Post Utah, Pre Season Thoughts

This is all very true and makes sense. In a perfect roster world, all of our guards would be master three-point shooters. However, Washington is not (yet). He has hurt the team with those shoes. So, the poster’s point is applicable. With his excellent driving ability, his value to the team would improve if he was a high-percentage threat to either score at the rim, or make the mid-range shot if the defender is giving him too much room on the drive. Of course, I would rather see a kick out to Kalscheur, Stull, Coffey or McBrayer for the open three, but that’s beside the point.


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No doubt. You're absolutely right. But I'd rather have him work relentlessly on shooting 3s than work on pull up jump shots. Poster wanted him to develop a mid-range game and I think thats a waste of time. Its inefficient.

But yes, he needs to penetrate and find open guys or finish at the rim. His 3 point shooting isn't my issue, its the shots he is taking. Looked completely different vs Utah than he did vs Omaha
 

This goes against all analytics. Mid-range jump shots are very inefficient. This is why the NBA and a lot of other levels are shooting more 3s and a lot less mid-range shots. You get 50% more points for making 3s so you don't need to shoot nearly the same %. Obviously dunks and layups are very efficient due to the high % of makes.

I get the analytics side but IW is just not a good 3 point shooter and it kills the flow of the offense if he runs down the court and jacks up a bad 3. In 2 games he is 0-8 on 3s and 3-4 on other shots.

Last year he was 21-87 (24%) shooting 3s and 81-192 (42%) shooting 2s. I can understand the analytic side that says in 100 shots he only has to make 28% of his 3s to equal the same amount of points as 42% of his 2s but the reality is that he seems pretty unlikely to get to that 28% so for him it makes more sense to go for the higher percentage shot in my opinion.
 

I get the analytics side but IW is just not a good 3 point shooter and it kills the flow of the offense if he runs down the court and jacks up a bad 3. In 2 games he is 0-8 on 3s and 3-4 on other shots.

Last year he was 21-87 (24%) shooting 3s and 81-192 (42%) shooting 2s. I can understand the analytic side that says in 100 shots he only has to make 28% of his 3s to equal the same amount of points as 42% of his 2s but the reality is that he seems pretty unlikely to get to that 28% so for him it makes more sense to go for the higher percentage shot in my opinion.

He shot 35% in conference last year.

I don't think he is a poor (untalented) shooter; I do think shot selection is an issue. We are probably saying the same thing in slightly different ways, but I want the point clear that some of those 3s are good shots (that just haven't gone in yet this year). Still needs some work on when to take a good 3 in the flow of the offense / after several passes when open, and when to use his dribble drive to create for himself or for others.
 

He shot 35% in conference last year.

This is correct. He didn't shoot 52%+ on 2s, so he should have kept taking 3s. In fact, he only shot .39% on 2s, so those were mostly bad shots compared to his 3s.
 

This goes against all analytics. Mid-range jump shots are very inefficient. This is why the NBA and a lot of other levels are shooting more 3s and a lot less mid-range shots. You get 50% more points for making 3s so you don't need to shoot nearly the same %. Obviously dunks and layups are very efficient due to the high % of makes.
Of course...if you're o-fer from three point range (like IW) then stepping in and hitting the mid-range shot is a 66% increase in scoring. [emoji41]
 


Of course...if you're o-fer from three point range (like IW) then stepping in and hitting the mid-range shot is a 66% increase in scoring. [emoji41]

Assuming you make the 2, yes. We also shouldn't base an entire season of shooting on 2 games. I don't think Gabe shoots 78% on 3s this year...but maybe?
 


I understand the analytics behind the rise of the 3-point shot. But, it has resulted in guys thinking they have to shoot 3's - even if they can't make them.

I see that all the time at the HS level. kid is open for a 16-foot shot, but he backs up a couple steps because he thinks it "has" to be a 3-pointer. I'll take 2 points over 0 points, not to mention that a missed 3-pointer can result in a long rebound, or even a fast-break opportunity for the other team if the ball kicks out the wrong way.
 

Some of you are missing the point. Nobody disagrees that a 21-ft 3 is smarter than a 20-ft 2. Long 2s aren’t mid-range. The point is that IW should stop and pop a 10-12 footer instead of taking it all the way to the hole (where it has frequently been blocked; apparently to IW’s great surprise). He is not a great 3-point shooter, and he’s our only true PG. He’s dribbling inside the 3-point line a lot (and appears to be able to go by almost all B1G defenders). He’d be all-conference if he could shoot the 10-footer with effectiveness. Also, if he pulls up, the help defender has to leave a more open big under the hoop, making for easier dump-offs.
 
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Some of you are missing the point. Nobody disagrees that a 21-ft 3 is smarter than a 20-ft 2. Long 2s aren’t mid-range. The point is that IW should stop and pop a 10-12 footer instead of taking it all the way to the hole (where it has frequently been blocked; apparently to IW’s great surprise). He is not a great 3-point shooter, and he’s our only true PG. He’s dribbling inside the 3-point line a lot (and appears to be able to go by almost all B1G defenders). He’d be all-conference if he could shoot the 10-footer with effectiveness. Also, if he pulls up, the help defender has to leave a more open big under the hoop, making for easier dump-offs.


Stop and Pop
 


I understand the analytics behind the rise of the 3-point shot. But, it has resulted in guys thinking they have to shoot 3's - even if they can't make them.

I see that all the time at the HS level. kid is open for a 16-foot shot, but he backs up a couple steps because he thinks it "has" to be a 3-pointer. I'll take 2 points over 0 points, not to mention that a missed 3-pointer can result in a long rebound, or even a fast-break opportunity for the other team if the ball kicks out the wrong way.

I think part of the reason people love 3s is that the long rebounds generally favor the offense. Could be wrong as I don't work in an analytics department but pretty sure this is the case.
 




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