FlurrySports ranks the best point guards in UConn basketball history, including players throughout all of the eras of the university’s existence.
In the last 28 years of college basketball, there might not be a better program in the sport than UConn basketball. It took 13 years for the great Jim Calhoun to get in the winner’s circle, but when UConn won its first championship in 1999, it ignited a fuse that has since taken off to include five NCAA Tournament championship wins over three coaching regimes. When looking at the great Huskies teams in college basketball history, there are two things that are staples: intense coaching and stellar point guard play.
With that being said, let’s take a look at the five greatest point guards in UConn basketball history, including players who have cemented their legacies as some of the greatest college basketball players of the last 26 years.
Best Point Guards in UConn Basketball History
5. Ryan Boatright (2011-15)
14.0 PPG (points per game), 3.5 RPG, 3.8 APG, 41.6% FG, 38% 3PT
In the late 2000s and early 2010s, the talk of UConn basketball revolved around the lead guard position. With Kemba Walker and Shabazz Napier, it always seemed like the Huskies were going to be in every game, and that was true. The overlooked player in that backcourt, though, was Ryan Boatright. While not carrying the same name value as Walker or Napier, Boatright was instrumental in UConn’s march to the 2014 NCAA Championship. Averaging 12.1 PPG in that run, he was able to play his secondary-scoring role perfectly, taking some of the burden off of Napier and seemingly always producing when his name got called upon.
Finishing his UConn basketball career with 1,786 points, Boatright currently ranks as the school’s ninth-highest scorer of all time. Boatright also ranks 10th in total career assists for the Huskies, proving that he was more than just a go-to scorer. When he was finally given the reins to be the guy during his senior season, Boatright scored 17.4 PPG, leading the entire American Athletic Conference. One of the more underrated players in college basketball over the past two decades, Boatright’s impact on UConn basketball will be remembered by the Husky faithful.
4. Chris Smith (1988-92)
16.9 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 3.4 APG, 42.1% FG, 40% 3PT
When we talk about UConn point guards, Chris Smith’s name is not the first that comes to mind, but he was really the first great Huskies player of the Jim Calhoun era. Playing his high school ball in Bridgeport, Smith elected to stay home for his college career, where he etched his name into the university’s record books. Smith finished his college career with 2,145 total points, which still stands as the most in school history. Each year of his four-year career at UConn saw his scoring average increase, with his senior season culminating in a 21.2 PPG effort.
During his senior season, Smith took home First-Team All-American honors. What hurts him on this list is his lack of winning a championship when compared to the other guys on this list. That is not to say that he did not have postseason success, as during his tenure, UConn did make three NCAA Tournaments. Smith’s legacy as the school’s all-time leading scorer, adding to being the first great player in the Calhoun era.
3. Tristen Newton (2022-24)
12.6 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 5.5 APG, 39.9% FG, 33.7% 3PT
The most recent entry on this list comes in the form of Tristen Newton, who goes down as UConn’s best transfer in their history. After spending his first three years at East Carolina, Newton joined Dan Hurley and never looked back. With Newton starting at point guard, the Huskies won back-to-back championships and performed as one of the best players in the entire country. During Newton’s fifth season in college, he came away a First-Team All-American selection, the Bob Cousy Award and the NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player Award.
While those back-to-back championship teams were loaded with Adama Sanogo, Alex Karaban, Jordan Hawkins, Donovan Clingan, Stephon Castle and Andre Jackson, among others, it was Newton who was the driving force behind the Huskies. His scoring ability, partnered with his playmaking, made him the best player on each of those teams, even if the stats don’t back that up. Recording four triple-doubles in his UConn basketball career, Newton’s impact on the Huskies cannot be understated.
2. Shabazz Napier (2010-14)
13.7 PPG, 4 RPG, 4.5 APG, 41.1% FG, 37.5% 3PT
How do you follow up one of the greatest runs in college basketball history from Kemba Walker? You have one of your own. While Shabazz Napier and UConn’s run to the championship in 2014 was quite as dramatic’s was Walker’s, it seemed almost impossible that it was happening again. UConn was basically guaranteed a tournament spot, but seeing what they did come tournament time was nonetheless impressive. Napier took the seventh-seeded Huskies to glory, knocking off a poor, by Kentucky standards, Wildcats, where he averaged just north of 21 PPG. The only other NBA player on that team was Amid Brimah, who played five games for the Pacers in 2021.
Napier is one of two players with two championships on this list, and for good reason. Though he was pushed to a reduced role behind Walker during his freshman season, Napier helped lead the bench unit with his 7.8 PPG, three APG averages. Napier finished his college career with NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player, a consensus First-Team All-American, the Bob Cousy Award winner and American Athletic Conference Player of the Year in his senior season. Very few players even come close to that for recognition throughout their college careers and Napier did it in one season. Napier would have been on this list anyway if we only used his senior season, him bringing home two championships guarantees him a top-two spot on the list.
1. Kemba Walker (2008-11)
16.1 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 4.1 APG, 42.8% FG, 32.6% 3PT
In March of 2011, there was no hotter basketball player on the planet than Kemba Walker. Teaming up with Jeremy Lamb and a young Napier, Walker carried the Huskies to an unforgettable NCAA Tournament Championship run. Needing to win the Big East Tournament to even get into the big dance, Walker etched his name into college basketball history by putting UConn on his back in one of the greatest runs in history. UConn won five games in five days to take home the Big East title before winning six straight in the NCAA Tournament. During that 11-game stretch, Walker recorded averages of 24.6 PPG on 43.5% shooting, including converting on an all-time college basketball moment in hitting the game-winner against Pittsburgh in the Big East Tournament.
While Walker’s historic run to a championship is what many will remember about him, his overall career with the Huskies is extremely underrated. After starting just two games in his freshman season and averaging 8.9 PPG, Walker was inserted into the starting lineup in his sophomore campaign, where he upped his scoring numbers to 14.6 PPG. Walker was the perfect lead guard for Calhoun’s system, and his 23.5 PPG season in his junior season cemented Cardiac Kemba as not only one of the game’s greatest players since 2000, but one of the game’s greatest players of all time.
