Marquis Teague a first-rounder?
It's been a long season for the freshman Kentucky point guard, Marquis Teague. In a weak draft of both point guard talent and depth, front offices had high hopes for the 6'2" Wildcat, expecting him to utilize his size, speed and quickness to push the offense and connect the young pieces that John Calipari was working with. But he struggled to get teammates involved early on, lacking patience and court vision we expected; he had 18 turnovers in his first four college games compared to just 11 assists. What was making matters worse is that he wasn't taking advantage of his quickness to the degree he should- he was certainly playing at a high-speed, but never changed gears. Too often he forced the issue with passes and over committing on his drives into the lane.
And as Teague started to slow down and really play at different speeds, his glaring weakness of a lack of a perimeter game became quite evident; in an early ten-game stretch, the freshman connected on just 5-of-27 3-point attempts, good for an 18.5 percent accuracy mark. His minutes and production were limited and then both Doron Lamb and Darius Miller moved over to share some time with Teague and push him off the ball.
He is very much a work in progress at this point in his young career, projecting to go in the late-first-round on Draft night. His speed is intriguing, his decision-making progressed as the season progressed and he showed glimpses of his potential during the 2012 NCAA Tournament, specifically against Louisville and Kansas in the Final Four and Finals. In an ideal world, Teague would come back as the "veteran" point guard on next year's UK team and lead them with improved perimeter shooting and decision-making, but as things with Teague declaring, he will learn on the fly at the next level with some expected D-League stints.
By President Corey Ruff - 4 - 17 - 12
