ESPN ranks Kentucky as best program for point guards and post defenders

In an effort to keep college basketball fans engaged, ESPN recently ranked college programs by the quality of players they produce at each position. The five positions discussed were point guard, sharpshooter, wing, interior scorers, and post defenders. Data was pulled for every season since 1996-1997 to calculate the top players at each position, and then that was used to determine the top programs at each position.

The University of Kentucky fared well in the rankings, coming in first at both the point guard and post defender positions. They showed up in the top five at each position, as a matter of fact. Let’s take a look at the rankings

Point Guard

1. Kentucky Wildcats
2. UCLA Bruins
3. Duke Blue Devils
4. Michigan State Spartans
5. North Carolina Tar Heels

John Wall, De’Aaron Fox, and Rajon Rondo head the list for Kentucky. Looking back to 1996, though, where is my man Wayne Turner?

Sharpshooter

1. Duke Blue Devils
2. Kansas Jayhawks
3. Kentucky Wildcats
4. Arizona Wildcats
5. Creighton Bluejays

ESPN made note of Jamal Murrary, Devin Booker, and Malik Monk here. Did Anthony Davis somehow make Doron Lamb invisible in 2011-2012?

Wings

1. Duke Blue Devils
2. Kansas Jayhawks
3. Kentucky Wildcats
4. Michigan State Spartans
5. Creighton Bluejays

History was kind to the Wildcats here, noting Derek Anderson and Tayshaun Prince. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist is the only player worth mentioning here in the John Calipari era. Let’s hope BJ Boston can crack this list a year from now.

Interior Scorers

1. Duke Blue Devils
2. North Carolina Tar Heels
3. Kansas Jayhawks
4. Kentucky Wildcats
5. Gonzaga Bulldogs

DeMarcus Cousins, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Julius Randle are mentioned in this category. PJ Washington may be considered here if he had not been lost to injury for several games last season.

Post Defenders

1. Kentucky Wildcats
2. Kansas Jayhawks
3. Texas Longhorns
4. UConn Huskies
5. Duke Blue Devils

The most inexplicable omission on this entire article was Willie Cauley-Stein not being mentioned here. He was the Defensive Player of the Year during his last season at Kentucky and could guard all five positions. Anthony Davis, Towns, and Cousins are credited with Kentucky earning this spot.

All-in-all, being tops in two positions is pretty strong. There is another school that has the top spot in the other three, but we can ignore that. Any other top performance from Kentucky left off of this list?

Read the entire article about these rankings here.