Oct. 13, 2009

Jeff Goodman of FOXSports.com ranks the nation's best shooters (Oct. 12, 2009)

Jeff Goodman of FOXSports.com has ranked the top shooters in the nation, and he has Sun Devil Rihards Kuksiks as eighth-best. Here are some digits on the junior marksman:

*He shot .420 from the three-point stripe last year in the 16 games against NCAA Tournament teams (ASU was 10-6).

*He was 17-37 (.459) in the six games against ranked opponents from three, as ASU was 3-3 with two wins over UCLA and a Pac-10 Tournament win over Washington.

*ASU played four games last year that were decided by two points or less. Kuksiks was 14-of-30 (.467) from the three-point stripe in those games, which included wins over IUPUI (6-11), BYU (1-3), Arizona (5-10) and a loss at Washington State (2-6).

*He ended the year eighth in the nation in three-point shooting at .443 (93-of-210) and averaged 10.3 points (third-best on the team).

*His 93 three-pointers last year is the third-best in school history, while the 44.3 percent shooting is tied for the fourth-best in school history.

*He has made 129-of-308 (.419) three-pointers in his two-year career and posted a career-high 20 points in the NCAA Tournament second-round loss to Syracuse with six three-pointers.

ONE OF THE BEST COMING BACK
Rihards Kuksiks finished eighth in the nation last year in three-point percentage per official NCAA standards (minimum of 2.5 made threes per game). He is the third-best three-point shooter returning this year, behind only Jared Stohl of Portland and Brandon Hazzard of Troy. Here is a look at the top five three-point shooters in the nation returning, with last year's final rank noted:
NCAA TOP THREE-POINT RETURNING SHOOTERS
3. .456 - Jared Stohl, Portland (89-of-195)
7. .449 - Brandon Hazzard, Troy (83-of-185)
8. .443 - Rihards Kuksiks, Arizona State (93-of-210)
10. .440 - Andrew Goudelock, College of Charleston (95-of-216)
13. .436 - Corey Almond, Sam Houston State (99-of-227)