Duke basketball’s top 10 shooters of the past decade

Who is the greatest Duke basketball shooter since 2010?

Despite Duke basketball not having great outside shooting teams the past few years, there have been a ton of high-level shooters to come through Durham throughout the past decade. As a program, the Blue Devils don’t shoot as many 3-pointers as they used to. But in the early part of the decade, certain Duke teams lived and died by the 3-point shot.

Historically, the Blue Devils have been known for having great shooters. The offense is designed to have guys who can consistently knock down outside shots. This list highlights some of the best and most accurate snipers to put on the Duke basketball jersey over the last 10 years. Now, let’s get started at No. 10…

Brandon Ingram is one of two one-and-done players to make the list. Given what Ingram has developed into in the NBA, you might associate him more with all-around scoring rather than just shooting. He was an elite all-around scorer, but his No. 1 strength while at Duke became his outside shot.

At the beginning of his only season as a Blue Devil, Brandon Ingram struggled to find his shooting touch. His inability to knock down shots affected his playing time early in the season. Ingram shot just 1-for-9 from three in the season opener. He had a stretch in November where he made just one 3-pointer over a span of five games.

The shooting struggles seemed to come to a sudden stop in a game against Indiana, though, when Ingram shot 4-for-6 from 3-point range. From that point on, Ingram found his shooting stroke and never returned to the poor shooter he was in the first month of the season. He ended the season shooting 41 percent from beyond the arc and 44 percent overall from the field. Ingram also knocked down a total of 80 three-pointers, which was seventh-best in the ACC that season.

One of Ingram’s best shooting performances came in an upset win at home over Virginia. He scored 25 points, including four 3-pointers. As usual, Virginia was one of the best defensive teams in the country that season. Ingram caught fire early in the game, knocking down multiple shots on the left-wing.

Ingram carried that momentum with him throughout the rest of the game. In order to beat Virginia’s stifling pack-line defense, you must have guys who can create their own shot and make contested shots. That is exactly what Ingram was able to do that game.

What made Ingram such a special shooter was that he had a complete game. He had great footwork and shooting touch for a guy that was 6-foot-9. Ingram had all the skills of a point guard in a forward’s body. His long arms allowed him to have a high release point on his shot, and his footwork and ballhandling allowed him to create space so as to not get blocked.

By the end of the 2015-16 season, Ingram had emerged as a knockdown catch-and-shoot threat and a near-impossible cover in one-on-one situations.