With the number of talented shooters that have donned the blue and white UConn Huskies uniform, an interesting question pops up after last Saturday’s NBA All-Star Weekend competition. If you had your choice of selecting anyone to participate in an all-time UConn 3-point contest, who would be your pick? While many would easily go with the surefire choice of Ray Allen, there are certainly plenty of options, especially if you include the UConn women’s basketball team. Factoring in players like Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, Ben Gordon or Diana Taurasi, there are plenty of directions to go in for answering a question of this magnitude. Our team of writers will look to give their picks in this week’s edition of The Daily Campus sports roundtable.
Evan Rodriguez
Jordan Hawkins
Huskies fans saw during last year’s championship run that when Jordan Hawkins gets hot, he is unstoppable from beyond the arc. After some impressive flashes during his freshman season in Storrs, Hawk exceeded expectations, and his elite jumper was a key ingredient for that production. He’s continued to improve his shooting as he’s made his jump to the NBA with the New Orleans Pelicans. Even if we were to take away the impressive performances that he’s had from beyond the arc at the next level, I think that it would be enough to win a UConn 3-point competition. After shooting 39% with a very high accumulation of shots in his sophomore season, you’d be idiotic to think that the former lottery pick won’t give fans another show in a high-stakes contest like this.
Sean Ahern
Joey Calcaterra
Despite only playing one season in Storrs in a bench role, Joey Calcaterra was unarguably a fan-favorite for his 3-point shooting abilities. After Calcaterra transferred from San Diego where he shot just under 36% from three in four seasons, Coach Dan Hurley knew he was getting a big-time shot maker that could be a threat from behind the arc in the Big East. No matter the situation, his confidence never wavered, which is the perfect characteristic to have in a 3-point contest. In 38 games as a Husky, Calcaterra shot 44.6% from three on an average of 2.9 attempts per game. With his quick trigger, there were several stretches throughout the 2022-2023 season where it seemed every 3-pointer he chucked up would cash in. It’s safe to say in a larger role he would have found himself high up on some program leaderboards in 3-point shooting categories, but his efficiency speaks for itself. There are several great UConn shooters, but I’d be willing to back this national champion in a 3-point contest.
Stratton Stave
Tyler Polley when he’s trailing on the fastbreak
When you think about the best shooters in program history, you may be drawn to some big names like Rashad Anderson or more recently, Jordan Hawkins. There are plenty more, but I’ll save those for our other writers. While Tyler Polley isn’t a name that would come to mind for most people, I’ll put his name in the hat under one condition: he gets to take every shot in a game situation while trailing on the fastbreak. Polley was a solid shooter from deep in the halfcourt, but he really showed his value when UConn was running in transition. No matter how contested he was in those situations, when he was in rhythm, I’d trust him to knock a three down. I actually have no recollection of him missing a shot like that, which is why this version of the 6-foot-9 sniper feels like a clear choice.
CJ Dexter
Rashad Anderson
The program’s all-time leader in 3-pointers undoubtedly grants candidacy for the all-time UConn 3-point contest. With an all-time clip of 38.6% from beyond the arc, the former national champion has the stroke to go toe-to-toe with elite shooters in the history of this program. Anderson, who shot 41% from downtown during UConn’s 2004 championship run, sank 21 of 43 attempts during the ‘04 run which set a program record for made threes in a tournament. Established as one of the best shooters in program history, adding his name to the ring to compete alongside Hawkins, Allen and many great shooters would only heighten the competitiveness of the contest.
Cole Stefan
Azzi Fudd
Because of all the injuries she has suffered in her three-year career, there are some people who may forget how good Fudd really is. In 42 career games, the No. 1 recruit in the Class of 2021 has buried 96 triples and averaged 2.29 treys per contest. That rate is higher than everyone but Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis (2.80) and Katie Lou Samuelson (2.73) on the UConn women’s basketball team’s top-ten career 3-pointers list. At full strength, Fudd will not hesitate to let it fly from beyond the arc. It is one reason the junior guard has an NIL deal with Stephen Curry’s brand, SC30 Inc. Fudd could also be a very dangerous participant in any 3-point contest hosted in the Basketball Capital of the World. During First Night, she and redshirt sophomore Alex Karaban clinched the White Team’s second-straight trophy with a strong performance in the 3-point contest. Translate that to one featuring the university’s all-time great 3-point threats, and the Virginia native could be a surprise winner amidst a tough field.