College basketball’s starting point appears to have moved.
The point guard was once a pass-first facilitator. But what used to be a defined — and restricted — role has gone the way of handwritten shot charts. The changing of the guard is apparent with the Hawaii basketball team, which employs point guards Drew Buggs and Brocke Stepteau in non-old-school ways.
Stepteau, at 5 feet 9, is an accurate deep shooter who also is skilled at finishing drives with floating shots or kick-out passes. Buggs, a 6-3 former prep football player, can be found anywhere on the court, sometimes in continuous motion. He often attacks the lane, circles the base like a hockey player skating behind the net, and then emerges for a shot or pass.
UH coach Eran Ganot said reassignments are part of the “evolution of the way the game’s played,” particularly with the increased use of ball screens and the flexibility of post-sized players sliding to the perimeter.
“You’re just moving your guys who are such good passers to different spots on the floor,” Ganot said. “When you have guys like that who can not only make plays but have a little post-up game, it’s great. That’s basically the game. You talk about spread out and big men who can shoot and guards who can post. When you have a combination of those things, I think it makes you a little more difficult to guard.”
Stepteau and Buggs have been effective individually or in a double-point tandem. In five Big West games, the ’Bows are plus-23 points when Stepteau and Buggs are in the same lineup.
“There’s no one way to play the position,” Stepteau said. “We complement each other really well. We kind of do things differently, which provides different dynamics to the team. We’ve learned how to play well together. When we’re in together, we bring different dimensions to the game. It’s good to have multiple weapons at that position.”
Both players went through apprenticeships to earn playing time. Stepteau, a fifth-year senior, initially joined as a walk-on. Buggs, a third-year sophomore, had never played the point until he became a ’Bow. Through extensive video studies and detailed practices, Buggs has adjusted to the ’Bows’ four-out offense.
“Today’s basketball is a lot more ball screens,” Buggs said. “I like playing off ball screens. When I come off, it makes it easier. If I have two guys on me, I try to move (the ball) to the open guy. If not, I try to turn the corner and get downhill toward the basket.”
Against UC Davis last weekend, Buggs amassed 12 assists, with many on tosses to Zigmars Raimo and Dawson Carper off pick-and-roll plays. In Big West games, Buggs averages a league-high 7.6 assists. Overall, the ’Bows are plus-145 points when Buggs is on the court.
In the Davis game, Buggs made a fibula-breaking pirouette for a layup. “I have some moves I haven’t pulled out yet,” Buggs said, smiling. “I don’t predetermine anything. It just happens. Whatever I read and however I feel I can get by a defender, it’s what I use. I don’t want to get out of character. If it’s a good shot, I’ll take it. But I’m not going to force it.”
This season, Buggs has hit 47.8 percent of his shots, 10th best among Big West players.
Most of the point guards’ big plays were conceptualized during practices. Each practice, the players will be instructed on how to deal with different scenarios. The players will walk through the play, then practice it at full speed. When Stepteau draws a crowd in the low post and then passes to forward Jack Purchase at the top of the key, that might not be an improvised move.
“We work on our offensive rotations, our rules,” Stepteau said. “We have rules where if somebody goes (to a spot) where everybody else needs to be. … I’ve been here five years. That’s the way it is. We go through every play physically on the court (in practice) and go step by step each read, and then it’s just a progression. It helps mentally to let it sink in so you are where you need to be on each play. It doesn’t happen overnight. But as the season goes on, we’ve been able to have good success with our offense.”
