List of NCAA Division I men's basketball career scoring leaders
In basketball, points are the sum of the score accumulated through free throws or field goals.[1] In National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I basketball, where a player's career is at most four seasons, it is considered a notable achievement to reach the 1,000-points scored threshold. In even rarer instances, players have reached the 2,000- and 3,000-point plateaus (no player has ever scored 4,000 or more points at the Division I level). The top 25 highest scorers in NCAA Division I men's basketball history are listed below. The NCAA was not organized into its current divisional format until August 1973.[2] From 1906 to 1955, there were no classifications to the NCAA nor its predecessor, the Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States (IAAUS).[2] Then, from 1956 to spring 1973, colleges were classified as either "NCAA University Division (Major College)" or "NCAA College Division (Small College)".[2][3]
Numerous players among the top 25 scorers in Division I history played in the era before the three-point line was officially adopted in 1986–87. All of the players with a dash through the three-point field goals column were affected by this rule. Hank Gathers of Loyola Marymount is the only three-point shot era player on this list who did not make a single three-point shot. In the 1986–87 season, the three-point arc was made mandatory in men's basketball, marked at 19 ft 9 in (6.02 m) from the center of the basket;[4] at the same time, the three-point arc became an experimental rule in NCAA women's basketball, using the men's distance.[5] In the following season, the men's three-point line became mandatory in women's basketball, and from that point through the 2007–08 season, the three-point lines remained at 19 ft 9 in (6.02 m).[4][5] On May 3, 2007, the NCAA men's basketball rules committee passed a measure to extend the distance of the men's three-point line back to 20 ft 9 in (6.32 m);[4] the women's line remained at the original distance until it was moved to match the men's distance effective in 2011–12.[5] Still later, the NCAA moved the men's three-point line to 6.75 m (22 ft 1.75 in) for the main arc and 6.6 m (21 ft 8 in) in the corners, matching the distance used by the sport's international governing body of FIBA. This last move was implemented in two phases, with Division I adopting the new line in 2019–20 and Divisions II and III doing so in 2020–21.[6][7] Women's basketball did not adopt the FIBA arc until 2021–22.[8]
Additionally, several of the players on this list played during an era when college freshmen were ineligible to compete at the varsity level and competed on either freshman or junior varsity teams. As freshman and junior varsity statistics do not count toward official NCAA records, three players—Pete Maravich, Oscar Robertson and Elvin Hayes—only had three seasons to compile their totals. Larry Bird redshirted (sat out) his freshman year, and therefore, like Maravich, Robertson, and Hayes, his totals were also achieved in only three seasons. With the advantage of the three-point option and an extra year of varsity eligibility, their already-historical statistics would have been much higher. Maravich, a guard from LSU, not only owns the three highest single season averages in Division I history, but also the highest career total. Remarkably, he scored 3,667 points (over 400 more than the next closest player) in a mere 83 games. His record is considered nearly unbreakable.
Four players on this list are enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame: Pete Maravich,[9] Oscar Robertson,[10] Elvin Hayes,[11] and Larry Bird.[12]
Key[]
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Top 25 career scoring leaders[]
Player | Pos. | Team | Career start |
Career end |
Games played |
Field goals made |
3-point field goals made |
Free throws made |
Points | PPG | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pete Maravich* | G | LSU | 1967 | 1970 | 83 | 1,387 | 893 | 3,667 | 44.2 | [13] | |
