Mid-Major Radars: Guards
We scour the college scene for some late-blooming guards putting up impressive numbers and demonstrating some fringe NBA potential
As the hunt for legitimate draft sleepers continues, we make our way to the Mid-Major and Low-Major ranks of college basketball. Hiding amongst the leagues that rarely get national attention are late-bloomers and prospects who have continued to get better during their times in college. Many of them star in leading roles and put up impressive numbers, but have grown into becoming a legitimate pro player through getting the opportunity to play as their team’s focal point.
College choices don’t always indicate NBA upside. Stephen Curry went to Davidson, Ja Morant to Murray State, Damian Lillard to Weber State, Paul George to Fresno State, and CJ McCollum to Lehigh. Other career role players, who didn’t become overnight stars in college or get drafted, came from similar ranks: JJ Barea out of Northeastern, Robert Covington from Tennessee State, Terry Taylor from Austin Peay, and Garrison Mathews of Lipscomb are four more recent examples.
There are some players in college basketball already receiving a great deal of media coverage or mainstream draft hype to become draftable prospects this year. At the guard spot, we have several who are more mid-to-late second-round prospects, as the game is trending away from smaller guards across the board. Oral Roberts’ Max Abmas, Liberty’s Darius McGhee, and Detroit Mercy’s Antoine Davis are three of the most prolific scorers in all of college basketball. UAB’s backcourt combo of Jelly Walker and Eric Gaines has been seen and scouted quite thoroughly. Taran Armstrong from Cal Baptist is known as one of the best passers in college basketball and has his fair share of followers.
But what about those guys who don’t currently stand on draft radars but could force their way onto NBA rosters? We’re going diving for undrafted free agents from the non-power conferences, looking for legitimate pros and guys who have impressed enough with their production this season to deserve a spot on pro radars.
Dwayne Cohill, Youngstown State
A 6’2” scoring guard, Youngstown State point guard Dwayne Cohill is having one of the more efficient seasons across all of basketball. Currently, he’s averaging 17.6 points and 4.8 assists on 55-52-87 splits. Cohilll takes 3.3 triples per game, draws fouls at a fair rate, and has been perhaps the best guard finisher in all of college basketball. According to Synergy Sports, Cohill is shooting 63.8% at the hoop.
Beyond just the scoring output and ability to take over a game in the Horizon, Cohill has the chops to really defend at the point of attack. He’s a good athlete, is willing to compete, and has good instincts for grabbing on-ball steals.
Because Cohill is a redshirt senior, he’s a little old to be mentioned in second-round conversations. But he’s played well enough and is a talented two-way player; he should be getting NBA tryouts or Summer League looks somewhere. Look for Cohill to be one of the names at the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament this May which draws a lot of intrigue.
Jordan Dingle, Pennsylvania
Dingle is another strong-bodied natural scorer who doesn’t get enough attention. Averaging 23.8 points per game, the Ivy League’s leading scorer simply takes over games and lives in the mid-range or on pull-up 3-pointers. He’s Mr. Consistent for the Quakers despite the complete focus from all opponents as he’s atop their scouting reports.
Dingle isn’t quite the two-way player or the passer that we’ll see from some other guys on this list, but he’s a legitimate scoring threat with the ball in his hands. He’s a junior right now, so look for Dingle to flirt with declaring this year while examining another collegiate year or even a transfer to a high-major program. He’s definitely a name worth knowing, though.
Curtis Jones, Buffalo
We wrote about Jones earlier this Winter when discussing deep sleepers in college hoops. He’s popped out to us as a legitimate player in the MAC, along with Kent State guard Sincere Carry, in what might be the most overlooked conference in America. The reason Jones makes this list instead of the Golden Flashes point guard: size. Jones is a true 6’5” combo who has decent strength. He has an absolutely killer runner game that allows him to consistently score without facing contact at the rim.
Over his last nine games, Jones is averaging 17 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 2.8 assists while shooting 37% from 3 on 8 attempts per game. He’s a true shooter and scores more from the perimeter than at the rim. It feels like Jones, who has eligibility beyond this season, won’t be a 2023 prospect but will eventually be one of the hotter mid-major names in draft circles. If he can improve as a point-of-attack defender, he’ll be a prime 2024 target.