Chris Hill wasn't a point guard when he was being recruited in 2001. He never thought he would play the point when he arrived at Michigan State last fall. And, certainly, if the topic came up, the sophomore didn't think he would be asked to play the position as soon, or as much, as he already has in East Lansing.

Big 12 Stars

The Big 12 all-stars, or better yet, the conference's stars-to-be were tested just once on their trip through Scandinavia. But that was hardly the purpose of this year's sojourn. Baylor's Lawrence Roberts had to get on the court after breaking his left tibia in a pickup game following the 2001-02 season. Getting to play small forward for his coach Dave Bliss on this trip was gravy. "The big part of going on this trip was getting some games out of it because of my leg," said Roberts, who led the Bears in scoring (16.6 ppg) and rebounding (8.2 rpg) as a freshman last season. "I definitely got out of it what I wanted." Bliss played the 6-8 Roberts at small forward in large part because of the traditional big men he had on the team in Texas' Jason Klotz and Oklahoma State's powerful Ivan McFarlin. Klotz (4.2 ppg) didn't get many touches, but McFarlin (12.3 ppg, 5.2 rpg) simply found ways to score. Bliss called McFarlin the type of player a coach wants on the team because he finds a way to get to the basket. Having McFarlin around allowed Roberts more freedom at small forward. "It's not a position he'll play a lot of for us but he adjusted well in the last few games of the trip," said Bliss of the Big 12's 6-0 mark on the tour. "What he did show was how well he could pass (13 assists for Roberts). He was an exceptional passer on this trip." Bliss rotated Roberts at small forward with Kansas' Bryant Nash (4.3 ppg, 2.3 rpg) and Colorado's Blair Wilson (9 ppg, 2.7 rpg). Roberts struggled making 3s (1 of 10) and scoring, finishing with 7.5 points and five rebounds. But he ended the trip as one of the favorites of the squad. So, too, did Kansas State's Pervis Pasco (11.8 ppg, 7 rpg), Oklahoma's Quannas White (27 assists, 13 turnovers), Missouri's Travon Bryant (7.7 rpg) and Iowa State's Jake Sullivan (18 of 29 for 62.1 percent on 3s). "Pervis Pasco and Travon both surprised me and I'm sure they'll have outstanding seasons," Roberts said. Bliss agreed. Pasco (12.1 ppg, 8.4 rpg last season) was the best athlete on the team, Bryant, perhaps, the best inside-out scorer after being passed over by Clarence Gilbert and Kareem Rush in the Tigers lineup last season. "Pervis is just so athletic and he can cause so many problems with his size at 6-9," Bliss said of the Kansas State rising senior. "Travon hit some 3s, finished on the break, was strong around the basket and was better than I thought." That's because the Tigers' coaching staff has been working on his perimeter game and his overall confidence, according to Missouri assistant Lane Odom. "And this trip was critical for him to get some games this summer," Odom said. Sullivan had a bum ankle prior to the trip, but that didn't stop him from stamping his toughness label on the team. White did for this team what he does for the Sooners and that's bring them together after huddles and ensure no one strays. Nebraska's Jake Muhlheisen (7 of 14 on 3s), Texas Tech's Will Chavis (23 assists and 10 turnovers) and Texas A&M's Nick Anderson (seven steals) were complimentary players who didn't wilt when called upon. -- Andy Katz, ESPN.com

But an injury to incumbent point Marcus Taylor midway through the 2001-02 season, and the sophomore's subsequent departure to the NBA draft last June, leaves Hill as the Spartans' primary playmaker in 2002-03. It also placed even more importance on Hill being part of the Big Ten all-star team that just returned from Europe last week.

Traveling to Europe, or to other global destinations, as a member of a conference all-star team usually is the result one of two reasons: the need for playing time, or as a reward for services provided at a school.

Hill, with just one season of Big Ten play under his belt, and even less time running any team's offense, needed the playing time. Players like Indiana senior Tom Coverdale and Illinois senior Sean Harrington got the gig in large part because of their loyalty.

"Consider it mission accomplished,'' Michigan State associate head coach Brian Gregory. "He needed to play the point, play with the ball in his hands, initiate offense and create shots for himself. The tour gave him that opportunity to do it in live competition."

