NEWS . Sports

Meet the New Guard

Who's the best guard in the Big 5?


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Published: Feb 3, 2009

About once a year, every good college basketball fan in the city will be sitting at a bar watching a Big 5 game when someone in the group will ask the seemingly innocuous question: "Who is the best guard in the city's history?" What follows will probably be war. Battle lines will be drawn and various teams will emerge — the younger group will argue that no one was better than Randy Foye and Jameer Nelson. Old heads will bring up Guy Rodgers and Larry Cannon, because they know the kids can't legitimately refute it. Sensible know-it-alls will refuse to budge from the "Mark Macon handed the title to Aaron McKie" train of thought. And there'll be that one guy who won't let go of someone like Howie Evans or Pepe Sanchez.

Following that will be an hour or two of remembering random favorites (Eddie Jones and Kerry Kittles usually come up), naming forwards (Kenny Durrett, Paul Arizin and Lionel Simmons were not guards) and name-checking decent players who don't belong in the conversation but make everyone at the table clink their glasses at the reference (Matt Maloney, Ibby Jaaber and Randy Woods ... clink).

While this year's crop of Big 5 playmakers may lack elite pro-level prospects, it includes some truly impressive collegians. Because we wouldn't dare take the fun out of the debate (and because we still can't agree on a 1-2-3 order), we will make the case that each of these three guards — Temple's Dionte Christmas, Villanova's Scottie Reynolds and La Salle's Rodney Green — are the best college guards in Philly. We're sure you'll disagree.

Dionte Christmas

Even with Guard U just 20 minutes away, the best-guard-in-the-city discussion has to start with Temple's All-American candidate Dionte Christmas. The 6-foot-5-inch, 205-pound, sharp-shooting off-guard understands how to use the floor, and can score from anywhere on the court. For a guy who led the Public School League in scoring and currently checks in at better than 20 a game, he's also surprisingly unselfish.

"He always had talent, but he needed direction," explains Sonny Hill, the Philadelphia basketball guru who watched Christmas grow up and now favorably compares him with another former Temple star, longtime Laker Eddie Jones, "I would say, at this point, if people would talk about the best guard in the city they would have to say [Christmas]."

Scottie Reynolds

The case for Reynolds is simple — he's the crown jewel in a Villanova backcourt that contains three McDonald's All-Americans and four guards who could star at any other local school.

Reynolds is labeled a combo guard, but I'm not sure that's fair: Scottie isn't part point guard and part shooting guard, he's both. His ability to switch to suit the moment is impressive and rare. He knows when to take over — he once hung 40 on UConn as a freshman — and when to step back and let an emerging presence like Dante Cunningham take center stage.

Rodney Green

If La Salle's Rodney Green looks out of place on this list, it may be because this is the first plus .500 team he's played on in college, but it's almost certainly also because you haven't yet seen the kid play live this year.

Green, a natural two forced to play the point for John Giannini's team, is the best leader in the city — probably at any level. He can run the offense from the wing, instructing his teammates where to be on the court and what to do when they get there. This is impressive for two reasons: first, because the team listens to him without disgruntled looks, and second, because he's almost always right.

Green isn't the best guard in the city because he has the best raw talent — he doesn't. He's the best guard because not only does he fill the entire stat sheet but also does more than anyone else to ensure his up-and-down teammates do the same.

A new challenger

There is also a case to be made that none of the aforementioned players are the best unpaid guards in Philly. It may sound crazy to load this level of hype on a high schooler, but Maalik Wayns, the Roman Catholic PG and future 'Nova product, is the goods. He has the vision and quickness of the new breed of point guard that is taking over basketball and should start at Guard U from the day he steps on campus. Or not — but when this conversation moves to that bar, at least his name will probably earn a clink.

Coaches from La Salle and St. Joe's and more weigh in — and probably totally agree — on the best-guard debate at The Sports Complex, citypaper.net/sports.