Two conferences down, four more to go. Well this will be the third one. The big east has had some of the best guards the past few years. From Marcus Williams to Kyle Lowry, this conference has been filled with them. Which guards should you watch out for in 2008-2009?  James Watson has the answers:

 5. Levance Fields, Senior (Red Shirted) Pittsburgh
This guy wasn't a highly touted kid entering college. Most didn't even know who he was. I sure didn't. He didn't even play his first year of college. Even when he began his freshman redshirt season, he wasn't heard all over the news. A 6.8 scoring average in his freshman year with eleven games scoring in double digits. No, people didn't start hearing about him until his sophomore year. His averaged jumped from that 6.8 to a decent 9.2.  He scored twenty or more points twice in his sophomore year. This included his career high of twenty four. He scored double figures in eleven games that included a streak of six straight games. Entering his junior year, most probably still expected him to be decent, average. That is just what he was. His scoring average jumped up to 11.2 and he scored double figures in seventeen games, Let me point out he missed twelve games mid season due to injury. He scored twenty points or more three times. However, he was on fire before getting injured. He was on a streak of scoring in double figures five straight times and seven of Pitt's last nine. Who knows what would have happened if he had not been injured? When he got back, it took him a while to get back to top form. He did though. In the last nine games of the season he scored double figures. That included Pitt's four straight wins in the Big East tournament and their two games in the NCAA tournament. Did you notice a pattern? I sure did. This guy's numbers haven't done anything but go up. I cant wait to see what he gives us this year.

4.Johnny Flynn, Sophomore (Red Shirted), Syracuse
After sitting out his true freshman season because of how low he was in the depth chart, Flynn emerged as a star last season. In the season opener against Siena, he broke out for twenty eight points. I know what you're thinking. Siena, mid major, big deal. Right? Not exactly. Flynn would score twenty points or more points eleven times in his freshman season, including a string of three straight games against Rutgers, Villanova, and Georgetown. He scored double figures in eleven straight games and twenty eight of the team's thirty five games. In a game against Pittsburgh on March first, he scored twenty eight again and drained six three pointers. Not  only is he a great scorer, but he can play great without missing a minute. He did that for seven straight games and eleven of Syracuse;s thirteen games. That isn't easy to do in the brutal Big East conference. Flynn would go on to finish his freshman season with 2 double doubles and a 15.7 scoring averaging, second on the team to that of Eric Devendorf who only played half the season.  I cant wait to see what this kid brings on the court in 09. Maybe, just maybe, he will take Syracuse back to the NCAA tournament.

3. A.J. Price, Senior (Red Shirted), Connecticut
Everyone loved this kid in high school. He was the star and everything came easy. Until he got to college.  This kid was down a huge road before becoming the star everyone expected him to be.  He was one of the most highly touted freshman in his class before suffering a near blood vessel abnormality in his brain in 2005. Then, when he is about to get to play, he was arrested for stealing computers, along with former teammate Marcus Williams. Williams was required to sit out half of the 2005-2006 season, while Price was out for the year. Entering his sophomore year, he was once again, talked about all over the news. He lived up to  the hype. In seven of his first eight games, he scored double figures. That included his career high for the season of twenty three against Ole Miss. He set his assists career high in the second game of the season against Central Arkansas. He would score in double figures nine more times that season. Although he was doing well, his team was not. This caused him to miss much of the hype around the country that was there at the beginning of the season. He finished the season with a 9.4  scoring average and a 3.6 assist average. To begin last season, there was no hype around Connecticut. Partly because of how bad they were the year before. They started out well. Everyone thought it was just a fluke. Until mid January, that is. On January 20, nobody knew that Connecticut would become one of the hottest teams in the nation. But they did. They rounded off ten straight wins against teams such as Notre Dame, Syracuse, Pittsburgh Louisville, and Indiana. Four out of five of those were NCAA tournament teams. So was Uconn, thanks in large part to A.J. Price. He finished the season with a new career high of twenty six, a 14.5 scoring average and a 5.8 assist average. He also finished the season with twenty four games that he scored double figures in. That included a sixteen game streak! He also topped the twenty point mark eight times last season. It all ended too soon for him though. He tore his ACL with 9:39 left in the first round against San Diego and his team was eliminated. Most fans are expecting no less than a final four bid this year.

2. Dominic James, Senior, Marquette
I am expecting this kid to have a huge turnaround this season. After all, ever since his freshman season, his numbers have only decreased.  He was in a recruiting class with top guards such as Brandon Rush and Mario Chalmers, both who are in the NBA now. He was ranked 61th overall in the class by rivals 150 and the 10th best PG. As soon as he got to Marquette, he showed everyone what he was he made of. He scored double figures in the first nine games of the season. Just five games later, he would begin an 11 game streak. He only had four games that he did not score in double figures and five games that he scored twenty or more points. His scoring average was 15.3 PPG.  That is pretty impressive for a freshman. He led the Golden Eagles to a 20-11 season(10-6 in conference) and an NCAA tournament birth where they fell to Alabama. The next year he was even more impressive. He scored in double figures twenty five times. He scored twenty or more points seven times. He, once again, led the Golden Eagles to the NCAA tournament where they faced Michigan State and were defeated in the first round once again. The team finished with a 24-10 record (10-6 in conference). However, his scoring average dropped from 15.3 to 14.9. Entering his junior season, the media had high hopes for him. He lived up to them Although his scoring average dropped once again (12.9) he did score double figures in twenty four games. He also scored twenty or more points five times. The big thing he did was get Marquette an NCAA tournament win for the first time since Dwayne Wade defeated Kentucky to advance to the Final Four. The ironic part is, Marquette defeated Kentucky last season as well. The only difference was that it was in the first round. I think this guy will step up in his senior year.


1. Scottie Reynolds, Junior, Villanova
This kid was a huge surprise coming out of high school. No one had ever heard of him..... until he got to Villanova. The first time I saw him, I thought, this kid is amazing. He started out just like any other freshman, basic scoring nights of 15 points or less. He didn't score more than fifteen points until January 6 against Depaul where he exploded for a twenty five point outing. He ended up scoring double digits twenty one times his freshman year as well as scoring twenty or more points ten times. His huge breakout that got him noticed was against Connecticut where he scored 40 points. He took a team that was supposed to be NIT bound to the NCAA tournament. On his way there, he broke out for 29 against Depaul in the  first round of the Big East tournament and he scored twenty three against Kentucky in a losing cause in the first round of the NCAA tournament. The team ended up with a 22-11 record(9-7 in conference). He ended up with a 14.8 scoring average. This gave fans high hopes for the next year. He lived up to them at least. He scored double figures in twenty nine games. He scored his season high of 32 against Cincy on January 12 and he achieved the twenty point mark twelve times.   He, once again led the Wildcats in scoring(15.9. He also led them to the second round of the Big East tournament where they were defeated by Georgetown. He also took them back to the NCAA tournament as a #12 seed. This had many questions asked. Many thought Big east rival Syracuse should have been in over Villanova,who defeated Syracuse in the first round of the Big East tournament. Reynolds led the Wildcats to the upset of #5 and nationally ranked Clemson. He scored a game high twenty one. In th next round, he scored twenty five in the defeat of #13th seeded Siena, who had pulled the upset of #4 seed Vanderbilt. However, Reynold's dream ride came to an end against eventual national champion Kansas in the sweet sixteen. He did show the NCAA tournament committee they may the ride choice. The Wildcats final record was 22-13 (9-9 in conference. Who knows, maybe Reynolds will take the Wildcats to the final four this year.


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