Freeman Williams | F/G | Portland State | 1974 | 1978 | 106 | 1,369 | 511 | 3,249 | 30.7 | [14] | |
Chris Clemons | G | Campbell | 2015 | 2019 | 130 | 1,024 | 444 | 733 | 3,225 | 24.8 | [15] |
Lionel Simmons | F | La Salle | 1986 | 1990 | 131 | 1,244 | 56 | 673 | 3,217 | 24.6 | [16] |
Alphonso Ford | G | Mississippi Valley State | 1989 | 1993 | 109 | 1,121 | 333 | 590 | 3,165 | 29.0 | [17] |
Doug McDermott | F | Creighton | 2010 | 2014 | 145 | 1,141 | 274 | 594 | 3,150 | 21.7 | [18] |
Mike Daum | F | South Dakota State | 2015 | 2019 | 137 | 1,005 | 271 | 786 | 3,067 | 22.4 | [19] |
Harry Kelly | F | Texas Southern | 1979 | 1983 | 110 | 1,234 | 598 | 3,066 | 27.9 | [20] | |
Keydren Clark | G | Saint Peter's | 2002 | 2006 | 118 | 967 | 435 | 689 | 3,058 | 25.9 | [21] |
Hersey Hawkins | G | Bradley | 1984 | 1988 | 125 | 1,100 | 118 | 690 | 3,008 | 25.5 | [22] |
Oscar Robertson* | G | Cincinnati | 1957 | 1960 | 88 | 1,052 | 869 | 2,973 | 33.8 | [23] | |
Danny Manning | F | Kansas | 1984 | 1988 | 147 | 1,216 | 10 | 509 | 2,951 | 20.1 | [24] |
Alfredrick Hughes | G | Loyola (IL) | 1981 | 1985 | 120 | 1,226 | 462 | 2,914 | 24.3 | [25] | |
Elvin Hayes* | C/F | Houston | 1965 | 1968 | 93 | 1,215 | 454 | 2,884 | 31.0 | [26] | |
Tyler Hansbrough | F | North Carolina | 2005 | 2009 | 142 | 939 | 12 | 982 | 2,872 | 20.2 | [27] |
Larry Bird* | F | Indiana State | 1976 | 1979 | 94 | 1,154 | 542 | 2,850 | 30.3 | [28] | |
Otis Birdsong | G | Houston (2) | 1973 | 1977 | 116 | 1,176 | 480 | 2,832 | 24.4 | [29] | |
Kevin Bradshaw | G | Bethune-Cookman / U.S. International |
1987 | 1991 | 111 | 1,027 | 132 | 618 | 2,804 | 25.3 | [3] |
Allan Houston | G/F | Tennessee | 1989 | 1993 | 128 | 902 | 346 | 651 | 2,801 | 21.9 | [30] |
JJ Redick | G | Duke | 2002 | 2006 | 139 | 825 | 457 | 662 | 2,769 | 19.9 | [31] |
Markus Howard | G | Marquette | 2016 | 2020 | 128 | 864 | 434 | 599 | 2,761 | 21.6 | [32] |
Hank Gathers | F/C | Southern California / Loyola Marymount |
1985 | 1990 | 117 | 1,127 | 0 | 469 | 2,723 | 23.3 | [33] |
Tyler Haws | G | BYU | 2009 | 2015[n 1] | 139 | 917 | 162 | 724 | 2,720 | 19.6 | [34] |
Reggie Lewis | F | Northeastern | 1983 | 1987 | 122 | 1,043 | 30 | 592 | 2,709 | 22.2 | [35] |
Daren Queenan | G/F | Lehigh | 1984 | 1988 | 118 | 1,024 | 29 | 626 | 2,703 | 22.9 | [36] |
All-time conference scoring leaders[]
The following list contains current and defunct Division I conferences' all-time scoring leaders. The "conference founded" column indicates when each conference first began intercollegiate athletic competition, not necessarily when they began basketball. For example, the Great West Conference was established as a football-only conference in 2004 but became an all-sports conference in 2008 (with basketball actually beginning in 2009–10).[37] Also note that some of the schools on this list are no longer in the conference in which they are identified. Utah, for instance, is currently a member of the Pac-12 Conference, but when Keith Van Horn set the scoring record they were still a member of the Western Athletic Conference. Similarly, BYU is currently in the West Coast Conference, but their final four seasons in the Mountain West Conference were the years in which Jimmer Fredette played at the school.
Footnotes[]
- ^ After playing as a freshman in 2009–10, Haws spent two years on a Mormon mission and did not play his sophomore season until 2012–13.
- ^ a b The original Big East Conference, founded in 1979 with basketball competition starting at that time, split along football lines in July 2013. The seven schools that did not sponsor Division I FBS football reorganized as a new Big East Conference, while the FBS football schools that had not left for other conferences, plus several new members, began operating as the American Athletic Conference. The American now considers its basketball history to have begun with the 2013 split,[39] while the current Big East maintains the basketball history of the original Big East.[40]
- ^ The American West Conference began as a football-only conference in 1993–94. Basketball was played for just two seasons, between 1994 and 1996.