Hill had no issues adapting to the position, helping the Big Ten go 4-1 on the 11-day trip through Germany, Belgium and The Netherlands. Hill averaged 12.6 points, leading the team with 15 assists and shooting 43.5 percent on 3s. The all-star team's coach, Illinois' Bill Self, rotated each group of players in five-minute intervals with Hill, Coverdale and Minnesota's Ben Johnson sharing the point.

"It wasn't exactly structured offense, but he was our best performer," Self said.

And that shouldn't be a surprise. Hill did his homework before the team left for Europe, picking Self's brain as to how he wanted to use him and what situations would be best for him to develop during the course of the two weeks the team was together. And it's no wonder why Gregory is pushing Hill to be an academic all-American.

"Playing the point is about instinct and understanding the game," Hill said. "I feel I have a good background in that. I played high school football as a quarterback and a lot of those traits are interchangeable. That's something that I have in me. This trip was great for me because I got experience doing that."

Hill didn't play the point at Lawrence North High in Indianapolis, instead he was part of a three-guard offense where the 6-foot-3 Hill was the biggest of the three and played more on the wing. He didn't even play the point for his AAU team the Municipal Gardens of Indiana. But when an injury sidelined Taylor last January, Hill scored a season-best 25 points in starting at the point against Minnesota.

"I had no idea how much point I would play," Hill said. "I figured that Marcus would be here at least this coming year and then, maybe, be gone. It's going to be a challenge, but I'm looking forward to it."

Junior college transfer Rashi Johnson will backup Hill for the preseason Big Ten favorites and offer a different look, more of a get-up-and-go playmaker who won't look for his shot as much as Hill. Gregory said Hill mastered the offense in one year, making his transition to full-time point guard smoother in year two.

Still, Hill is not the prototypical point. He can play all three perimeter positions. But, when the option of going on the trip was available, "we saw this as a great opportunity for him to play the point and it just made so much sense."

Self's decision to take his own guard Roger Powell, and to some extent Harrington, was a no-brainer. Powell needed experience after playing behind Cory Bradford last season. He had to get some minutes distributing the basketball, and spending some quality time with Self didn't hurt, either. Powell ended up leading the team in scoring with 14 points and shooting 58.3 percent.

Hill said he was surprised by the aggressiveness in which Harrington and Powell played, a trait that is common among Self-coached players.

"I needed to get experience against pressure defense and bringing up the ball," said Powell, who averaged only 5.9 minutes and 2.9 points as a freshman last season.

"Roger can score, but what he had to do is make others better and I talked to him about being more aggressive and using his slashing ability to create for others," Self said. "He did a good job of that. He made the other guys better."

Harrington did what he always does -- make open shots for Self, whether that be for Illinois or the Big Ten stars. The senior-to-be connected on 44.4 percent (12 of 27) of his 3-point attempts. Coverdale didn't shoot the ball as well (25 percent on 3s) but left an unselfish impression with his teammates after the trip. Johnson, who transferred from Northwestern to Minnesota and sat out last season, needed the trip to get his timing down against real competition. He misfired on all seven 3s he took overseas, but he got to the line 11 times and made nine for 81.8 percent.

Overall, the collection of role players and team stars meshed better than Self even expected. Michigan's Bernard Robinson, the Wolverines star guard, averaged 10.2 points and 6.8 boards and had 18 points and 14 boards in one game, abusing his defenders with his first step. The rotation of big men on this team simply didn't get enough touches and that's why the numbers for Iowa's Jared Reiner (6.2 ppg, 4.8 rpg), Wisconsin's Dave Madar (3.6 ppg, 6.8 rpg), Purdue's Ivan Kartelo (3.0 ppg, 4.8 rpg) and Ohio State's Velimir Radinovic (7.2 ppg, 4.4 rpg) weren't as high as they could be on a more post-oriented offense.

Radinovic was probably the most used of the group. Northwestern's Winston Blake led the Wildcats last season in scoring, but struggled to get shots on this team, averaging 5.2 points and shooting 36.7 percent. Penn State's Jason McDougald (3.2 ppg, 1.8 rpg) was hampered by a bad knee and wasn't in the regular rotation like the rest of the players.

For Self, the tour was reassurance that he could handle the everyday stress that goes with coaching after having 12 inches of his colon removed last month.

"When I signed up for it, it sounded good, going to Europe," Self said. "But then when it got here I wondered if I wanted to spend most of August away from my family, coaching guys I won't be with during the season. In the end, I had a far better time then what I thought.''

Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com.