Wofford’s Magee breaks NCAA career 3s record
Wofford’s Fletcher Magee drains a spin-around 3-pointer for his 505th career field goal behind the arc, breaking the NCAA Division I record. (0:24)
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Wofford guard Fletcher Magee set the NCAA Division I career 3-point record in Thursday night’s 84-68 win against Seton Hall in the first round of the NCAA tournament, bypassing the mark once held by Travis Bader.
Magee needed three 3-pointers against the Pirates to set the record. He got his third on the first possession of the second half to give him 505 for his career. Bader had set the mark with 504 in 2014 at Oakland.
As soon as Magee lifted to take the shot, the large Wofford contingent stood with arms raised and gave him a standing ovation.
Magee finished the night with 7 3-pointers made on 12 attempts, giving him 509 for his career.
The senior from Orlando, Florida, is No. 1 in the nation in 3-point field goals per game, averaging 4.58 entering Thursday.
During Wednesday’s pregame news conference, coach Mike Young called Magee “the hardest worker I’ve ever been around.”
“I don’t know that any of us know coming in that he’s going to score 500 3s and 2,500 points,” Young said. “If I had a nickel for every time I had a high school coach tell me kids will be the hardest worker you’ve ever had, I’d have some money, and I respectfully internally thought to myself, ‘Yeah, I’ve heard that again; here we go.’ He is the hardest worker I’ve ever been around.”
Magee said Wednesday he would have family and friends in Jacksonville, a two-hour drive from where he grew up. Asked why he has been so successful shooting 3s at Wofford, Magee said, “A lot of that is the system that we have, guards coming off screens a lot, my teammates looking for me a lot. I think those are two of the main things, and then obviously you have to work on your game and get in the gym and shoot as much as you can. So I think the combination of shooting in the gym and getting your confidence in your shot and then having coaches run plays for you in the offense and having your teammates, good passers, good screeners get you the ball, I think that combination has allowed for a lot of success.”