Low Balling: Numerous Conference Single-Season Scoring Leaders Bottom Out
November 2nd, 2012 - 20:06
Where have all the big-time scorers gone? Can anyone really shoot the ball anymore? A total of 21 current and defunct NCAA Division I conferences in the previous 13 seasons posted an all-time low for their top point producer, including seven last year. Let's hope players start spending more time practicing their shooting than their flash-dance dunking and in the tattoo parlor.
The lowest scoring average by a DI conference champion in the last 50 years was 15.2 ppg by Southern Utah's Sean Allen in the American West in 1994-95. Following are the lowest scoring averages to lead a major conference, including defunct leagues, in the last 65-plus years since the end of World War II:
| Conference | Scoring Leader | Class | School | Average | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| America East | T.J. Sorrentine | Soph. | Vermont | 18.8 ppg | 2001-02 |
| American South | Kevin Brooks | Sr. | Southwestern Louisiana | 21.2 ppg | 1990-91 |
| American West | Sean Allen | Sr. | Southern Utah | 15.2 ppg | 1994-95 |
| Atlantic Coast | John Richter | Sr. | North Carolina State | 17.0 ppg | 1958-59 |
| Atlantic Sun | Torrey Craig | Soph. | South Carolina Upstate | 16.4 ppg | 2011-12 |
| Atlantic 10 | Mark Jones | Jr. | St. Bonaventure | 18.0 ppg | 1981-82 |
| Big East* | Kevin Jones | Sr. | West Virginia | 19.0 ppg | 2011-12 |
| Big Eight* | Claude Retherford | Sr. | Nebraska | 12.4 ppg | 1948-49 |
| Big Sky | Jermaine Boyette | Jr. | Weber State | 17.1 ppg | 2001-02 |
| Big South | Dustin Van Weerdhuizen | Jr. | High Point | 16.5 ppg | 2001-02 |
| Big Ten* | Bob Cook | Jr. | Wisconsin | 15.6 ppg | 1946-47 |
| Big 12 | Marcus Fizer | Soph. | Iowa State | 18.0 ppg | 1998-99 |
| Big West | Ralph Holmes | Sr. | Cal State Fullerton | 16.9 ppg | 2004-05 |
| Border | Hank Decker | Jr. | West Texas | 12.9 ppg | 1945-46 |
| Colonial Athletic | George Evans | Soph. | George Mason | 17.2 ppg | 1998-99 |
| Conference USA | Will Barton | Soph. | Memphis | 18.0 ppg | 2011-12 |
| East Coast | Doug Mills | Sr. | Hofstra | 16.6 ppg | 1983-84 |
| Great Midwest | Elbert Rogers | Sr. | UAB | 20.4 ppg | 1991-92 |
| Great West | Isiah Williams | Sr. | Utah Valley | 16.4 ppg | 2011-12 |
| Gulf Star | Terry Butler | Sr. | Southeastern Louisiana | 16.5 ppg | 1986-87 |
| Horizon League | Kendrick Perry | Soph. | Youngstown State | 16.8 ppg | 2011-12 |
| Ivy League* | John Rockwell | Sr. | Harvard | 15.8 ppg | 1949-50 |
| Metro | Jerald Honeycutt | Sr. | Tulane | 17.3 ppg | 1994-95 |
| Metro Atlantic Athletic | Mikkel Larsen | Jr. | Iona | 17.5 ppg | 1994-95 |
| Mid-American | Joe Shaw | Jr. | Western Michigan | 14.5 ppg | 1950-51 |
| Mid-Eastern Athletic | Sean Booker | Soph. | North Carolina A&T | 16.1 ppg | 2004-05 |
| Missouri Valley | Ed Macauley | Jr. | St. Louis | 13.6 ppg | 1947-48 |
| Mountain States | Jack Hauser | Fr. | Denver | 14.0 ppg | 1946-47 |
| Mountain West | Brandon Ewing | Jr. | Wyoming | 17.2 ppg | 2007-08 |
| Northeast | James Feldeine | Jr. | Quinnipiac | 17.0 ppg | 2008-09 |
| Ohio Valley | Jack Coleman | Sr. | Louisville | 14.7 ppg | 1948-49 |
| Pac-12* | Andy Wolfe | Soph. | California | 14.8 ppg | 1945-46 |
| Patriot League | Austen Rowland | Sr. | Lehigh | 15.5 ppg | 2003-04 |
| Rocky Mountain | Boyd DeTonacour | Jr. | Montana State | 10.5 ppg | 1946-47 |
| Southeastern | Jim Nolan | Fr. | Georgia Tech | 14.6 ppg | 1945-46 |
| Southern | Jarvis Hayes | Fr. | Western Carolina | 17.1 ppg | 1999-2000 |
| Southland | Nate Bowie | Sr. | Central Arkansas | 17.5 ppg | 2007-08 |
| Southwest | Joe McDermott | Sr. | Rice | 14.7 ppg | 1950-51 |
| Southwestern Athletic | Trant Simpson | Soph. | Alabama A&M | 15.5 ppg | 2007-08 |
| Summit League | Kenyatta Clyde | Sr. | Southern Utah | 16.6 ppg | 1998-99 |
| Sun Belt | DeJuan Wright | Sr. | Florida International | 16.7 ppg | 2011-12 |
| West Coast | Noah Hartsock | Sr. | Brigham Young | 16.8 ppg | 2011-12 |
| Western Athletic | Josh Grant | Sr. | Utah | 17.3 ppg | 1992-93 |
| Yankee | Ken Goodwin | Jr. | Rhode Island | 16.7 ppg | 1947-48 |
*Big East, Big Eight, Big Ten, Ivy League and Pac-12 figures are for conference games only.