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Will a deeper 3 pt line help or hurt us?

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Medill90

Junior
Jan 30, 2011
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NU shot 31% from three.....and 40% from the field overall. It would be great if the team thee point percentage was above 33%, and with distance shooters like Law, Falzon, Taylor and Turner it really should have been.

But I'd argue the issue was about the critical threes that were missed, and not overall percentage. Other than Dererk, you couldn't describe the players as "clutch" last year." I'd also argue that the overall field goal percentage was a bigger issue than threes. NU was really ****** offensively and that would not have been fixed by shooting 33% or even 35% from three.

In regards to three point distance, strength has more to do with it than form. Most every college player has really good form. They train and work and practice from a known distance. So, move that back an inch or five and it will have an effect on some players. But it's only for a couple years until players adjust.

The NBA data on number of three pointers from attempted is pretty incredible. For the first few years, compared to today, it was a rarity. And there's been another big jump in attempts recently.
 
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Medill90

Junior
Jan 30, 2011
6,910
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Really, at the end of the day, the problem with the offense and shooting was a shortage of confidence.
 
S

Styre

Senior
Oct 14, 2004
7,728
401
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Medill90 said:
The NBA data on number of three pointers from attempted is pretty incredible. For the first few years, compared to today, it was a rarity. And there's been another big jump in attempts recently.
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Yup. In Michael Jordan's 63 point playoff game in 1986, he didn't attempt a single three pointer. But the league didn't understand the true value of a three pointer until relatively recently.
 
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elgatoloco_rivals308553

Redshirt
May 29, 2001
2,860
28
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NU was one of the worst shooting teams in the country no matter how you cut it. They didn't shoot 3s well, but Duke didn't either. But NU also had a poor 2pt %. Effective FG %, True Shooting % -- you name it, NU was poor.

What hurt NU the most, IMO, was a lack of players who could get to the rim. Since I just read a book on advanced basketball analytics and am now an expert, the three most efficient shots are, in order, shots at the rim, corner 3s and 3s north of the FT line extended. As has been oft-discussed, midrange shots are the least efficient shots and really aren't worth taking a lot of unless you're really good at it. (I don't think advanced stats on college players are widely available, but I'd be interested to see BMacs midrange shooting % in his Jr/Sr years and wouldn't be surprised to see that it went down.)

Last season NU didn't have players who could drive and make shots at the rim at a high enough percentage to force teams to respond. Defenses could stretch and challenge floor spacers. Dererk was one of my favorite players at NU, but his 2pt % wasn't as high as it needed to be to help make up for the lack of players who can go to the rim.

A new line would open up floor spacing some, and eventually most of the players would adjust. IMO the main issue with distance shooting is form and rhythm, and extending the line will place more of a premium on that than on strength.
 
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freewillie07

Sophomore
Aug 22, 2017
5,240
100
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elgatoloco said:
NU was one of the worst shooting teams in the country no matter how you cut it. They didn't shoot 3s well, but Duke didn't either. But NU also had a poor 2pt %. Effective FG %, True Shooting % -- you name it, NU was poor.

What hurt NU the most, IMO, was a lack of players who could get to the rim. Since I just read a book on advanced basketball analytics and am now an expert, the three most efficient shots are, in order, shots at the rim, corner 3s and 3s north of the FT line extended. As has been oft-discussed, midrange shots are the least efficient shots and really aren't worth taking a lot of unless you're really good at it. (I don't think advanced stats on college players are widely available, but I'd be interested to see BMacs midrange shooting % in his Jr/Sr years and wouldn't be surprised to see that it went down.)

Last season NU didn't have players who could drive and make shots at the rim at a high enough percentage to force teams to respond. Defenses could stretch and challenge floor spacers. Dererk was one of my favorite players at NU, but his 2pt % wasn't as high as it needed to be to help make up for the lack of players who can go to the rim.

A new line would open up floor spacing some, and eventually most of the players would adjust. IMO the main issue with distance shooting is form and rhythm, and extending the line will place more of a premium on that than on strength.
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Nice post. Ultimately, basketball is about making shots, and last year’s team was among the worst of the Collins era at doing so.

I don’t watch a lot of non-NU games during the regular season. Only in the tournament. And I was simply amazed at how many shots went in. That’s how you know NU basketball wasn’t where it needs to be. Scoring can be hard, but not having good shooters or good slashers makes it downright painful to watch.
 
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NJCat

All-Conference
Mar 7, 2016
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docrugby1 said:
It would have to hurt. NU's offense doesn't generate any layups or easy baskets.
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I think it is less the offensive scheme (or lack thereof) that NU runs, than the players who have been on NU's teams the last 6 seasons. BMac and sometimes Tre were the only guys who tried/had the skill set to drive to the bucket.
 
Purple Pile Driver

Purple Pile Driver

All-Conference
May 14, 2014
27,113
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Fitzphile said:
I think it is less the offensive scheme (or lack thereof) that NU runs, than the players who have been on NU's teams the last 6 seasons. BMac and sometimes Tre were the only guys who tried/had the skill set to drive to the bucket.
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How about NU just designs and executes a few plays where a decent shooter can actually get a good look at the basket without the opponent draped all over them?
 
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NJCat

All-Conference
Mar 7, 2016
21,326
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Purple Pile Driver said:
How about NU just designs and executes a few plays where a decent shooter can actually get a good look at the basket without the opponent draped all over them?
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Sounds simple. But if there is no threat of a dribble-drive it's pretty easy to just body-up on the NU players.....
 
Alvious

Alvious

Junior
Sep 6, 2010
2,631
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I'm probably the only human being on the planet who holds this opinion, but I think they should do away with the 3-point line and make all baskets worth 1 point.
 
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