HOTTEST OF THE HOT SHOTS

Arkansas' Marvin Delph has good reason to be waving his index finger. After all, he's got the No. 1 shot on the No. 1 shooting team in the country. That is no mean accomplishment these days, when every college from little Indiana State, with its low-profile but high-flying Larry Bird, to superpowers like North Carolina, which has deadly Phil Ford, seems to list at least one player on its roster who hits better than 50% of his field-goal tries. The reason for the soaring percentages is that the shooters are leaping every time they launch the ball. The jump shot began revolutionizing the game about 30 years ago, when, says Adolph Rupp, "It-busted on us out of nowhere." As Delph demonstrates in the motion-picture sequence below, the jumper has the advantage of allowing the shooter to release the ball from high above the defense while keeping a steady eye on the hoop. And in an era when almost all players have perfected the jumper, none has sharper aim than Delph and the hot shots on the following pages.

Galavantin' Greg Sanders used his flawless release to hit 61% in the Bonnies' NIT victory.

The perfect arches of Phil Ford's shots have made the Tar Heels golden for three seasons.

Swishing jumpers by Indiana State's Larry Bird (top) and Portland State's Freeman Williams have made big winners out of their small schools.

TWELVE PHOTOS

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THREE PHOTO ILLUSTRATIONS

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