Saint Mary's hasn't had to worry about the point guard position in a long time. From Patty Mills to Mickey McConnell to Matthew Dellavedova, the Gaels have had some of the nation's best players running the show since 2008.
But now Dellavedova is gone, so what are the options for replacing him? The Gaels have a deep and talented team returning for next season, but do they have a point guard?
Cullen Neal
The national top 150 recruit out of New Mexico was seen as the natural replacement for Delly. He has a similar game – one that is steeped in fundamentals, and he plays slow to play fast. Neal signed with the Gaels during the early signing period when he was still somewhat of an obscure prospect. His profile has blown up since then, but unfortunately (for St. Mary's) his father's profile blew up as well when he took over the head coaching position at New Mexico. Now Neal has been released from his Letter of Intent to St. Mary's and will be playing for his father instead.
Jorden Page
The Australian junior started alongside Delly for most of the season. Early in his career he had a habit of playing out of control, but his game rounded into form this year. He's much more of a slasher than Delly was, and with him at point the Gaels would likely abandon much of the high screen offense they ran through Dellavedova.
But Page tore his ACL in the West Coast Conference finals vs Gonzaga, and probably won't even be ready when the season starts.
Stephen Holt
Another junior starter, Holt is a gifted scorer. He did run the point for a few possessions each game, and while he was competent, he just isn't a natural distributor. He didn't have more than 4 assists in a game this season.
Holt is certainly a viable option, but he's more valuable to the team when he's free to think solely about scoring.
Jordan Giusti
A crowd favorite due to his tenacious defense, the 6-2 freshman walk-on saw a lot more time this year than expected. While turning your offense over to a walk-on might not seem like the wisest move, Giusti looks like he could handle the pressure (and he earned a scholarship).
But does he have the talent? He was mostly invisible on offense this year, using less than 12% of the possessions when he was on the floor. He did have a 7 assist game vs Jackson State (who were awful), and a 6 assist, 1-turnover game late in the season vs Pepperdine.
Treaven Duffy
Duffy, who will be a redshirt freshman next season, will essentially be in the same position that Giusti was this year. He'll be a walk-on looking to earn time.
