Shooting specialists…
Posted by hoopsknowitall on July 2, 2008
Next up is minutes per made three-pointer. While the SEC lost its top five shooters in this category, including the likes of Foster, Lofton, Riley, Ole Miss’ Rodney Jones, and JuJuan Smith, newcomers like Tennessee’s Scotty Hopson should bring shooting prowess back to the SEC.
MINUTES PER THREE-POINTER MADE
1. Chris Warren, Ole Miss (10.8) – Warren was a heavily underrated shooter last season, as his ball-handling prowess got most of the publicity. His 38.9% mark from long range should only improve as the sophomore-to-be returns as the SEC’s most dangerous three-point shooter.
2. Troy Brewer, Georgia (11.0) – Surprisingly, Brewer’s most impressive ability is putting up shots. Despite his ridiculously high amount of three-pointers taken (77 in just 253 minutes) and hitting just 29.9% of those, he ranks second in the conference in this category.
3. Trevor Gaskins, Ole Miss (11.3) – A diamond-in-the-rough for Kennedy’s squad, Gaskins is yet another impressive freshman from last season’s Ole Miss team. Gaskins hit 38.7% of his 119 three-point attempts, and should be among the most lethal shooters in the conference this coming season.
4. Marcus Thornton, LSU (11.6) – If you’re not tired of seeing this guy’s name on these lists yet, you will be. Thornton was a do-everything guy for the Tigers last season, including his impressive 37.7% mark from 239 attempts from three. Thornton is possibly the single most dynamic player in the conference.
5. David Huertas, Ole Miss (12.1) – Seeing a trend here? The Rebels grab three of the top five spots in this category with Huertas, who drained an above-average 36.1% of his well-above-average 208 attempts. Huertas will look to be a leader on next year’s Rebel squad as a junior, who lose a great deal of inside presence and should be a very young team.
6. Evaldas Baniulis, South Carolina (12.7) – Although Baniulis (how do you pronounce that name?) had one of the highest three-point percentages in the conference last season – an astounding 44.2% – he was for the most part unheralded. With just 95 attempts during his sophomore season, there’s no reason this junior-to-be shouldn’t be moved into the starting lineup as a potential break-out star.
7. Kelvin Lewis, Auburn (12.8) – Another case of simply too many poor judgements, Lewis hit just 29.2% of his attempts from long range and attempted 48 of them in just 179 minutes.
8. Adam Allen, Florida (14.3) – Allen was a heavily under-the-radar type last season for the Gators and would have been the team’s best three-point shooter if not for Jai Lucas. With Lucas returning, there’s little hope for this 42.1% long-range shooter to move into the starting lineup, but this sophomore-to-be will have his day as an SEC stand-out.
9. Brandis Raley-Ross, South Carolina (15.1) – Surprisingly, this is a case of an unbelievably high percentage and not from amount taken. Possibly the most efficient shooter in the conference last season not named Shan Foster, Raley-Ross’ only flaw was lacking the confidence to attempt enough bombs. The junior-to-be hit a blazing 51.4% of them (while only shooting 48.8% from the floor) and yet only attempted 72 in 558 minutes. If this young man could shoot some more, he could open eyes not just in the SEC, but the nation.
10. Jodie Meeks, Kentucky (15.9) – Meeks is a under-utitlized shooter with a ton of potential, but will need to see more playing time to fully utitlize it. While ranking among the top ten in the conference in this category, he shoots just 32.0% from behind the arc and attempted 50 in just 255 minutes. If Meeks were to see the floor more often, I suspect his percentages would go up, as he played in just 11 games but started in five of them.
First impression is shock with the Rebels. While the Rebs will be relying heavily upon their young shooters next season with the loss of Williams and Curtis, it looks as if they may be okay to do so, considering the overwhelming impressiveness of their freshmen’s efficiency.
South Carolina, with their huge arsenal returning, could be a hot-shooting team next season as well, and one I would look at as a early pre-season dark horse.
Surprising not to see 2006-07’s most promising freshman shooter and SEC Freshman of the Year Patrick Beverly. Beverly shot effectively from long distance (37.8%) although not nearly as reliably as his first season, and simply didn’t attempt many shots considering the amount of time he saw.
Next up will be three-pointers attempted…
