Going into the 2013-2014 season, point guard is likely the most competitive battle for the starting job. Ge'Lawn Guyn and Troy Caupain have seemingly been the two guys going at it from day one. Which guy ultimately wins is still up in the air, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing.
Let's start with Guyn. I'll be honest, I wasn't very high on his game as a freshman. I liked his strength but not his shot, not his handle, not his ability to get the offense where it needed to be. He just never seemed to be able to run the team the way Cashmere Wright was able to. Last year I thought he was better. His shot was better and he seemed to be able to run things better. Obviously with age and experience, guys get more accustomed to the program and what's expected of you. I personally have never seen Troy Caupain play so I can't speak about his athleticism, but if he's more athletic than Guyn UC is going to be just fine no matter who wins the job.
Troy Caupain is a freshman. Just my take but I can't see a freshman beating out a guy in Guyn who has been around two years already and knows what Mick Cronin wants offensively and defensively. Having said that, the job is apparently still up for grabs so either both guys are playing well, which obviously is a positive, or both guys are struggling, which, well you know. Caupain at 6-3, 200 pounds, comes in already bigger than Guyn. His knack for scoring (26 points per game his senior HS season) also is a plus. Cashmere was a "scoring" point guard which is always a good thing in my opinion. We've had too many Keith LeGrees, Charles Williamseseseses, Michael Hortons, and Taron Barkers for a lifetime. Let's hope both are playing at a level where it isn't going to matter who is playing because they're both going to be able to get the job done.
The only other options would be if these two should somehow falter they might try Jeremiah Davis III back at point, or perhaps try another freshman in Deshaun Morman. But if both Guyn and Caupain aren't getting it done, they're going to be in some serious trouble. So let's just knock this discussion off right now.
People seem to be a little down on this team for some reason. They cite the lack of experience and losing Cashmere Wright at point guard. My opinion is this could be a year where the point guard play actually improves. It's no secret Wright was really struggling physically toward the latter part of last season. Having two healthy capable point guards for a full season might actually make the team better and perhaps even quicker. Cashmere was really slowed at the end of the year and I think it hurt UC's ability to score. It hurt Cash's ability to score that's for sure. No knock on Wright; he was a great player in his time at UC. But he was a shell of himself the second half of his senior season. Two healthy, quicker point guards could elevate this team's play. At least that's what I'm going with.
Prediction: I think I'm the only person on the planet who thinks Guyn will start the season getting the nod over Caupain. I'm not saying he'll keep the job, but I think starting out Guyn knows the system, he knows what Mick wants defensively, and he may be a bit stronger going to the rim. But, obviously we all hope both players come in and can handle things and there won't be much of a dropoff. You don't want one guy playing 35 minutes a night. The one thing I will say is if Guyn isn't scoring, even if he's playing good defense, this guy will be calling for Caupain to play more. I'm sure we'd all like more scoring than defense. It's just more fun, dammit.