Syracuse Basketball: Top 10 three-point shooters in history

9. Demetris Nichols

Nichols stays exactly in the same spot as the last version of this ranking at number nine.

Nichols was a part of the first Syracuse basketball recruiting class after its national championship in 2003. He developed into a strong four-year player and graduated as one of the best all-around scorers in program history. Nichols’ 1,344 points still rank tied for 34th.

One of Nichols’ most deadly assets was his ability to hit from three as a 6-foot-8 small forward. He came into SU with not much of a shot from long range – 23.6% as a freshman and 25.0% as a sophomore.

Nichols turned on the burners by his junior season, sinking 73 threes at 36.3%. He leveled up in time for his senior season, hitting triple digits with 100 made threes at an even better rate of 41.7%.

Without that persistence, there’s no way Nichols would have come close to making this list. With a little work, he was able to become a deadly wingman.

Some of Nichols’ best three-point shooting performances came against the best competition and in the biggest games. As a junior against Florida, Demetris went 5-of-10 from deep in a 24 point scoring outburst. He would go on to have two games of six threes in the season, once against TCU and another time against UConn. Nichols went 4-of-5 from outside against Pitt to help seal the improbable 2006 Big East Tournament.

The next season saw more of the same. Nichols had nine games where he hit at least four threes, going for seven in a game twice. Sadly, his 7-of-11 fireworks from three against UConn in the 2007 Big East Tournament would be his last big night. The Orange would lose in the next round to Notre Dame and miss the NCAA Tournament. He had a few decent outings in the NCAA Tournament, but a loss to Clemson in the quarterfinals ended Nichols’ college career.

Nichols’ story was that of a lot of hard work, with a lot of his progress showing up from deep.