In his first remarks as NIU’s new men’s basketball head coach, Matt Majkrzak briefly pinpointed his solution to the most pressing issues of the 2025-26 Huskies: recruiting.
With an entire team of incoming transfers lined up to compete, Majkrzak managed to get three prospects who can be classified as true point guards: Cal Klesmit, Colin Hardrick and Nino Carter-Smith.
Let’s take a deep dive on what constitutes an athlete as a point guard, and go through what makes each prospect stand out.
Why this trio ?
True point guards do more than score the ball. They can be trusted to be an efficient force on both sides of the floor, all while usually being the smallest athlete in a rotation. These three guards are no stranger to being classified under this narrative.
The average height of this trio stands at 6-foot-2, while the cumulative points per game is at a respectable 12.9 as of the 2025-2026 season. For Huskie fans, the burning question is who on earth is going to take the starting spot as the next leader on the court?
Who stands out
Statistically speaking, Hardick’s scoring splits stand out the most. The incoming junior from Drury University averaged 15.5 points per game on 42% from the field. With the loss of crucial scorers like Makhai Valentine, Hardrick might be the guy to fill the offensive void the Huskies might have trouble with during the 2026-2027 season.
Points don’t tell the entire story. Carter-Smith wins the battle of efficient shooting from the field, on a 47% clip. Aside from the field, Klesmit has proven to be the most dominant from beyond the arc, going 41.8% from downtown.
Putting it all together
While Carter-Smith and Klesmit have better scoring efficiency than Hardrick, they both took 283 and 312 attempts from the field as compared to his 392. Statistically, Hardrick has proven to be a high-volume scorer while still shooting at least 40% from the field.
By the end of the 2025-2026 season, Hardrick showed that being a point guard extends further beyond scoring. He ended the season with 181 assists — over 30 more than the other two guards — while proving to be a solid defender with 100 steals.
Final Verdict
While important, stats don’t tell the entire story. Klesmit has already played an entire season under coach Majkrzak at NMU. He is already up to speed on Majkrzak’s entire playstyle, and personality. With many of his teammates transferring into NIU from Northern Michigan, the frontrunner for the Huskies newest starting true point guard might be clear.
Only time will tell what will actually happen during the season. With the transfer portal just recently opening, and the high school class of 2026’s graduation on the horizon, the Huskies have a chance to continue to shake up the entire roster even further. It will surely be interesting to see how each of these guards handle a potential position battle.
