Roundtable: Who should be Penn's starting point guard in 2013-14?

In this week’s roundtable discussion, our editors ask who should be Penn basketball’s starting point guard in 2013-14:

Associate Sports Editor Steven Tydings: This one is tough. While T ony Bagtas told me he is going to “run the team” next year, I think this is a two-man race between Miles Cartwright and Tony Hicks. When Cartwright was running the point effectively, the team played some of its best basketball, and I’d have to think that coach Allen will give the soon-to-be senior the first opportunity to win the job.

That being said, Penn’s best player in the second half of the season was clearly Tony Hicks. His performances at Cornell and at home against Harvard showed he has the potential to be one of the next great point guards in Penn history. But at the same time, I don’t think he should be the point guard to start the year. Cartwright should be given the chance at point guard to start the year. He may not stick. And that’s why it’s important that Hicks is there.

Former Sports Editor Mike Wisniewski: Jerome Allen needs to put the guy there who runs the offense best. My guess is that guy will end up being Miles, at least in the beginning of the year. But if they start the Ivy season and begin losing games, and at that point it becomes clear to the team (because it will probably already be clear to everyone else) that Penn will not win the Ivy League, it will be time to once again look to the future, something Miles will not be a part of.

In that situation, why not give Hicks or Bagtas the bulk of the work to better develop the team for 2014-15? Realistically, Penn won’t be in it next year, but with the young crop of guys they have — if developed properly — they could be in contention the year after next.

Associate Sports Editor John Phillips: I think we’re forgetting about Cam Crocker, who started every game going down the stretch at the point. He had the highest assist to turnover ratio on the team and showed the true passing skills that Cartwright and Hicks don’t naturally have.

But the reason that he should run point over Cartwright or Hicks is really due to what Cartwright and Hicks can do when they are not running the point.

Hicks thrived when he moved without the ball, and Cartwright performed better during the season when he could ease into a contest. When he has the ball in his hands from the opening tip, he tries to do things too quickly. What started to work as the season progressed is that three-guard lineup, with Cartwright, Crocker and Hicks all out on the floor at once. If Cartwright started heating up, then he would start taking the ball up as the game went along.

Former Associate Sports Editor Kenny Kasper: Cartwright needs to let his game do the talking — and Jerome Allen needs to listen carefully. Penn played 13 games prior to conference play in the 2012-13 campaign but still had no answer to its point guard problems by the time Ivy League play rolled around.

Early on, Allen should give opportunities to Cartwright, Hicks, Crocker and Bagtas to run the show and then narrow the field for conference play based on their performance. Though we haven’t seen Bagtas play college ball yet, the rest of the crew all have their deficiencies at the position. Cartwright is wildly inconsistent but was occasionally an excellent distributor. Hicks is not a pass-first guard.

That said, he was effective in the second half of the season driving to the basket and having the option to score or dish to Darien Nelson-Henry or to Penn’s three-point specialists in Dau Jok and Patrick Lucas-Perry. Crocker has a pass-first mentality, but perhaps lacks leadership intangibles. Ideally, Cartwright rises to the occasion and performs at the position. But he’ll have to dispense with the attitude that he needs to score in bunches for Penn to win.

Associate Sports Editor Mars Jacobson: Everybody saw this season that Miles was forced into a role he was not ready for, so Jerome shouldn’t make the same mistake next year. That being said, Bagtas shouldn’t come in as a freshman and “run the team.” I haven’t seen anything from him that tells me he has the talent needed to handle that responsibility.

Through the first half of Ivy play, Cam Crocker would been my pick to be the starting point guard. He is the best passer on the team and is always looking to get his teammates involved.

But after the last few weekends, my choice for next season has to be Tony Hicks. Hicks is at his best with the ball in his hands, slashing to the basket, so it makes sense to give him the ball as much as possible. However, he will need to take care of the ball better and improve his passing during the off-season in order to make the rest of his teammates better too.

If the turnovers start to pile up and Hicks isn’t getting Fran, Miles and DNH involved enough, then go with the three-guard lineup that John suggested, with Cam Crocker handling the ball and dishing off to the other guys on the court.