Only two UA basketball players have ever hit 50 percent of their 3-point shots in a season (minimum 2 attempts per game): Steve Kerr was at 57.3 percent in 1987-88 and Salim Stoudamire shot 50.4 percent in 2004-05.
Now comes Lauri Markkanen who is shooting 50.5 percent. Of all players in college basketball, only one other man with more than 100 attempts has made more than half of them, Eric Durham of Jacksonville State, at 51.5.
The most clever nickname for Markkanen is “The Finnisher,” created by long-time Tucson sports journalist Steve Rivera, but Markkanen’s more of a Swisher than a Finnisher.
Those who follow draft projections, and thus Markkanen, would benefit from following Mike Schmitz, a UA grad who does a thorough and insightful job for draftexpress.com.
After evaluating Markkanen (and Arizona) last week, Schmitz didn’t simply buy the he’s-a-wonderful-shooter business. He wrote:
“The next step for him offensively is to develop his ability to operate from the mid to low post, improve his ability to drive right, become a better playmaker with the ball in his hands, and do a better job of drawing contact and getting to the free throw line.”
Markkanen won’t turn 20 until May. He’s got time to become a “Finnished” product.
