With the 2024-2025 college basketball season on the horizon, let’s take a look at who the top returning point guards are in the ACC. Now that they’ve added three new teams, the Atlantic Coastal Conference will be more competitive than ever. Point Guards are the quarterbacks of the hardwood. Countless outstanding players at the position have competed in the ACC, from Bobby Hurley to Reece Beekman. These guards have proven they can play at a high level, and are set to have an excellent year as the season approaches.
Top Returning Point Guards in the ACC
Elliot Cadeau
Elliot Cadeau had a stellar campaign last year, averaging 7.3 points and 4.1 assists. He was named to the 2023-24 All-ACC Freshmen Team and boasted an assist percentage of 28.8%, which ranked sixth in the ACC. Recently, he was invited to the 2024 Chris Paul Elite Camp along with his teammate RJ Davis. Cadeau will be asked to do more this year with the departures of Armando Bacot, Seth Trimble, Harrison Ingram, and Cormac Ryan. Nonetheless, he should easily transition into a larger role. He was a star for the Swedish national team at the 2022 FIBA U18 European Championship Division B. In the final game against Denmark, he had 36 points, four assists, five rebounds, and four steals, earning tournament MVP.
Markus Burton
Markus Burton was a bright spot during a down year for Notre Dame. He averaged 17.5 points per game last season and won ACC Rookie of the Year as the Fighting Irish stumbled to a 13-20 record. After withdrawing his name from the 2024 NBA draft he’ll look to return to college for some unfinished business. Notre Dame only brought in one transfer, Nikita Konstantynovskyi, but they did have the 19th-ranked recruiting class for 2024. Sir Mohammed and Cole Certa are expected to enter the rotation as freshmen. Still, Burton won’t have much help and we can expect him to have another big year as the focal point of the offense.
Naithan George
Naithan George had a quiet, but still efficient freshman year, as he was second in the ACC in assists with nearly five per game. Georgia Tech had a rough year in Head Coach Damon Stoudemire’s first season going 14-18, but that was to be expected. Now things are looking up as the team has added some great transfers, most notably combo guard Javian McCollum. Some may worry that the addition of McCollum could hurt George’s minutes, but McCollum is more of a scoring guard than a pass-first type point guard. In order to keep the offense flowing, the Toronto native will have to be on the floor.
Ty-Laur Johnson
Ty-Laur Johnson is departing Louisville and headed to Wake Forest after the Cardinals had a disastrous season. Now, with a new team and head coach, he should flourish. Johnson was 13th last year for steals per game in the ACC with 1.3 per game. However, he was seventh in steal percentage at 3.4%. His knack for causing opponents turnovers and passing ability should help him transition to a new team seamlessly. Not to mention, he’s already familiar with most of his in-conference competition. Giving him an advantage over his peers.
