Who will be this team's starting point guard?

The George Mason Patriots outlook for the 2011-2012 season contains some question marks.  Not only is there a new head coach in town but there are also some changes on the roster.  The team returns next year without two starters and without their sixth man. They do have a possible starter in the making returning from injury and highly touted center coming in.  However one of the biggest questions going into next season is who will be this team's point guard? We have been hearing that Paul Hewitt's teams are mostly guard oriented so you would have to think the point guard is as important as ever in his system.  The returning nucleus of the Patriots would suggest the strength of the team lies in the front court but how effective will they be without a good facilitator? 

Cam Long and Luke Hancock were the only ones filling up the assists column on the box score last season.  Mike Morrison is the returning assist leader (scary thought) and actually recorded slightly more per game than Andre Cornelius. Hancock as a matter of fact was one of the most efficient players in the country last season when it came to assists.  According to Kenpom's statistics he was in the top 100 for "assists rate", which shows the assists divided by the field goals made by the player’s teammates while he is on the court.  It's no shocker that he was an integral part of last season's balance and efficiency on offense for Mason.

Let's take a look at the candidates:

Andre Cornelius - Seems like the obvious choice as he has the most experience on the current roster.  Personally I feel like he is a shooting guard trapped in a point guard's body and is better suited for the two spot.  He will look for the open three before dishing out the ball and doesn't have the best vision when it comes to setting up plays.  His long range shooting will impress Paul Hewitt but can he handle the point guard duties full time? Defensively he is the best choice for the position but this isn't Larranaga's camp anymore and you have to wonder how much emphasis Hewitt will put on defense.  It certainly wasn't his strong  point at Georgia Tech.  To start off the season I could very well see Cornelius getting some time at the starting point guard spot but there will be others pushing him for minutes.

Bryon Allen - A guard that probably has the most potential on the roster is sophomore Bryon Allen. He was stuck behind a lot of talent last season but the opportunity should be there this season. He has the advantage of not being entrenched in the former regime game plan which could make the transition to Paul Hewitt a bit easier for him.  The coaching staff will like his unselfish play and ability to get to the rim but his lack of overall experience could hurt his chances.  Defensively he might not be there with Andre Cornelius and Vertrail Vaughns but I do think he's a better playmaker and facilitator. Vaughns and Cornelius are also excellent in transition where Allen is better suited for the half-court offense.  Another thing he has going for him is his size. At 6'3" 215 he dwarfs Cornelius and Vaughns and was a tough customer inside during his high school days.  Hewitt had a lot of 6'3" - 6'5" guards at Georgia Tech so I'd have to think he'd slightly favor a bigger point guard.  Here's an interesting stat: Allen played about half as many minutes as Vertrail Vaughns last season and yet managed to accumulate more total assists (19 compared to Vaughns 11).

Vertrail Vaughns - Vaughns really turned some heads last season when he would come off the bench and provide a big spark with some great three-point shooting.  He had five games last year where he finished in double-digit scoring so we know offense isn't an issue. Like Allen he was an unselfish high school player who served as his team's floor general but we didn't much of that under Jim Larranaga. I got the feeling that weren't really trying to use him as a point guard but more of an offensive spark plug off the bench.  He hasn't show us much of his passing skills and so far he has turned the ball over more than you'd like to see in his limited minutes as a Patriot.  Ideally he is probably better coming off the bench like Isaiah Tate last season could be just as valuable of a sixth man as he was.

Corey Edwards - Edwards was convinced by Hewitt and his staff to honor his commitment to George Mason. I've wrote about how I think he could be that classic old-school point guard the team needs and he seems to have all the tools.  The scouting reports noted that he was known for creating shots for his teammates and having "tremendous handle" and court vision.  He fits the criteria of a pure point guard, something even Cam Long and Luke Hancock wouldn't be described as last year.  Larranaga loved his efforts on defense and his ability to create turnovers.  He's not nearly as a good a shooter as the rest of these guys listed above and wasn't known for getting to the rim. Despite that he seems to have potential as a playmaker but I don't know how much of him we will see this season.