Shaka Smart's answer to his point guard question could come Monday

Sometimes, you don’t realize what you have until it’s gone.

They probably didn’t realize it then, but as Texas fans watched guards Isaiah Taylor and Javan Felix thrive at Texas last season under first-year Longhorns head coach Shaka Smart, they were watching the preview trailer for Smart’s vision of Texas in the future.

The Longhorns had a true point guard that was one of the leaders of the team, and another point guard that could handle the ball or play off of it. From that came a team that ranked No. 23 nationally in lowest turnover rate, excelled in the half-court (especially when Cameron Ridley was healthy), and could play at multiple speeds while also controlling pace. More importantly, Texas could and did play with anyone, and a main reason why was because its primary and secondary point guards played to their strengths and elevated teammates.

When the Longhorns went their first 11 games with the plan to pound it into Ridley as much as he could handle it, they were forced to adjust when he went down just right as the offense started clicking (eight-straight wins; 1.00 points per possession or better in all eight games). After a couple of hiccups, their point guards led the way and adjusted.

As a byproduct of Texas’ guard play handling the basketball and running the team, the rest of Texas’ guards and wings were able to play in their natural roles off the basketball.

Kerwin Roach, Jr. was able to slash, spot up (11-of-25 from three in Big 12 games), and attack downhill at bigs in a mismatch or guards that weren’t defending Taylor or Felix. Eric Davis, Jr. shot 38.2 percent from beyond the arc, and was unusually cool and comfortable on offense for a freshman. Kendal Yancy and Demarcus Holland were free to fill their roles of defending, attacking in transition, and going after every loose ball aggressively when they were on the floor. Tevin Mack didn’t face any extreme pressure to figure it out on offense, and was still able to play valuable minutes consistently as he struggled through finding his way.

In the frontcourt, Ridley had the look of a NBA pick before his injury; Connor Lammert was a pick-and-pop threat with a new playmaking flair and the conference’s lowest turnover percentage; although he was the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, Prince Ibeh also showed offensive ability he had never shown before, which resulted in the third-best two-point field goal percentage in the conference (63.3 percent); Shaquille Cleare converted on 57.9 percent of his two-point looks in Big 12 play, which is 11.5 percent higher than his number now.

Basically, Texas’ point guards did what was needed to make their teammates better, and as a result made their team better; they elevated their teammates, the team, and themselves.

Fast forward from the end of that season to the beginning of this one, and Shaka Smart described the point guard position in a much different light compared to what he had the prior campaign.

“No. We don’t have a true point guard on our team. We’re going to have to play point guard by committee,” he said at Big 12 Media Day. “We’re going to have to make sure we share those responsibilities. What we do have is some interchangeable guys, some guys that are making progress as playmakers and decision-makers. Right now our biggest glaring weakness in practice if you just looked at it from a statistical standpoint without even watching practice, you would say assist-to-turnover ratio. And so that’s going to be something to follow over the course of non-conference play – do we get better at taking care of the ball, handling the ball.”

Smart didn’t hesitate to admit Texas lacked a true point guard, and painted a picture of more turnovers than assists in practice. At the time, the question mark at position was just that, a question mark. After all, Texas won a battle against Arizona and others for eventual five-star, and McDonald’s All-American combo guard Andrew Jones.

As the season began, that question mark went from size 12 Times New Roman to size 48 Comic Sans.

Texas struggled to do the simple things on offense, especially at the point guard position, and especially in the half-court. Driving into the lane and kicking it out against a collapsed defense or dropping the ball off to an open big were no longer a given, and post-entry passes became an adventure as floor spacing resembled a dish that would get a chef competing on Chopped sent home for presentation.

Although it’s not as hide-your-eyes bad as it was to begin the season, the struggles, in the form of shaky decision-making and lack of natural point guard instincts and experience, still persist. And Texas still doesn’t have a true point guard, or the answer for that position. It needs to go out and get that answer.

Roach and Jones have gotten better. They’re both going to be really, really good college players with the potential to play in the NBA because while they don’t profile as true point guards, there’s literally nothing they can’t do as guards on either end, which includes being the secondary point guard on the floor coaches love to have and most good teams possess. They could make All-Big 12 teams before their careers are over. What would make them better? Playing with a true, pass-first point guard.

