3-pt shooting... yikes

[Spock344]

We currently rank #336 out of #351 teams in 3-pt percentage.

How about some pump fakes, drives, pick 'n rolls instead. Something. Anything besides more 3s.

 

[HOFCeluck]

We're top five in o rebounding.

Which is good, considering our shooting...

 

[Brooky03]

We currently rank #336 out of #351 teams in 3-pt percentage.

How about some pump fakes, drives, pick 'n rolls instead. Something. Anything besides more 3s.

The thing about pump fakes is the defense has to first believe that you'll actually shoot the ball and stand a reasonable chance of making it. Outside of Tyus, nobody on the team is a real threat from deep. It's going to be a problem this year. The good news is that it looks like the outside shooting will be much better next year.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

I say, let it fly. You miss every shot you don't take.

Also, in our case, you miss almost every shot you do take. But still.

 

[CusefanATL]

 

[NineOneSeven]

Yeah, pretty bad. Still early though. I wonder how different our ranking would be if we just made 3 more total? That could include a bank shot, a heave, or simply one of the shots we've had rim out.

 

[shandeezy7]

Unfortunately, 3 point shooting is not going to get better this year. Oshae should not be shooting anymore threes unless he is wide open. I'm sure the brick fest from 3 land is contributing to our high offensive rebound numbers. And offensive rebounds usually create unsettled situations, which may actually be helping us on the offensive end. So maybe I change my mind and we should just keep chucking from deep and crashing the boards. It's been our most effective offense this year.

 

[MGP]

We're top five in o rebounding.

Which is good, considering our shooting...

So if we get an o rebound for every 3 we miss, we only have to shoot 20% and its actually like 40% (I was told there would be no math)

 

[HOFCeluck]

Unfortunately, 3 point shooting is not going to get better this year. Oshae should not be shooting anymore threes unless he is wide open. I'm sure the brick fest from 3 land is contributing to our high offensive rebound numbers. And offensive rebounds usually create unsettled situations, which may actually be helping us on the offensive end. So maybe I change my mind and we should just keep chucking from deep and crashing the boards. It's been our most effective offense this year.

I think that's how the women got to the final four?

 

[bevosu]

I've seen nothing that indicates that Brissett can make 3's. I haven't seen his high school stats, but his summer tournament 3 point stats are not encouraging.

Yet he keeps taking them...and missing them.

His mid range shot looks better.

 

[Eric15]

It's crazy to think that Battle is our "shooter" and hes at 32% from deep right now.

 

[teamco]

When you are shooting low 20ish percent from 3-land, the opposition happily gives you enough room to tempt you into taking that shot. Our offense is not what you would categorize as very sophisticated. Lots of running around the perimeter, not enough working the ball in and out; not enough slashing to the basket; or sneaking a big over the top. Too often it is chucking it up from deep or someone trying to get the job done themselves, typically as the clock runs down. It didn't help that last years Frank Howard showed up at the Garden . . . hope that is just an aberration and not a reversion. Anyway, not meant to be unduly harsh but was at the Garden last night and couldn't help but notice how Nova routinely penetrated the Zaga’s D and either converted easy layups or would kick the ball back out for open shots; how many weapons they had, and how under control they played.

That said, here's a couple of things to ponder-

Our Assit/Turnover Ration is .97 # 216 in the nation
We've turned the ball over more than we have assists . . . 102 to 99
We avg 12.75 Assists/g . . . 264th in the nation

Need a couple of roles of Dimes to get that offense flowing. Bottom line though, I think our team has plenty of upside. Defense looks good, much more active than the past couple of years; like the way they hustle after the ball, and like the way they go after rebounds . . . gotta get back to work

 

[Cusefan0307]

We knew this was going to be the case at the beginning of the season. Hopefully the guys coming in can make them.

 

[supp]

We currently rank #336 out of #351 teams in 3-pt percentage.

How about some pump fakes, drives, pick 'n rolls instead. Something. Anything besides more 3s.

This team reminds me of the 2001 football team. We have one megastar and some good supporting players. We do one thing amazingly and are mediocre to bad on everything else. We can win a bunch of games but we're going to get caught with our pants down a time or two this season and it won't be pretty.

 

[orangenirvana]

We currently rank #336 out of #351 teams in 3-pt percentage.

How about some pump fakes, drives, pick 'n rolls instead. Something. Anything besides more 3s.

Tyler Lydon gave us enough pump fakes a season ago to last us the next ten years.

 

[Brooky03]

It's crazy to think that Battle is our "shooter" and hes at 32% from deep right now.

33%. he needs every percentage point he can get, we can't be shorting him with our rounding.

