Points of transition: Memphis' Darius Washington and Texas' Daniel Gibson are learning that the evolution from scorer to playmaker takes time.(COLLEGE BASKETBALL)

They chose different universities to major in the same subject: point guard. Darius Washington is a sophomore at Memphis Daniel Gibson is a sophomore at Texas. Their course of study might be the most challenging offered at the undergraduate level.

Oh, sure, the pre-med folks always are complaining about the agony of organic chemistry, but there are lots of doctors around, so somebody is passing. But how many guys in the NBA were made into point guards? Most were born into it.

"Coming in, I had no idea the position is as tough as it is," Gibson says.

"You get frustrated sometimes," Washington says.

Duke's Greg Paulus is such a natural point guard he not only has run a team in basketball but also in football--as an All-American high school quarterback. A freshman, he has faced both Washington and Gibson.

"Both of them can score," Paulus says. "It's a tough transition from being a scorer to setting everybody up. That's one way of looking at it. The other way of looking at it is that you're more dangerous because you can score as well as get guys involved."

Washington always has had the ball in his hands. Gibson, too. But in high school, they looked to score. Playing point guard means directing the offense and defense, and neither is getting to figure that out in private. Each plays for a national championship contender, and each player's conversion from high school scoring star to collegiate playmaker impacts his team's pursuit of the Final Four.