By John Rammas/ irammas@eurohoops.net
They step on the court, get the ball in their hands and dispatch it straight into the hoop. Some do it more, some less, but they all do it with the same consistency since they’re all sharpshooters.
Eurohoops put together a group of 10+1 such players based on their history and their performance this season, and presents them to you.
Scroll down for the “unveiling” (in no particular order) and vote for the best sharpshooter at the end:
MARCUS ERIKSSON (Sweden) – GRΑN CANARIA (Spain)
2017-18 EuroCup 3-point stats: 54.9% (45-for-82)
2017-18 Liga Endesa 3-point stats: 44.4% (67-for-151)
The 25-year-old Swedish shooting guard has spent his entire professional career in Spain, with Gran Canaria being his fourth team, that’s including Barcelona B, where he went on a loan for two seasons, as he did in Manresa for one season. The fact that he had to prove his skills in order to convince for his return to Barcelona made him work on his talent even more and, by the looks of it, he worked hard.
In one of his last appearances this season he had 6-for-8 three-pointers, the last 3-for-4 of those in the last 7 minutes of regulation time and overtime, helping his team prevail over Valencia at the La Fonteta (89-92 OT) and qualify for the EuroLeague for the first time. Six three-pointers (6-for-7) were the most he scored in the EuroCup as well (97-84 vs. Ulm).
JAYCEE CARROLL (USA) – REAL MADRID (Spain)
2017-18 EuroLeague 3-point stats: 45.8% (54-for-118)
2017-18 Liga Endesa 3-point stats: 49.7% (91-for-183)
The 35-year-old American shooting guard has been… residing right outside the 6.75m line for years and from there he has helped Real Madrid win quite a few trophies from 2011 to this day. Who can forget his performance in the 2015 EuroLeague final, when he had come off the bench to score 3-for-3 three-pointers in 2 minutes, winning the title against Olympiacos (78-59) inside the WiZink Center?
This season he was just as clutch in big games (4-for-6 three-pointers in the break against Panathinaikos in Game 2 of the playoffs and 3-for-3 three-pointers in Game 3, which they won as well), while he had 3-for-4 three-pointers in 5 minutes in the second quarter of the semifinal against CSKA Moscow (83-92) in the Stark Arena, before Real Madrid won another EuroLeague trophy. In the Liga Endesa, he even reached 7-for-10 three-pointers in 20 minutes (84-98 @ Gipuzkoa), while in Game 1 of the Finals (90-94 vs. Baskonia) he scored 5-for-7 in even less time (14 minutes).
KYLE KURIC (USA) – ZENIT SAINT PETERSBURG (Russia)
2017-18 EuroCup 3-point stats: 43.3% (52-for-120)
2017-18 VTB League 3-point stats: 38.6% (71-for-184)
The 29-year-old American shooting guard had 3-for-4 three-pointers in 12 minutes (Gran Canaria – Valencia 68-84) on his return to action after undergoing surgery for the removal of a brain tumor in 2015, and he doesn’t have to prove to anyone that he’s a born winner. Nevertheless, he continues to do so with great success.
In his first season in Russia for Zenit, he scored from 5-for-7 to 5-for-12 three-pointers five times, while in the EuroCup he even reached 6-for-8 (95-84 vs. Turin).