No one in the NBA D-League passed the basketball last year like Mad Ants point guard Walker Russell Jr. He pushed the ball at breakneck speed, dished left and right, looking and not looking, forever and ever. When it was done, he'd notched more assists in a season than any D-League player in history.

Now he's dishing in Bulgaria.

That leaves the Mad Ants looking for a new leader, someone who can run the team in set plays and breaks, through feast and famine, night in and night out.

“The performance Walker put on last season – that's a tough act to follow,” Ants guard Ron Howard said.

Howard should know. As the team's leading returning scorer (18.7 ppg), he was on the receiving end of many of those Russell passes.

Who'll be sending the ball Howard's way – and other players' ways – this season? Three players will fight for the spot early: Kyle McAlarney, Brandon Cotton and Andres Sandoval.

McAlarney is the most well-known, having completed a stellar career at the University of Notre Dame last spring. He also has a leg up since two of the players he'll be looking to find on the offense are former teammates Rob Kurz and Ryan Ayers.

“He's doing well. He's learning the ins and outs of the pro game,” Howard said.

McAlarney is known most as a shooting guard, where he set Notre Dame records for three-pointers in his junior and senior seasons. He's 6-foot-1, 185 pounds, which is on the small size in terms of NBA guards.There's no question he can provide punch offensively, but he'll need to step up his defensive play to be an effective pro point guard.

“The thing I battle is my size and my athletic ability,” McAlarney said. “Some of these guys, their athletic ability is amazing. I try to make up for that in other ways. Defensively, I just have to try to play as hard as I can and stay in front of guys. I don't think I'll ever be all-defensive first-team in the NBA, but I hope I can have an impact on the floor playing hard, being vocal, being in good position and taking care of those things I can control.”

McAlarney will be pushed for the spot by Cotton and Sandoval, both looking to establish their pro careers. Cotton, who averaged 18.1 points per game two years ago at the University of Detroit Mercy, was recommended by the Detroit Pistons to attend the Mad Ants open tryout. He was invited back to training camp and earned a roster spot.

His strengths include quickness and court savvy, built by playing against top competition in Detroit. He was runner-up for Michigan's Mr. Basketball as a prep player and played at Michigan State before transferring to Detroit Mercy. He's 6-foot, 175 pounds but has experience playing against bigger guards.

“I'm just a player,” Cotton said. “I can dish. I can score. I can defend. Whatever Coach needs me to do, I can do that.” He says his best skills include penetrating the lane and creating shots for himself and others.

“I have to use my quickness,” Cotton said. “Other guys at this level, they're bigger. So I have to use my quickness and do what I do best.”

Sandoval is 6-3, 195 pounds. After a college career at Dayton, he spent a season playing professionally in Venezuela. He said playing overseas made him develop the physical side of his game by necessity.

“It's definitely more physical there,” he said. “It was a little bit of basketball and a little bit of WWF.” He said he believes NBA scouts are looking for bigger point guards and hopes he is able to gain notice while making an impact on the Mad Ants.

“I need to show I can run a team and be consistent,” he said. “That's what the scouts want – players who are consistent and show they can do what you need to do at the point guard spot.”

Whether it's McAlarney, Cotton or Sandoval who pulls most of the point-guard minutes this season, he'll need to make quick decisions and big plays. Russell's play last season came after strong point guard play in 2007-08 by Earl Calloway.

It's too early in the franchise's life to have a tradition, but much is expected from Mad Ants point guards.

“A couple years ago, Earl Calloway was playing well, and when he wasn't coming back, everyone was wondering, ‘What are we going to do?'” Howard said. “Walker Russell comes in and leads the league in assists. Now he's gone and it gives someone else an opportunity to make a name for himself.”