More 3-point history for UK basketball

One might argue that it all started with "Pitino's Bombinos."  Rick's early teams were obsessed with shooting beyond the arc.  And while UK's use of long-range shots has waxed and waned over the years, it has certainly remained a fixture in Big Blue culture.  We love the three.  So it's unsurprising that the 'Cats would manage to leave another scratch in the record books by becoming the first team to hit a three in 1000 consecutive games.  Truth be told, UNLV's streak started earlier.  But once UK got going (and kept having successful seasons which allowed for more games played), they eventually passed everyone else.

How about some UK 3-point history?

PLAYERS

Most threes in a career:
TONY DELK - 283
KEITH BOGANS - 254
TAYSHAUN PRINCE - 204

Most threes in a season:
JODIE MEEKS (08-09) - 117
JAMAL MURRAY (15-16) - 113
TRAVIS FORD (92-93) - 101
(Malik Monk could make this list)

Most threes in a game:
JODIE MEEKS (1/13/09 at Tennesee) - 10
TONY DELK (1/20/96 vs. TCU) - 9
JODIE MEEKS (12/20/08 vs. Appalachian State) - 9
(we all remember Delk's 7 makes against Syracuse in '96)

Best 3P% (at least 100 made) in a career:
DORON LAMB - 47.5%
TRAVIS FORD - 44.5%
JAMAL MURRAY - 40.8%
(both Malik Monk and Derek Willis could make this list)

Best 3P% (at least 50 made) in a season:
TRAVIS FORD (92-93) - 52.9%
DORON LAMB (10-11) - 48.6%
DORON LAMB (11-12) - 46.6%
(Cameron Mills made 53.2% in a season but only made 42 shots)

TEAMS

Most threes made in a season:
1992-93: 340
1991-92: 317
1993-94: 301
1996-97: 287
2010-11: 281
1989-90: 281
1994-95: 276
1995-96: 266
2005-06: 265
1997-98: 250

Best 3P% in a season:
2010-11: 39.7%
1995-96: 39.7%
1992-93: 39.4%
2011-12: 37.8%
1994-95: 37.5%
1986-87: 37.2%
2007-08: 36.9%
1996-97: 36.9%
1997-98: 36.7%
2015-16: 36.6%

GAMES / MOMENTS

There are too many to count, but here are some that stand out for me, in chronological order.

4/1/96: Tony Delk falling into his own bench and getting mobbed by his teammates after being fouled on his SEVENTH made three of the National Championship game against Syracuse, about midway through the second half.

3/22/98: Cameron Mills made his only three of the game a big one, putting UK in the lead after trailing Duke by 17 midway through the second half.  This was Elite 8 revenge for the Cats.

12/8/01: Tayshaun Prince scored the first 15 points of the game for Kentucky on 5 consecutive threes, the last just BARELY inside the UK logo at midcourt, to send a message to North Carolina.  He ended up with 31 points and 7 made threes in a 20-point blowout.

3/27/05: Patrick Sparks made a frantic, buzzer-beating three against Michigan State to force overtime in a classic Elite 8 game.  Not only did the shot barely fall in after hanging on the rim forever, but it had to be reviewed for several minutes because it was unclear whether Sparks was behind the line.  It's sad that this memorable shot didn't lead to victory.  UK wasted opportunities in the first OT and then ran out of gas in the second.

1/13/09: In a forgettable season, Jodie Meeks saving the day at Tennessee with a MAMMOTH 54-point performance, including 10 threes, will never be forgotten.

3/30/14: Aaron Harrison made a three with 2.3 seconds left to beat Michigan and send 8-seed Kentucky to the Final Four.  Then...

4/5/14: Aaron Harrison does it AGAIN.  He hits one with 5.7 seconds left, bringing UK from down 2 to up 1, defeating Wisconsin and sending them to the National Championship game.  We won't talk about what happened there.

12/18/16: In an early-season heavyweight showdown, another UK star victimized UNC.  This time it was freshman Malik Monk, scoring 47 and hitting 8 of 12 threes, including one to tie with 1:15 left and another to go ahead with 0:17 left.  Wow.  Final score: 103-100.

Kentucky's history in Final Four games

(updated through 2016)

UK has reached 17 Final Fours.  Like every other important statistical measure, this one places UK high on the national list - behind only UNC and UCLA.  Let's take a look at UK's results in national semifinals and title games.


