Comparing potential point guard transfers for KU

Delaware's Kory Holden in action during an NCAA college basketball game against Villanova, Sunday, Nov. 30, 2014, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Kansas basketball coach Bill Self and his assistants remain in the hunt for a high school player who can help the Jayhawks in the upcoming 2016-17 season. In the meantime, it seems increasingly likely they will also add a transfer with college experience.

Reports surfaced in early April of KU’s interest in Kory Holden, formerly of Delaware. News on the transfer front heated up Monday, though, with the names of San Francisco’s Devin Watson and Duke’s Derryck Thornton being linked with Kansas, as well.

All three play point guard, and if any were to join KU it would mean sitting out a season. It seems as though Self wants to bring in an experienced ball handler to share the backcourt with Devonté Graham in 2017-18, after Frank Mason III completes his senior season with the Jayhawks.

Here’s a look at what each potential transfer could bring to KU.

Kory Holden | 6-2, 180

Delaware's Kory Holden in action during an NCAA college basketball game against Villanova, Sunday, Nov. 30, 2014, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Season MP FG% 2P 2PA 2P% 3P 3PA 3P% FT FTA FT% TRB AST STL BLK TOV PTS
2014-15 34.1 .395 3.2 8.0 .401 0.8 2.2 .375 3.5 4.7 .756 3.1 5.0 0.6 0.1 3.3 12.4
2015-16 36.3 .395 3.7 9.3 .400 2.3 5.9 .388 3.4 4.2 .795 3.0 4.2 0.4 0.1 2.9 17.7
Career 35.2 .395 3.5 8.7 .400 1.6 4.1 .384 3.4 4.4 .775 3.1 4.6 0.5 0.1 3.1 15.1
Provided by Sports-Reference.com/CBB: View Original Table

In two seasons at Delaware, Kory Holden didn’t experience much team success. The Fightin’ Blue Hens went 10-20 in his freshman year, and finished 7-23 in 2015-16.

However, Holden, rated a three-star point guard out of high school, proved to be one of the program’s few bright spots. While Holden distributed the ball well, dishing 4.6 assists a game in 59 appearances (55 starts), he also increased his scoring average from 12.4 points in Year One to 17.7 points as a sophomore.

Holden shot 38.8% from 3-point range in his final year at Delaware, connecting on 69 long-range bombs.

Against some of the stiffest competition the Hens faced this past season, Holden more than held his own. The lead guard scored 35 points and shot 6-for-13 from deep in a loss at Boston College. In his very next game, Holden put up 23 points, going 6-for-10 from 3-point distance, in a road loss to eventual national champion Villanova.

Devin Watson | 6-1, 165

San Francisco guard Devin Watson (1) drives around Pepperdine guard Amadi Udenyi during the first half of a West Coast Conference tournament NCAA college basketball game Saturday, March 5, 2016, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Season MP FG% 2P 2PA 2P% 3P 3PA 3P% FT FTA FT% TRB AST STL TOV PTS
2014-15 23.6 .383 2.1 4.8 .440 0.5 2.1 .250 2.6 3.6 .730 1.7 2.5 1.0 1.9 8.4
2015-16 34.7 .418 4.2 9.1 .465 2.2 6.2 .349 5.3 7.2 .733 2.5 4.9 0.9 3.0 20.3
Career 29.1 .407 3.2 6.9 .456 1.3 4.1 .324 3.9 5.4 .732 2.1 3.7 1.0 2.4 14.2
Provided by Sports-Reference.com/CBB: View Original Table

A significant jump in minutes also meant a massive leap in production for second-year San Francisco guard Devin Watson, who will be moving on from the Dons.

Watson, playing for former Kansas guard and since-fired coach Rex Walters at USF, became a workhorse for the West Coast Conference program as a sophomore. Playing 34.7 minutes a game, the small guard passed out 4.9 assists a game while also scoring 20.3 an outing.

Not quite as good a shooter as Holden, Watson (also rated as a three-star point guard in the Class of 2014) connected on 65 of his 186 3-pointers for San Francisco this past season (34.9%).

Watson tied his career high with 33 points in what turned out to be his USF finale, a WCC Tournament loss to Pepperdine, a game in which he went 4-for-7 from 3-point land.

His other 33-point outing came in January, when Watson also distributed 7 assists and shot 5-for-12 from downtown in a loss to Gonzaga.

Derryck Thornton | 6-2, 175

Louisville's Donovan Mitchell (45) guards Duke's Derryck Thornton (12) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Durham, N.C., Monday, Feb. 8, 2016. Duke won 72-65. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

Season MP FG% 2P 2PA 2P% 3P 3PA 3P% FT FTA FT% TRB AST STL BLK TOV PTS
2015-16 26.0 .390 1.9 4.4 .421 0.8 2.3 .329 1.1 1.6 .690 1.8 2.5 0.8 0.2 1.6 7.1
Career 26.0 .390 1.9 4.4 .421 0.8 2.3 .329 1.1 1.6 .690 1.8 2.5 0.8 0.2 1.6 7.1
Provided by Sports-Reference.com/CBB: View Original Table

After playing 36 games for Duke as a freshman, Derryck Thornton might be on the move from one college basketball blue blood program to another.

Thornton’s numbers — 7.1 points, 2.5 assists, 27 of 82 on 3-pointers in 26.0 minutes (20 starts) — might not be as eye-popping as those of Watson and Holden, but Delaware and San Francisco certainly don’t have the type of talented teammates Thornton had at Duke.

What’s more, Thornton was much more highly regarded coming out of high school, with a five-star rating and offers from the likes of Duke, Arizona and UCLA.

The Blue Devils, who finished 25-11 and lost in the Sweet 16, were 15-5 with Thornton in the starting lineup.

His most productive games, however, came against inferior competition. Thornton only turned out one double-digit scoring performance in the final three months of the season — 15 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists at Georgia Tech.

During Thornton’s brief stay in Durham, N.C., his best showings came in the non-conference, with a career-high 19 points against VCU, and 18 points against Long Beach State on 8-for-12 shooting (2-for-3 from 3-point range).