Top 10 Illinois basketball 3-point shooters of all time

No. 1 Cory Bradford

The No. 1 spot should be an obvious one to many Illinois basketball fans. The greatest three-point shooter in the history of the Illinois basketball program is Cory Bradford, and it isn’t even close.

When Bradford was coming through the college ranks, three-point shooting wasn’t nearly what it is today. He was well before his time, and if he was at Illinois today, there is no doubt in my mind he would be an NBA Draft prospect.

Bradford played four seasons at Illinois and lit up the scoreboard every year. He shot over 37% from three-point range in all four seasons, and he attempted at least 5.4 three-point attempts each season as well.

Out of the 102 cases of an Illinois player attempting at least 3.0 three-point attempts per game in a season, all four of Bradford’s seasons are in the top 45.

I have mentioned this a few times, but there are 19 instances when an Illinois player shot at least 37.0% from three-point range and attempted at least 5.0 three-point attempts per game in a season. Bradford owns four out of the 19 times this has happened. Jalen Coleman-Lands has two, and 13 individuals have one. Bradford also owns a spot among the six times an Illinois player has shot at least 40.0% from three-point range and attempted 6.0 three-point attempts per game in a season.

Let’s not forget, that Bradford held the NCAA record for the most consecutive games with a three-pointer made at 88 games. That record has since been broken, but it was still an incredible feat.

Bradford is the greatest three-point shooter in the history of the Illinois basketball program. He deserves the No. 1 spot on this list.