As the questions piled up about Smart not addressing the point guard spot in a more traditional way this season, he answered them in a press conference before Texas’ home game against Oklahoma State. To summarize, when Smart was hired in April Texas was in a tough situation to sign an elite point guard, despite trying. As time went on, Texas grabbed Jacob Young and then focused on Jones, who was, again, a five-star and a McDonald’s All-American. Based on Smart’s answers during that press conference and the messages back them from the recruiting tea leaves, if Texas went after another point guard, it likely misses on Jones.

“Yes and no. It's tricky because everyone affects everyone else in recruiting, and we made the decision that we would recruit Andrew Jones as a guy that would have an opportunity to play some minutes there,” said Smart when asked if he had the opportunity to put more focus on signing a point guard with more experience than the freshmen guards he has now. “Not that he would only play there, because he's a guy that would play multiple positions... so everyone impacts everyone else. If you bring in another point guard, that can have an impact.”

Smart’s method in that regard can be fairly questioned as it relates to this season because you could argue although it wasn’t the only big issue, Texas could have won at Michigan, at Kansas State, versus Kent State, and against Arkansas with a good, natural point guard or simply better play from the players it has now. But good, natural point guards don’t grow on trees – which is why programs like Duke and Kansas still don’t have one in the 2017 recruiting cycle – and hindsight is, obviously, 20-20. By the time his career at Texas is over, Texas fans are going appreciate having Jones, a truly special talent, in a way they can’t comprehend now.

Among the challenges Smart faces now is making absolutely sure he addresses the point guard position in recruiting. Jones and Roach’s skillsets aren’t going to change between now and next season even though they will be much better players. Smart’s known who he wants to be the answer to that enormous point guard question for years – Matt Coleman.

At VCU, once Smart and assistant Mike Morrell, now the Director of Program Development at Texas after being an assistant last season, found out about and watched Coleman, he became a top priority. That didn’t change when those two moved on to Texas after recruiting Coleman as much as a program could during their VCU tenures. For the longest time, Coleman, who is the floor general for nationally ranked Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Virginia), has been the target of the 2017 recruiting cycle, and the one and only point guard target. This is a player that Smart has known since he was an eighth grader thanks in part to Coleman’s relationship with former VCU point guard Briante Weber, who broke into the NBA last season after four years at VCU despite arriving to college with less than three offers.

As Coleman has stated before multiple times, Smart’s message has never wavered or changed – the keys to run the Texas program are Coleman’s if he wants them. And it couldn’t be more clear that Texas desperately needs and wants Coleman to be that guy.

With Monday rapidly approaching, Smart and Texas are just days away from possibly receiving the type of recruiting news that would dramatically change their program for years. Coleman, the nation’s No. 35 overall prospect, will announce his commitment to either Duke or Texas during halftime of the game prior to his 12:00 p.m. Hoophall Classic game on ESPNU.

What's the latest update on Coleman? Check out the OB War Room

Not only was Coleman, a 6-1 lefty with great pace, born to play point guard, but he has the personality and competitiveness of a floor general that can lead a program. His personality and skills also make him a guy others want to play with like five-star, 2017 big man Mohamed Bamba, who visited Texas with Coleman and would consider the Longhorns even more strongly - some believe Texas leads for Bamba right now - than he already is if Coleman picks them. And Coleman isn't in a hurry to be try to be in the NBA.

Coleman, a Norfolk, Virginia native, is the kind of point guard that can not only elevate his teammates and team, but the overall Texas program under Smart. Putting a player like Coleman beside Texas' current guard group would give the Longhorns all the ballhandling, playmaking and decision-making they need to run a team at a high level. Then add in Jarrett Allen, who is likely to return to school at this point, and Dylan Osetkowski, who sources inside the program have compared favorably to former Iowa State standout Georges Niang and labeled as the best player in practice, and a point guard like Coleman would be surrounded by high-quality talent and experience inside and out.

Will Coleman choose to take up Smart's offer to be his point guard the moment he'd arrive? We'll find out Monday. While he can't fix this current Texas season, he would solidify arguably basketball's most important roster spot, which would firmly place Texas' future on the right path.