Here is my list what about you?
1. JJ Redick
2. Trajan langdon
3. Jason Williams
4. Chris Collins
5. Mike Dunleavy Jr.
I think there were only three worth recognition, JJ, JWill, and Trajan.
Great list. Definitely agree with the first and second choices. I'd put J-Will as the fifth choice, upgrade Chris Collins to third, and put Battier fourth.
I can't put Scheyer because, despite him being a phenomenal player, was such a streaking three point shooter and went on extended shooting slumps during parts of his junior and senior seasons. Laettner had the most ridiculous 3pt % his senior year (around 55%) but wasn't a great shooter his other three years.
Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfils the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things. - Winston Churchill
President of the "Nolan Smith Should Have His Jersey in The Rafters" Club
I am sorry, but Collins does not belong on the list unless it's as an honorable mention. He had two great seasons percentage-wise: fr and sr year. those years he his 37 and 79 threes, respectively, at 44%. but his so. and jr. season his % slipped to %33 and then to 23%. His jr year he hit only 17 shots. I would like my list to have a little more consistency than that. In no way does he belong above Battier OR JWill, who had some of the best 3-pt seasons in Duke history (huge volume & great percentages) along with Redick.
ed: I also disagree with Scheyer, who is probably the most consistent 3-pt shooter. he his 38% each of his last three seasons, each year shooting more 3's. Last year he hit 110 3's. Sheyer is way better a shooter than Collins, so this whole post has me confused.
Last edited by theAlaskanBear; 12-06-2010 at 09:30 AM.
Hmmm... the list of the 10 most famous 3's in Duke history would have Hurley on it at least three times, maybe four. It would be a weird list, with Laettner, Dockery, Capel and Nick Horvath competing to make appearances. OK, Horvath only gets honorable mention.
What was JJ's most memorable 3? His last one against BC in the 2006 ACC Tournament? Would Trajan's be the 4-point play against UConn? Do we count Duhon's against UConn that allowed Duke to cover the spread?
Oh, whatever, here's my list:
10. Hurley @ Michigan, December '91
9. Laettner @ LSU, 1992
8. JJ vs. BC, 2006 ACC Tournament
7. Scheyer vs. Baylor, 2010, late in game after rebounding missed free throw
6. Williams @ Maryland, 2001, the one after he stole the inbounds pass
5. Capel vs. unc in Cameron, 1995
4. Trajan vs. Michigan State (his only three of the game I believe), 1999 regional semifinal
3. Dunleavy's third of three straight vs. Arizona, 2001
2. Hurley vs. Kentucky in overtime, 1992
1. Hurley vs. Unlv, 1991
Beyond the top guy who, from what I've seen, we all agree is JJ I think the list is arguable and definitely varies based on the era and a lot of other factors.
I do take 2 things from what I've seen in many of the lists.
1. JJ was so pure. From the first time I saw that kid's stroke it was unreal. I'll never forget watching him stand in front of the UNC bench over 25 feet from the basket as they try to call a defense and he just pops and fires from there. It was a little silly to be honest.
2. The 2001 team had some prolific shooters- I've seen three guys from this team in ranked in the top five for all time shooters. It's arguable, to say the least, that they reach the rankings but the fact they could be in the conversation says a ton about just how good that team was. All those shooters and a Boozer type talent on the inside.
1. Redick: enough said.
2. Jason Williams: shot 39% as a high volume shooter -- hit 132 3's in 2001. That is only 7 behind Redick's best year -- and they shot essentially the same percent doing it.
3. Langdon: over Battier is tough, but Tajan was a higher volume shooter (80+ made threes soph-sr years) while Battier gradually built up his shooting. Also, better %.
4. Battier: always hit a great percentage -- just took him a couple of years to really start shooting lots of 3's. One of the best seasons ever with 124 3's
5. Laettner: this was the toughest decision by far, because we are comparing good guards with a center. I'll give it to Laettner because of his ridiculous shooting %s, and tiebreaker to the fact he his the most famous shot (2-pointer, I know) in Duke history.
