The 8 Debate
There's an old saying in basketball: You can't make it unless you take it. But to take it and make it? That requires something special. Never is that more true than in the clutch, when a player needs more than just a fundamentally sound follow-through. He needs nerve, confidence, savvy, poise and, let's face it, a little bit of luck. With March Madness getting closer and closer, here are the eight players with the trustiest triggers in college basketball, the first ones I'd choose to take the last shot.
1 Doug McDermottCreighton
The 6' 8", 225-pound forward is especially dangerous because of his versatility. He is making 52.5% of his three-pointers this season, but he also has the size and strength to post up and finish near the basket.
2 Rotnei ClarkButler
The transfer from Arkansas drilled one of the season's most memorable game-winners when he drained a 25-foot runner to beat Marquette in the Maui Invitational.
3 Jordan HullsIndiana
Few gunners are as comfortable behind the arc. Hulls, a senior, is a career 45.3% three-point shooter, and 58.1% of his attempts have been three-pointers.
4 Seth CurryDuke
The senior sharpshooter (above) is a proven scorer who has put up at least 20 points in six of the Blue Devils' last nine games. And drilling jumpers runs in the family—his father, Dell, played 16 years in the NBA, and brother Stephen is averaging 20.5 points this season for the Golden State Warriors.
5 Nik StauskasMichigan
The YouTube sensation—he posted a video of himself hitting 45 of 50 treys on the backyard hoop at his parents' Ontario home over Christmas break—has been terrific indoors as well: He's averaging 12.6 points on 49.5% shooting from three.
6 Russ SmithLouisville
Russdiculous has been Russtastic this season; he's not a great pure shooter, but he leads the Cardinals in scoring (19.3 ppg) and loves the big moment.
7 Mark LyonsArizona
The transfer from Xavier is a cold-blooded scoring point guard who has converted game-winning drives against Florida and San Diego State.
8 Marshall HendersonOle Miss
He has the green light to shoot from anywhere—and he's always a threat to make it, as evidenced by his 35-foot buzzer beater at Vanderbilt that sent the game to OT.
Though he is only a junior, Creighton's Doug McDermott (left) needs just 277 points to surpass Rodney Buford as the school's alltime leading scorer. The Bluejays have 11 regular-season games remaining.
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PHOTO
ERIC FRANCIS/GETTY IMAGES (MCDERMOTT)
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY NICOLE ZIGMONT: AL TIELEMANS (CURRY)