Young Trae Made 113 Treys to Lead Nation in Scoring Sooner Instead of Later
Oklahoma freshman sensation Trae Young led the nation in scoring average (27.4 ppg) despite struggling the last month of the campaign (scoring under his season average in seven of eight games heading into NCAA tourney). Need an example showing how scoring is down in college basketball beyond the freak set of circumstances in 2008-09 when eventual NBA MVP Stephen Curry went scoreless against Loyola (Md.)? Unsure if it is a byproduct of doomed civilization stemming from eco-fascist climate change, but no NCAA Division I player has averaged 30 points per game thus far in the 21st Century (since LIU's Charles Jones in 1996-97 with 30.1 ppg). But that depends upon your rounding-off interpretation of Central Michigan guard Marcus Keene's national-leading mark last season of 29.96875 (959 points divided by 32 games) after he posted his highest and lowest outputs against Miami (Ohio). Keene, who transferred from Youngstown State (11.9 ppg in 2013-14 and 2014-15), joined the following list of transfers who became the nation's leading scorer:
| NCAA's Top Scorer | School | Season(s) Led Nation in Scoring | Original University |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frank Burgess | Gonzaga | 32.4 ppg in 1960-61 | Arkansas-Pine Bluff |
| Larry Fogle | Canisius | 33.4 ppg in 1973-74 | Southwestern Louisiana |
| Bob McCurdy | Richmond | 32.9 ppg in 1974-75 | Virginia |
| Marshall Rogers | Pan American | 36.8 ppg in 1975-76 | Kansas |
| Greg "Bo" Kimble | Loyola Marymount | 35.3 ppg in 1989-90 | Southern California |
| Kevin Bradshaw | U.S. International | 37.6 ppg in 1990-91 | Bethune-Cookman |
| Greg Guy | Texas-Pan American | 29.3 ppg in 1992-93 | Fresno State |
| Charles Jones | Long Island | 30.1 ppg in 1996-97 and 29 ppg in 1997-98 | Rutgers |
| Courtney Alexander | Fresno State | 24.8 ppg in 1999-00 | Virginia |
| Ruben Douglas | New Mexico | 28 ppg in 2002-03 | Arizona |
Three years ago, Eastern Washington's Tyler Harvey (23.1 ppg) finished with the lowest average for the national scoring leader since Yale's Tony Lavelli posted 22.4 ppg in 1948-49. As a means of comparison to an era when scorers flourished, an average of 36 players annually posted higher scoring marks than Harvey in a six-season span from 1967-68 through 1972-73, including a high of 44 in 1969-70 when LSU's Pete Maravich nearly doubled Harvey with 44.5 ppg despite the absence of the three-point field goal.
Glenn Robinson Jr. (30.3 ppg for Purdue in 1993-94) was the only player from a power six league to pace the country in scoring in a 41-year span from 1971-72 through 2011-12 (South Carolina was independent in 1980-81 and TCU was SWC member in 1994-95). Following is a look at the high and low games for players during the season when they led DI in scoring average:
NOTE: Leaders are unofficial from 1935-36 through 1946-47.