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).
ARTURAS MILAKNIS (Lithuania) – ZALGIRIS KAUNAS (Lithuania)
2017-18 EuroLeague 3-point stats: 44.9% (75-for-167)
2017-18 Krepsinio Lyga 3-point stats: 41.7% (83-for-199)
The 32-year-old Lithuanian shooting guard doesn’t have the talent to exasperate only his opponents but also his coach in Zalgiris Kaunas. Sarunas Jasikevicius still hasn’t gotten over his player’s decisions in the two away wins over Fenerbahce (89-90) and Valencia (63-71). Thankfully for him, he was on target both times, as he had been on many other occasions, regardless of the level of risk.
In the EuroLeague, he got 6-for-9 three-pointers twice, at home and away against Bamberg, while in the LKL he stood out with 6-for-7 – the first was missed, the rest were scored consecutively – with 3-for-3 in 3 minutes in the third quarter of the victorious Game 1 of the finals against Lietuvos Rytas (96-83).
ALI MUHAMMED (USA) – FENERBAHCE (Turkey)
2017-18 EuroLeague 3-point stats: 46.2% (36-for-78)
2017-18 Super Ligi 3-point stats: 39% (55-for-141)
The 35-year-old American point guard has changed ten teams in his career (in Fenerbahce since 2015), he has even changed his name, but he hasn’t changed his game.
He scored 3-for-4 three-pointers in 5 minutes in the second quarter and 6-for-11 overall in the defeat by Olympiacos (95-70) at the Peace and Friendship Stadium, while he even reached 7-for-10 in the win over Crvena Zvezda (63-80) in the Stark Arena. In the BSL, he went to 5-for-9 (83-60 vs. Besiktas).
SCOTTIE WILBEKIN (USA) – DARUSSAFAKA (Turkey)
2017-18 EuroCup 3-point stats: 42.8% (62-for-145)
2017-18 Super Ligi 3-point stats: 39.3% (79-for-201)
The 25-year-old American point guard was one of Darussafaka’s protagonists in their EuroCup win, where he emerged as the MVP of the Season as well as MVP of the Finals.
With 10-for-15 three-pointers in the win over Bayern Munich (83-87) in the Audi Dome in Game 2 of the semifinals, he has the second best performance of all time, while he scored 6 three-pointers twice and at least 4 three-pointers another eight times.
KC RIVERS (USA) – PANATHINAIKOS (Greece)
2017-18 EuroLeague 3-point stats: 35.8% (53-for-148)
2017-18 Basket League 3-point stats: 40.7% (46-for-113)
He didn’t finish the season on fire, either in the EuroLeague or the Greek Basket League, but the 31-year-old American small forward will always be on fire, both for his admirers as well as the haters. The proof for this is his percentage in both competitions, which, despite the lack of… flames in the last two and a half months, remained high.
He scored 5-for-5 three-pointers in the second quarter and 6-for-9 overall in the win over Armani Milan (80-72) at the Olympic Sports Center Athens, while shortly before his left shoulder injury, he got another 6-for-7 in the second half and 6-for-10 overall in the win against Unicaja (79-90) at the Martin Carpena.