably by Travon Davis and Mike Kelley.
Davis posted a two-to-one assists-to-turnovers ratio in guiding the Badgers to a share of the Big Ten title last season, while Kelley became UW’s all-time steals leader and was fourth all-time in assists during his tenure, one that included a run to the Final Four in 2000.
This season, the point guard duties are in the hands of sophomore Devin Harris, who logged the most minutes for a freshman in UW history last season. He averaged 12.3 points per game, second on the team to Kirk Penney, and hit 59 three-pointers, also second on the team to Penney.
This year, however, he’ll be asked to pass before he shoots, and his ability to run head coach Bo Ryan’s offense and set up his teammates for baskets will go far in determining whether the Badgers can duplicate last season’s success.
If Wisconsin’s 97-55 victory over Gallo de Pelea, a Mexican professional team, in an exhibition game Saturday night is any indication, Harris is coming along nicely. Although he only scored five points, his eight assists and one turnover are really an indication of how well he played and how he needs to play throughout the year. Those numbers also indicate that Harris is comfortable at the point.
“He’s played the point before, so it’s not that much of a surprise,” Ryan said.
Harris did surprise the Gallo de Pelea defense, however, with some quick-hitting passes, including three on fast breaks in a five-minute span late in the first half. On one particular play, he came screaming down the floor with the ball in his hand, two Badgers on each side and one defender guarding the hoop. In a move Magic Johnson would be proud of, Harris faked a pass to one side while looking off to the other, freezing the defender and resulting in an easy layup for Penney, who was on Harris’s wing.
“We got out and we ran a little bit, and it was a little easier to find my teammates in transition,” Harris said.
Harris also showed great patience in the half-court offense, moving the ball quickly and working it inside, where the Badgers outscored Gallo de Pelea 54-18 in the paint.
“We went inside a little bit, so that kind of opened up things for penetration,” he said. “I felt more comfortable out there tonight.”
Harris certainly has the intangibles that any good point guard needs. He led the team with 43 steals last season, so it will be tough for opposing point guards to create space on him. More than anything, however, Harris possesses an ability to score that surpasses that of either Kelley or Davis, who were not prolific scorers. Any Badger forward or center in the post knows that Harris is usually able to knock down a jumper following a kick-out pass.
Furthermore, as a sophomore on a team with five true freshmen, Harris has been forced to adopt a leadership role, especially playing the point guard position. Next to Penney, he’s been perhaps the most vocal player on the team so far, and the younger players, specifically back-up point guard Boo Wade, pointed to Harris as a major influence in helping them get through the rigors of early practices.
Ultimately, what will matter is how Harris handles the basketball against teams such as Ohio State and Michigan State during the Big Ten season, not against teams such as Gallo de Pelea on a Saturday night in early November. But Ryan is adamant that Harris is not on an island at the point and that his teammates will be integral in helping his performance.
“He’ll be tested every night, [by] every team that we play,” Ryan said. “But that’s why you have help. You have help on each wing, you have big [guys] that come out and screen for the ball. We don’t run an offense where just one guy handles the ball. [We just need Devin] to play good defense, make good decisions and be able to handle pressure.”
