SEATTLE – If pure shooters are truly a dying breed, as so many college basketball experts have promised they are, then it might be a good idea to have a defibrillator at courtside this Thursday night.
When the University of Washington squares off against Arizona in a battle of Pac-10 co-leaders, two of the country’s best pure shooters will be on display. Tre Simmons of UW and Salim Stoudamire of Arizona may well be the top two marksmen this side of Duke’s J.J. Redick.
“I would love to see those two in the gym, best out of 20,” UW point guard Will Conroy said. “If the game’s on the line, I don’t know who I would take.
“If there was a neighborhood with the best shooters, those guys would both be living in that neighborhood.”
Stoudamire (56.9 percent from 3; 89.8 from the free-throw line) and Simmons (50.7; 89.1) are both among the top three in the Pac-10 in 3-point percentage and free-throw percentage. They’re also leading their respective teams in scoring – both at 16.8 points per game.
If Thursday’s game is within three points in the final seconds, chances are that either Stoudamire or Simmons will be taking the shot that could potentially tie the game.
Stoudamire is more nationally-known, based on his game as well as his name. He’s the cousin of former Arizona and current Portland Trail Blazers point guard Damon Stoudamire. He also ranks third in the country in 3-point percentage and is on the list of candidates for the James Naismith player of the year.
In college basketball circles, Stoudamire’s name comes up in almost every conversation about shooters.
“Such range,” UW coach Lorenzo Romar said. “He’s one of those guys that, when you get up in him (defensively), he says, ‘OK, I’ll just back up.’ He just backs up further and further.
“There are some shooters who are streaky, meaning they may go 0-for-10. I don’t know how often he goes 0-for-10. He’s always right around the rim, and when he’s one fire, he’s one fire; he doesn’t miss.”
At 6-5, Simmons is four inches taller than Stoudamire but has a much lower profile. Simmons is still shrouded in relative anonymity, despite playing for the nation’s 10th-ranked team.
“It’s amazing he doesn’t get more notoriety around the country,” Romar said. “We’re having a pretty good season, and he is our leading scorer and leading rebounder (5.9 per game). He’s become a really good basketball player.”
Simmons has only recently come into his own as a pure shooter. He hit 40 percent of his 3-point attempts as a reserve last year and has thrived since entering the starting lineup this season.
Simmons wasn’t even known as a shooter at Garfield High School, where he played only two years. Teammate Roy Smiley, who went on to play at USC, was the one with the most deadly range on that team.
Simmons worked on his game at Odessa Junior College and Green River Community College, eventually developing a rare shooting touch.
“It just took time,” Simmons said. “I just started shooting a lot. I guess it formed well.”
Conroy, who played with Simmons at Garfield, is still amazed at how far he’s come in so short a period of time.
“It’s effortless for him now,” Conroy said. “He came in here before the season started, the first day when everybody reported back. Everyone’s showing what they’ve been doing over the summer, dribbling and jumping. He stands out there and makes 28, 29, 30 in a row. Three-pointers. He was out there stroking while he was talking to people. You’re like, ‘Man.’ “
Simmons has become such a great outside shooter that Romar feels comfortable comparing him to Stoudamire.
“Tre’s definitely in that category,” Romar said, “and he’s got to be one of the best shooters in the country.”
Arizona coach Lute Olson believes he’s got the better shooter, calling Stoudamire one of the best he has ever coached. And Olson has coached some pretty deadly shooters in his day – Steve Kerr, Sean Elliott, Miles Simon, Mike Bibby, just to name a few.
“When we recruited Salim, I said at the time he would become the best shooter we’d had since Steve Kerr,” Olson said, “and I think that’s true.”
So Stoudamire is one of the best shooters in school history and one of the most deadly marksmen in the country. Does that mean he’ll be the best shooter at Arizona’s McHale Center on Thursday night?
Simmons took in that question with a confident smile.
“He’s a good shooter,” UW’s senior guard said, shrugging his shoulders with a twinkle in his eye. “But I’m a pretty good shooter too.”
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
