Point Guard Research Paper

Striving for Greatness

The majority of people view the game of basketball as a game where the team that gets the ball through the net more times wins. Anyone with any interest in the game knows that basketball is more complex than that. The big man knows he has to box out every time to get the rebound. The shooting guard knows he has to be confident and ready to knock down a shot when he is open, and the energy player has to be willing to take a charger or dive for the ball to bring life into his teammates. This carries over to the point guard position as well. The average fan and player does not see the thousands of shots in an empty gym a player takes in an effort to “be like Mike,”; therefore, the average fan or player does not understand

what it requires to be a great point guard. It takes many skills and qualties to be a great point guard, but what are those skills and qualities?
An important piece to being a great point guard is to provide leadership. On almost every team, the point guard is the leader, and being an effective leader requires several intangible qualities. The leader has to be positive and praise his teammates for little plays, like a box out, and big plays. Teammates love to be praised, and praising them encourages them to keep working hard and boosts their confidence. However, a leader cannot be afraid of confrontation. Confrontation is hard and not fun, but a great leader has to keep his teammates accountable no matter how uncomfortable it is. Kobe Bryant, possibly one of the greatest basketball players of all time, said, “You want them to be the best versions of themselves, and a leader has to drive for that. And in the moment there will be times when they don’t see that. You have to be able to be uncomfortable with that.” As Kobe said, leaders push teammates to be the best they can be and that can turn into confidence in themselves. A good leader makes his teammates believe in him, but a great leader makes his teammates believe in themselves. Not many leaders can get teammates to believe in themselves, but the leaders who can are special. Leadership is a must-have quality for point guards who desire to be the best that they can be.
Another quality, just as important as leadership, to be a great point guard is selflessness. Often point guards do not get the recognition that they crave like the high scorers get, but that is where selflessness comes into play. Everyone wants to be the leading scorer, but most likely that is not the point guard. Selfish players will let their egos get into their heads, and it affects how they play and how their teammates play. When selfish players get affected by their egos, they hog the ball, take bad shots, and play for themselves rather than for their team. This often causes a chain reaction, and the rest of the team plays selfishly as well. This is why it is so important for point guards to be selfless. They have to be willing to make an extra pass, dive for a loose ball, or a take a charge. When a leader is selfless, it can become infectious, and all of a sudden a selfish team can transform into a selfless team that plays not for themselves but for each other. Championship teams are made up by these type of players, and it can be made or broken by one player deciding to be selfish or selfless.
If a point guard has the first two qualities down, that is great, but if he does not have game, then he will never see the court.

The point guard is a unique position, and it requires a skill set different from all the other positions. Many traits are important for a point guard's game, but some traits are a necessity. One of the necessities is that the point guard has to have a great handle on the ball. This is the most important skill because many different mandatory skills stem from a great handle. The ability to create easy shots for others comes from a great handle. The point guard has to be able to handle a great deal of pressure and not turn the ball over. If the point guard cannot handle pressure, then it will be a long game against an athletic team. Another skill a point guard has to be great at is passing. People confuse great passing with flashy passers like Magic Johnson and Jason Williams. Although the no look or behind the back passes are crowd pleasers, what made Magic and Jason Williams great passers was that they always knew where everyone was on the court. They made crisp passes, flashy or not, right into their teammates’ hands at the perfect time. The accuracy of a pass is another factor to great passing. An inaccurate pass throws the shooter out of rhythm, and it decreases the shooter’s percentage of making the shot. Point guards should also be able to score for themselves. Other players do not create open shots for the point guard, so the point guard has to be able to create his own shot. Steph Curry is a perfect example of this. He can create a shot for himself whenever he wants. When point guards do get open shots, they need to be capable shooters. They do not need to be deadeye shooters like Ray Allen, but they should consistently knock down open jumpers. Overall, the point guard has to be a well rounded player who can do just about anything, from knocking down tough shots to dropping

dimes.
A great point guard must perform a variety of roles on a team, from being a selfless leader to being the most polished player on the floor. Although many people have a simplistic view of basketball, interested fans and players know that simple does not describe basketball. Becoming a great point guard is a complicated process, and great point guards are hard to come by for a reason. That is because not many fans or even players know why a point guard is considered to be great. Even if average fans or players do not understand what it requires to be great, anyone knows a great point guard when he sees one. That leaves a question that can only be answered by one person, “Why not me?”