Best of the Rest: John Scheyer. Find me someone with better stats. Better than Dunleavy, Collins, or any guards in the late 80s and the 90's save for Langdon. Singler would be close but he has to have a great year this year -- much better than he has been performing. Btw, Scheyers senior year he hit 110 shots -- two behind Langdons best year. 38% career, great consistency.
Honorable mentions: Hurley, Dunleavy Jr, Chris Collins, Singler, Smith, Daniel Ewing (who really surprised me).
That's a great, great point. We all know about Laettner's clutch performances in the NCAA tournament, but Hurley was right there with him. His 3 pointer against UNLV with us down by 5, right when UNLV seemed to have taken control of the game, was the biggest 3 pointer I can think of in the last 30 years of Duke basketball. Hurley misses that, we lose.
Hurley also came up huge with his 3 against KY, and his all-around performance against Indiana in the semis was what won us the game when Laettner was having an off night.
Hurley may not have been the best 3 point shooter game in and game out, but, when the season is on the line and we need a 3 pointer, I'm not sure I'd want anyone else taking the shot.
Two I throw out there to see what people think ...
Dockery's half-court buzzer beater. Meaningless regular season game, but it was bedlam and turned an L into a W.
JayWill's rebound of Ewing's miss and step back 3 at the end of the Indiana game in 2002 in which he was also fouled. [Parenthetically, I can never put JayWill up in any top 5 all-time great Duke list for the missed free throw that followed.]
I tried to think in terms of the point of the game the shot took place, the stakes involved, and the consequences if the shot hadn't gone in. So my list is mostly late-stage NCAA postseason games and regular-season games from national championship years.
Dockery's is hard to leave off; you can substitute it for #9 if you wish. Williams against Indiana would have made the list if we had won the game.
Another shot worth considering: Phil Henderson vs. Arkansas in the 1990 semifinal. People always seem to give the 1990 season short shrift, partially with good reason. This was a gem of a game, though. One run after another, and Henderson's shot capped off the final run of the game.
Is that why you used brackets? Because you couldn't do it parenthetically?[Parenthetically, I can never put JayWill up in any top 5 all-time great Duke list for the missed free throw that followed.]
For me there are only 2:
JJ
Trajan
Hurley's shot against UNLV changed Duke and the Duke program forever. I recall watching the game, and saying, this is the biggest clutch shot I can ever remember anyone from Duke ever making.
Yes, one shot does not a career make, but it sure puts Hurley in a special place.
Up and coming best 3 point shooter: Andre Dawkins
You can purchase this and many other great Duke games here: ncaaondemand.com
I got the Duke-MD FF game a few years ago after only seeing it the one time (I think that was the first live HD sports event I ever saw). That comeback in the late 1st/early 2nd half was just amazing. So fun to watch MD crumble under that pressure.
"Something in my vicinity is Carolina blue and this offends me." - HPR
Jon's 3 to put GA Tech away in last year's ACC tourney was huge. I don't want to think of how the team would have felt different going into the NCAA's off a loss... I would put that shot in my top-ten.
I agree that Hurley is the best 3-pt shooter in Duke history. It's not form or quantity that matters, but how you perform when the game is on the line. Or in the case of the UNLV shot, the entire future of the Duke program.
This reminded me of a recent conversation I had with friend who is a Duke hater. He said that UNLV team was the best college basketball team ever and Duke only won because UNLV threw the game. My first reply was how could they be the best team ever if they threw games? That's a pretty big flaw isn't it? But after thinking about it I realized that even though it was a huge upset at the time, in hindsight, Duke was actually a better team. Hurley, Laettner and Hill are top 50 all-time players. UNLV's top 3 - Anthony, Johnson and Augmon don't compare to those 3 Duke players. Larry Johnson is the only player that would get any consideration as a top 50 or top 100 all time player and he probably would come in behind all three Duke players. Anderson Hunt was their next best player and Thomas Hill was Duke's 4th best. Hunt went undrafted following that year while Thomas Hill was taken in the second round. Granted Hill was a freshman but still a very good player. Duke had not proven their greatness yet and UNLV was thought to be unbeatable. While the Runnin Rebels were intimidating I think Duke exposed their weaknesses and was actually a better team. Sorry for hijacking the thread. I just thought I would throw that out and didn't want to start a whole new thread.