Syracuse Basketball: Top 10 3-Point Shooters in Cuse History

6. James Southerland

James Southerland comes in at number six for good reason.

Southerland hit over 150 career threes with a 3-point percentage of 37%.  These numbers don’t blow you away, and actually aren’t as good as some of the guys before him.  However, it was the fact that Southerland was used as a role player for almost the entirety of his career that makes these stats very impressive.

His freshman year was nothing special, but James showed potential, hitting 7-of-24 from behind the arc.  However, his sophomore year he really took off, doubling his playing time to over 14 minutes per game.  He improved his 3-point percentage to 37% and hit 25 total threes, giving the Orange a good option off the bench.

Southerland’s game only improved, and so did his court time, earning 16 minutes a game and scoring close to 7 points a game his junior season.  His three point percentage went down, falling to only 34%, but he attempted far more, making 37 on the year.

Most of us will remember Southerland for his senior season.  He was still used off the bench, primarily as the 6th man, but did start in 11 games and averaged close to 30 minutes of playing time per contest.  He also scored over 13 a game, as Southerland was a threat for most defenses.  His 3-pointer really got good, as James hit close to 40% of them, making over 80 on the season.

Southerland will easily be remembered for his performance in the Big East Tournament the year it split up, during his senior season.  It started off in game one against Seton Hall, when he went 6-of-9 behind the arc.  Southerland was merely unstoppable in the next game, going 6-of-6 from downtown against Pitt.  GTown didn’t have an answer either, as Southerland went 4-of-10 from three against the Hoyas, putting Cuse in the Big East Championship game against Louisville.  The Orange unfortunately blew a big lead in the 2nd half, but James still showed up, going 3-of-8 from long range against the Cardinals.