- ^ The Big East Conference also recognizes Howard as its all-time conference scoring leader, using the criterion of points scored in regular-season conference games only. He scored 1,587 points in games that counted toward the record.[47]
- ^ Although the Ivy League was not formally founded until 1954 and did not play its first basketball season until 1955–56, it considers its men's basketball league to be a continuation of the Eastern Intercollegiate Basketball League, founded in 1901.
- ^ Although the Pac-12 Conference claims the history of the Pacific Coast Conference, the PCC operated under a completely separate charter.
- ^ The Southland Conference recognizes Dwight "Bo" Lamar, who played at Southwestern Louisiana (now Louisiana) between 1968 and 1972, as their all-time conference scoring leader, using the criterion of points scored against conference opponents only.[70] He scored 1,054 points in conference games.[70] Additionally, Southwestern Louisiana did not join the Southland Conference until 1971, so all of Lamar's points prior to then do not count toward Southland Conference scoring. Joe Dumars, who is technically second on the list with 819 points, actually scored more career points than Lamar since McNeese State was a member of the Southland Conference for the duration of Dumars' career. The above conference scoring leaders list uses overall career totals, not conference-career totals, as its criterion.
- ^ Hank Gathers' scoring total in this table includes only games played for WCC member Loyola Marymount; he played his freshman season of 1985–86 at USC in what was then known as the Pacific-10 Conference. He transferred from USC after that season; after sitting out the 1986–87 season due to NCAA transfer rules, he played at Loyola Marymount until his death during his senior season in 1990.
References[]
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- "2020–21 NCAA Men's Basketball Records" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. 2020. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
- Specific
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- ^ a b "2009–10 NCAA Men's Basketball Records" (PDF). 2009–10 NCAA Men's Basketball Media Guide. National Collegiate Athletic Association. 2009. Retrieved July 7, 2010.
- ^ a b c Katz, Andy (May 3, 2007). "Committee extends men's 3-point line to 20-9". ESPN. Retrieved July 7, 2010.
- ^ a b c "NCAA Women's Basketball Record Book" (PDF). Retrieved February 2, 2018.
- ^ "Men's basketball 3-point line extended to international distance" (Press release). NCAA. June 5, 2019. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
- ^ "NCAA Men's and Women's Basketball Court" (PDF). NCAA. June 17, 2019. Retrieved October 9, 2019.
- ^ "International 3-point line distance approved in women's basketball" (Press release). NCAA. June 3, 2021. Retrieved August 24, 2021.
- ^ "Peter P. "Pete" Maravich". Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. hoophall.com. 2009. Archived from the original on August 31, 2012. Retrieved July 7, 2010.
- ^ "Oscar P. Robertson". Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. hoophall.com. 2009. Archived from the original on March 4, 2010. Retrieved July 7, 2010.
- ^ "Elvin E. Hayes". Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. hoophall.com. 2009. Archived from the original on September 12, 2012. Retrieved July 7, 2010.
- ^ "Larry J. Bird". hoophall.com. Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. 2009. Archived from the original on August 29, 2009. Retrieved July 7, 2010.
- ^ "Pete Maravich". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. 2015. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
- ^ "Freeman Williams". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. 2015. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
- ^ a b "Chris Clemons". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. 2019. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
- ^ "Lionel Simmons". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. 2015. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
- ^ "Alphonso Ford". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. 2015. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
- ^ "Doug McDermott". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. 2014. Retrieved March 23, 2014.
- ^ "Mike Daum". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. 2019. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
- ^ Nance, Roscoe (March 31, 2010). "Harry "Machine Gun" Kelly". SWAC Men's Basketball Profiles. Southwestern Athletic Conference. Archived from the original on June 21, 2010. Retrieved July 7, 2010.
- ^ "Keydren Clark". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. 2015. Retrieved March 2, 2015.
- ^ "Hersey Hawkins". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. 2015. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
- ^ "Oscar Robertson". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. 2015. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
- ^ "Danny Manning". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. 2015. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
- ^ "Alfredrick Hughes". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. 2010. Retrieved February 10, 2019.
- ^ "Elvin Hayes". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. 2015. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
- ^ "Tyler Hansbrough". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. 2015. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
- ^ "Larry Bird". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. 2015. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
- ^ "Otis Birdsong". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. 2015. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
- ^ "Allan Houston". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. 2015. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
- ^ "JJ Redick". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. 2015. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
- ^ a b "Markus Howard". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved March 13, 2020.
- ^ Maurer, Matthew (July 23, 2008). "Honorable Draftee: The Case for Hank Gathers". TheDraftReview.com. Retrieved July 7, 2010.