Semifinals: UK is 12-5 (70.6%)

Wins: Holy Cross (1948), Illinois (1949 and 1951), Temple (1958), Duke (1966), Syracuse (1975), Arkansas (1978), UMass (1996), Minnesota (1997), Stanford (1998), Louisville (2012), Wisconsin (2014)


Losses: Dartmouth (1942), Georgetown (1984), Michigan (1993), UConn (2011), Wisconsin (2015)


In the seeded era: 5-4 (55.6%)


As a #1 seed: 3-3 (50%) - won in 96, 97 and 12; lost in 84, 93 and 15


Note: UK has only played one team seeded lower than #3 in a national semifinal - 4-seeded Louisville in 2012.


All-time semifinal team:
C Bill Spivey - 28 points in '51
F Alex Groza - 50 points combined in '48 and '49
F Jack Givens - 47 points combined in '75 and '78
G Jeff Sheppard - 27 points in '98
G Louie Dampier - 23 points in '66

Honorable mention - Anthony Davis - 18 points, 14 rebounds, 5 blocks in 2012




National title games: UK is 8-4 (67%)


Wins: Baylor (48), Oklahoma State (49), Kansas State (51), Seattle (58), Duke (78), Syracuse (96), Utah (98), Kansas (12)


Losses: UTEP (66), UCLA (75), Arizona (97), UConn (14)


In the seeded era: 3-2 (60%)


As a #1 seed: 2-1 (67%)


Note: In the seeded era, UK has met a 7 seed (UConn), two 4s (Syracuse and Arizona), a 3 (Utah) and a 2 (Kansas).


All-time title team:
C Bill Spivey - 22 points in '51
F Alex Groza - 25 points in '49
F Jack Givens - 41 points in '78
G Tony Delk - 24 points in '96
G Vernon Hatton - 30 points in '58

Honorable mention: James Young with 20 points and 7 boards in the loss to UConn, Anthony Davis had 6/16/6 against Kansas, Doron Lamb had 22 points.

Among other websites consulted, one of my main sources for this and many other posts is the peerless UK resource (and probably the best site of its kind for any sports team) known as "The Kentucky Basketball Statistics Project" operated by Jon Scott.  Available at http://www.bigbluehistory.net/bb/statistics/statistics.html

Who are the top scorers in Kentucky basketball history?

Here are the top ten cumulative scorers in UK history:

1) DAN ISSEL - 2138

2) KENNY WALKER - 2080

3) JACK GIVENS - 2038

4) KEITH BOGANS - 1923

5) TONY DELK - 1890

6) JAMAL MASHBURN - 1843

7) KEVIN GREVEY - 1801

8) TAYSHAUN PRINCE - 1775

9) COTTON NASH - 1770

10) ALEX GROZA - 1744


And the top ten per-game AVERAGES:

 1) DAN ISSEL (1st in total scoring) - 25.8 points per game from 1967-68 through 1969-70 (only played 3 seasons)


2) COTTON NASH (9th in total scoring) - 22.7 points per game from 1961-62 through 1963-64 (only played 3 seasons)

3) KEVIN GREVEY (7th in total scoring) - 21.4 points per game from 1972-73 through 1974-75 (only played 3 seasons)


4) BOB BURROW (56th in total scoring) - 20.1 points per game from 1954-55 through 1955-56 (only played 2 seasons)

5) JAMAL MURRAY (102nd in total scoring) - 20.0 points per game in 2015-2016 (only played 1 season)


6) LOUIE DAMPIER (12th in total scoring) - 19.7 points per game from 1964-65 through 1966-67 (only played 3 seasons)

7) BILL SPIVEY (39th in total scoring) - 19.3 points per game from 1949-50 through 1950-51 (only played 2 seasons)

8) CLIFF HAGAN (17th in total scoring) - 19.2 points per game from 1950-51 through 1953-54 (only played 3 seasons)

9) JAMAL MASHBURN (6th in total scoring) - 18.8 points per game from 1990-91 through 1992-93 (only played 3 seasons)

10) MIKE CASEY (14th in total scoring) - 18.7 points per game from 1967-68 through 1970-71 (only played 3 seasons)

Interestingly, there has been a shift in the scoring trends at UK lately.  Notice that eight of the top ten scoring averages are from before 1980?

Only four players since 1980 have finished their UK careers with an average of 17 points per game or higher:

Rex Chapman (17.6 ppg)

Jamal Mashburn (18.8 ppg)

Brandon Knight (17.3 ppg)

Jamal Murray (20.0 ppg)

In spite of the trend since 1980 of lower "star" scoring averages for UK teams, we might see the second player in two years to break into the top 10 - Malik Monk!