Arkansas is only about one-quarter of the way through the regular season and hasn’t even reached SEC play yet, but it is becoming clear that Isaiah Joe and Mason Jones form one of the best three-point shooting tandems in the country.
Joe is a true freshman who is shooting 46.5 percent (33 of 71) from beyond the arc, while Jones is a sophomore junior college transfer who is shooting 44.7 percent (21 of 47). Those percentages rank fourth and seventh, respectively, in the SEC and make Arkansas the only team in the conference with two players shooting at least 44 percent from three-point range.
Considering they have yet to play SEC competition, both players will likely slow down a bit as the season progresses, but they are on track to become two of the best sharpshooters in school history. Here is who they’ll have to surpass to crack the UA’s all-time top-10 list for three-point percentage…
10. Patrick Beverley: 38.2 percent (138 of 361)
Known for his defense and feistiness in the NBA, Beverley was a talented all-around player at Arkansas. He was the SEC Freshman of the Year in 2007 and - despite being just 6-foot-1 - led the team in rebounding as a sophomore the following year. Academic issues ended his career with the Razorbacks after only two seasons, but he still shot well enough from three-point range to crack the UA’s top-10 list. Beverley’s 6-for-6 outing against Auburn in 2008 is still the most three-pointers an Arkansas player has taken in a game without a miss.
9. Todd Day: 38.4 percent (226 of 588)
A McDonald’s All-American coming out of Memphis’ Hamilton High, Day had an illustrious career with the Razorbacks before becoming the eighth overall pick in the 1992 NBA Draft. He is the school’s all-time leading scorer with 2,395 points and was a three-time first-team all-conference selection (two in the SWC and one in the SEC). His 7-for-9 performance beyond the arc against Auburn in 1992 was overshadowed a week later when he scored 43 points at LSU.
8. Pat Bradley: 40.0 percent (366 of 915)
Nicknamed “The Shootah” because of his shooting ability and Boston accent, Bradley is one of the most prolific three-point shooters in SEC history. He made 366 career three-pointers, which stood as the SEC record until he was surpassed by Tennessee’s Chris Lofton and Vanderbilt’s Shan Foster nine years later in 2008. He is still one of only four players in UA history to make at least 10 in a single game, going 10 for 24 in a 32-point effort against North Texas in 1998.
7. Alex Dillard: 40.1 percent (138 of 344)
How do you get remembered when you came off the bench on a national championship team and played with the No. 1 guy on this list? By pulling up from anywhere on the court, as Dillard often did during his two-year career with the Razorbacks. Florida International head coach Jeremy Ballard - who wasn’t even in high school yet when Dillard played - brought up his name after Joe’s spectacular performance against his team. Dillard’s most-remembered game was against Delaware State, when he made 12 of 22 three-pointers in a 39-point outing. The 12 threes was an SEC and school record for 16 years…until a guy further up on this list made 13.
6. Daryl Macon: 40.5 percent (150 of 370)
Considered too small coming out of Little Rock Parkview, Macon went to Holmes C.C. and became a JUCO All-American before ending his career with the Razorbacks. He was named the SEC’s All-Tournament team his first year and then earned second-team All-SEC honors as a senior. Macon was also one of the best free throw shooters in school history, ranking fourth all-time at 87.1 percent.
5. Dusty Hannahs: 41.0 percent (155 of 378)
Hannahs’ career was similar to Macon, as he wasn’t recruited by the Razorbacks coming out of Pulaski Academy in Little Rock. Instead, he went to Texas Tech before deciding to transfer back home. After sitting out a year, Hannahs burst onto the scene with a 21-point performance in his debut and followed it up a week later by shooting 5 for 5 from deep. Much like Macon, he was also a tremendous free throw shooter, making 88.9 percent of his career attempts. That ranks third in UA history.
4. Rotnei Clarke: 42.0 percent (274 of 653)
The best single-game scoring performance in school history was a 51-point effort by Clarke in which he made an SEC-record 13 three-pointers in the 2009-10 season opener against Alcorn State. He needed only 17 attempts to do it, too, so he was very efficient - as he was throughout his career. Had he chosen to play his senior season at Arkansas, he would have had a great chance to break Bradley’s school record for made three-pointers, but he transferred to Butler. Still, his 274 career three-pointers rank second in UA history.
3. Lee Mayberry: 42.4 percent (218 of 514)
The other half of the famed May-Day connection at Arkansas in the late 1980s and early 1990s and another McDonald’s All-American, Mayberry was the Razorbacks’ original sharpshooter. As a sophomore, he set the UA single-season record by making 50.4 percent of his 129 attempts beyond the arc, a mark that still stands today. Mayberry’s best game from three-point range was against a Shaquille O’Neal-led LSU team, as he made 9 of 12 threes and poured in 35 points inside a packed Barnhill Arena. Those nine three-pointers are still the most an Arkansas player has ever made in an SEC game.
2. Jannero Pargo: 42.5 percent (168 of 395)
A junior college transfer from Neosho County (Kan.) C.C., Pargo hit seven three-pointers on six different occasions during his two-year stint with the Razorbacks, including three times against top-10 opponents. It wasn’t enough to beat No. 5 Illinois or No. 7 Alabama, but his 35-point, 7-of-8 performance helped Arkansas knock off No. 5 Florida in overtime. Although it wasn’t a three-pointer, he hit a pull-up jumper with 2.7 seconds left in overtime to complete the upset. Highlights from that game are below:
1. Scotty Thurman: 43.2 percent (267 of 618)
The most famous three-pointer in Arkansas history was made by the most accurate three-point shooter in Arkansas history, as Thurman broke a tie with Duke in the final minute of the 1994 National Championship game. The following season, the “Ruston Rifle” made a school-record 102 three-pointers, which still stands, and led the Razorbacks to a runner-up finish in the NCAA Tournament.