- ^ "Tyler Haws". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. March 18, 2015. Retrieved March 18, 2015.
- ^ "Reggie Lewis". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. 2015. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
- ^ "Lehigh's Hall of Famer: Daren Queenan". history.lehighsports.com. Lehigh University. 2010. Archived from the original on May 11, 2005. Retrieved July 7, 2010.
- ^ "About the Great West". greatwestconference.org. Great West Conference. 2011. Archived from the original on April 18, 2010. Retrieved February 12, 2011.
- ^ "2010–11 America East Conference Men's Basketball Media Guide". Career leaders. America East Conference. 2010. Archived from the original on 2011-07-16. Retrieved February 12, 2011.
- ^ "2014–15 American Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Media Guide" (PDF). American Athletic Conference. Retrieved December 15, 2014. See especially "Miscellaneous Records", p. 90, in which year-by-year conference standings only include 2013–14.
- ^ "2014–15 BIG EAST Men's Basketball Guide" (PDF). Big East Conference. Retrieved December 15, 2014. See, e.g., "Year-By-Year Standings", pp. 109–112, which have entries for all Big East seasons starting with the creation of the original conference in 1979.
- ^ "Rose Breaks American Scoring Record as Temple Defeats SMU in OT". American Athletic Conference. February 8, 2020. Retrieved February 13, 2020.
- ^ "Quinton Rose". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved March 13, 2020.
- ^ "2010–11 Atlantic 10 Conference Men's Basketball Media Guide" (PDF). Career records. Atlantic 10 Conference. 2010. Retrieved February 12, 2011.
- ^ "Tyler Hansbrough Bio Page". NBA.com. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. Archived from the original on February 25, 2011. Retrieved February 12, 2011.
- ^ "Centenary Places Two on Atlantic Sun's List of 30 Shining Moments". GoCentenary.com. Centenary College of Louisiana. September 19, 2008. Archived from the original on July 11, 2011. Retrieved February 12, 2011.
- ^ "Buddy Hield becomes Big 12's all-time leading scorer". SI.com. Sports Illustrated. April 3, 2016. Retrieved April 8, 2016.
- ^ "Marquette's Markus Howard now Big East's career points leader". ESPN.com. February 12, 2020. Retrieved February 13, 2020.
- ^ Douchant, Mike (1998). Inside sports college basketball. Visible Ink Press. ISBN 1-57859-009-4.pg. 598
- ^ "Tyler Hall breaks Big Sky scoring record but Montana State falters on road at EWU". The Montana Standard. January 19, 2019. Retrieved January 21, 2019.
- ^ Allen, Jim (December 22, 2018). "Chris Clemons Becomes Big South's All-Time Scorer". Big South Conference. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
- ^ "2010–11 Big Ten Conference Men's Basketball Media Guide" (PDF). 2,000 Point Club (All Games). Big Ten Conference. 2010. Retrieved February 12, 2011.
- ^ "2010–11 Big West Conference Men's Basketball Media Guide" (PDF). Career Records: Points Scored. Big West Conference. 2010. Retrieved February 12, 2011.
- ^ "CAA names Robinson, Smith among its 25 Silver Stars". The Baltimore Sun. February 9, 2010. Retrieved February 12, 2011.
- ^ Clay, Jarrod (March 3, 2019). "Jon Elmore sets C-USA scoring record in win over North Texas". Charleston, WV: WVAH-TV. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
- ^ "Nine to be Inducted into Billiken Hall of Fame". Saint Louis University. January 16, 2001. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved February 12, 2011.
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- ^ "2010–11 MAC Men's Basketball Record Book" (PDF). Most Points in a Career. Mid-American Conference. 2010. Retrieved February 12, 2011.
- ^ Grant, Kira Nicole (February 27, 2020). "History In The Making: Charles "CJ" Williams breaks the MEAC's All-Time Scoring Record". The Hilltop. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
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- ^ Borg, Zach (December 7, 2018). "Daum Becomes Summit League's All-Time Scoring Leader During SDSU's Win Over Southern". kdlt.com. Retrieved December 9, 2018.
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- ^ "2010–11 WAC Men's Basketball Media Guide". Career Records. Western Athletic Conference. 2010. Retrieved February 12, 2011.
- NCAA Division I men's basketball statistical leaders