NCAA Basketball: Top shooters from all 32 conferences for 2020-21 season
By Bryan Mauro
ACC – Jalen Cone (Virginia Tech Hokies)
Cone had a great year shooting the ball for Mike Young and the Hokies. As he enters his sophomore season, he comes in as the best returning shooter in the ACC. The guard led the ACC in three-point percentage and finished top 10 in the country last season in that category. All of this as a freshman coming into the ACC.
The Hokies are going to need Cone to improve on his game especially after losing their best player and one of the best shooters in the country in Nolley. Cone should improve and not just because of the increased minutes he is due to get this year. Even though he is only 5’9” he has a very good repeatable release on his shot, and if he gets the ball delivered to him in the shooting pocket it is usually going in.
There are not many players in the country that can say that. The guard is more than just a three-point shooter however, this season when he is going to be a bigger part of the offense the country will see that Cone is going to be an elite scorer who can score in several different ways.
America East – Stef Smith (Vermont Catamounts)
Vermont has dominated the America East conference in every way for a long time and head coach John Becker reloads every year. The Catamounts are entering the year with the best shooter in the league and that is their senior point guard Stef Smith. Smith who is originally from Canada, is not only a great shooter but arguably the best point guard and overall scorer in the league.
The senior led the conference in three-point shooting last year with a 42% clip overall and shot just under 50% from deep in league games. The career 40% three-point shooter is going to be the first option on offense with star Anthony Lamb gone.
American Athletic Conference – Darin Green Jr. (Central Florida)
The sophomore guard put up tremendous numbers shooting the ball last year. The Golden Knights had some expected regression last year after making a run to the NCAA tournament and almost knocking off Duke, but Green Jr. is a player that many Golden Knights fans hope is going to be the next catalyst to lead them to an NCAA tournament bid.
The guard led the entire American conference last season in shooting from beyond the arc. He shot over 40% from beyond the arc and a shade over 45% in American conference play. He has the record for the most three-pointers made by a UCF freshman in school history with 65. The fact that the guard was the choice out of the American speaks volumes considering the sheer amount of ability of many of the American conference players to shoot from beyond the arc.
The sophomore had great numbers from the field overall and has that repeatable release and is a catch-and-shoot guy who can make it rain from outside.