The point guard position is widely considered to be one of most important, if not the most significant, position in college basketball. Even with a senior at the helm of its offense, the Massachusetts men’s basketball team is thin at the position for the remainder of the season.
Following the departure of freshman Daryl Traynham, the Minutemen (13-10, 5-5 Atlantic 10) are left with senior Gary Correia as the only true point guard on the roster. While Correia entered the season as the starter and is the primary ball-handler for UMass, he isn’t receiving the benefit of being relieved by Traynham anymore.
“I mean I think it’s very difficult, but this is the hand we’re dealt right now and [Gary] is the only point guard really in the program,” UMass coach Derek Kellogg said. “As a senior and a guy who has been around the program for four years, I think he can take on a little more responsibility and have the ability to play more minutes. Is it asking a lot? Yeah, it is, but this is the situation we’re in right now.”
Prior to Traynham’s departure, Correia was averaging 4.3 points per game and 2.4 assists per contest. Since playing his first game without Traynham against Dayton on Jan. 9, Correia’s scoring has relatively stayed the same with his current 4.2 points per game average.
What has changed, however, has been UMass’ need for Correia to distribute the ball. In Traynham’s absence, the point guard has increased his assists tally to 3.5 per game, which is higher than any of his season-long averages in his time with the Minutemen.
What’s more is that Correia has had little opportunity to earn breathers on the bench during games. In games which Traynham played, Correia never exceeded 30 minutes on the floor. Since then, Correia has played 30 or more minutes on six occasions, including the past five contests.
“I don’t think it’s too much for him, but I mean he can get overwhelmed at times, but it’s not too much,” UMass guard Javorn Farrell said of Correia. “I guess coming into the season he didn’t expect to be playing 32 minutes a game, I mean it’s just something he had to take with him. I think he’s doing a pretty good job though.”
Farrell, along with sophomore guard Freddie Riley and senior guard Anthony Gurley, have filled in at times for the ball-handling duties this year following Traynham’s exit.
Nevertheless, Farrell is currently the primary backup point guard and has been working all season to improve his playmaking skills. To do that, Farrell has been going against point guard Chaz Williams in practice this season.
The 5-foot, 9-inch sophomore transfer from Hofstra will have three years of eligibility for the Minutemen after sitting out this season because of NCAA transfer rules.
Even as a practice player though, Williams is helping Farrell prepare for smaller opposing point guards.
“We don’t play the same way, like [Chaz] is more of an explosive, quick guy, I’ve got to use my size to my advantage,” Farrell said. “Most of the guards, most of the other point guards that I’ll play against are smaller. So having Chaz check me at practice, I know how to use my body to do different things against smaller guards.”
Farrell’s transition into playing the point guard position hasn’t been easy but his assists numbers show that he’s looking to be more of a distributor. Farrell’s 51 (2.4 average) assists trail only Correia’s total of 57 on the team and already surpass his total of 42 for all of his freshman season.
While the point guard position might not to be the strength of UMass this year, the adversity of losing a significant player in the middle of the season has been if nothing else, a learning experience.
Jay Asser can be reached at [email protected].