 

[Sherman20]

The thing about pump fakes is the defense has to first believe that you'll actually shoot the ball and stand a reasonable chance of making it. Outside of Tyus, nobody on the team is a real threat from deep. It's going to be a problem this year. The good news is that it looks like the outside shooting will be much better next year.

I think we’ll improve in our 3-pt accuracy. But I really wish Geno hadn’t quit on this team. He could have been a valuable contributor off the bench—especially on the occasion when Frank is stinking up the joint like last night.

 

[Brooky03]

I think we’ll improve in our 3-pt accuracy. But I really wish Geno hadn’t quit on this team. He could have been a valuable contributor off the bench—especially on the occasion when Frank is stinking up the joint like last night.

I'm honestly happier with Washington. Washington is a true PG, whereas Geno was pretty much just a SG. Washington is supposed to be a pretty good shooter, too.

 

[sugrad68]

I'm honestly happier with Washington. Washington is a true PG, whereas Geno was pretty much just a SG. Washington is supposed to be a pretty good shooter, too.

Washington is an unknown quantity right now. 29 minutes played, 4 shots, no baskets. 1 of 2 on FTs. 4 assists, 0 TOs. Sometime this season either Battle or Howard will get into foul trouble and Washington will be needed. Boeheim should give him major minutes before ACC play starts to give him some confidence.

 

[Dmcnabbrules]

Good decision by Thorpe to quit, there was no chance he might play more as the season went on. He was one guy who had a history of being able to shoot, ass clown.

 

[Brooky03]

Washington is an unknown quantity right now. 29 minutes played, 4 shots, no baskets. 1 of 2 on FTs. 4 assists, 0 TOs. Sometime this season either Battle or Howard will get into foul trouble and Washington will be needed. Boeheim should give him major minutes before ACC play starts to give him some confidence.

I agree that he should start getting some consistent minutes sooner rather than later. And I think/hope that will happen against the midmajors. In his limited run, Washington has passed the eye test, imo.

To be clear, I'm not saying I think he's currently a better college player than Geno; I just think he's a better fit than Geno was. We couldn't take advantage of Geno's shooting because the only way to get him on the court with Battle was to slide Battle to SF, which is less than ideal. At least with Washington, he can be on the court with Battle and (if he gets minutes and shoots like he's reportedly capable of) provide a second deep threat for stretches.

Not having a true backup SG for Battle is concerning, of course. The idea of playing Howard and Washington at the same time is not fun to think about.

 

[Jasoncuse]

Yeah, pretty bad. Still early though. I wonder how different our ranking would be if we just made 3 more total? That could include a bank shot, a heave, or simply one of the shots we've had rim out.

I can't imagine it gets much better, though, unless Brissett starts knocking them down. The defenses we face will get tougher, so wide open looks will likely be tougher to come by.

 

[Doc5120]

We currently rank #336 out of #351 teams in 3-pt percentage.

How about some pump fakes, drives, pick 'n rolls instead. Something. Anything besides more 3s.

I don't know about you, but I'm not biting on a pump fake behind the 3 pt line against one of the worst 3 pt shooting teams in the country. Battle is the one guy that would cause a defender to leave his feet. There's no reason to do anything other than close out with high hands on our shooters. I think the key to improvement on offense is more and betetr ball movement. Make the defense move. There tends to be too much 1 on 1 play & standing around, allowing other defenders to rest or easily help off their man.

 

[cuseinseattle]

The thing about pump fakes is the defense has to first believe that you'll actually shoot the ball and stand a reasonable chance of making it. Outside of Tyus, nobody on the team is a real threat from deep. It's going to be a problem this year. The good news is that it looks like the outside shooting will be much better next year.

It’s a shame Lydon is gone. We would have no pump fake issues

 

[JoeySimz]

It's simple. We need to shoot a better 3-point shooting percentage (but not necessarily take more threes)

I believe most of our offensive struggle are due to low 3-point shooting percentage. We've gotten so many good looks this season. I like the offense we run because it gives our most talented guys the opportunity to be the successful. We have skilled players. We are just missing that one skill that spreads the floor and makes everything else easier.

If we take a look at what our three main scorers can do
Tyus - iso, floater, midrange j, big shot maker
Frank - passing, midrange pull-up, pick'n'roll (despite the rollers not executing)
Oshae - driving, putbacks, midrange​

This leads me to believe that an increase in 3-point percentage while getting continued improvement from the new guys, can give us an effective, multi-faceted offense.

No one has found consistency from three yet. Consequently, as defenses play us to drive, they've had to work much harder to score in other ways. Unfortunately, there is no easy fix to shooting. Syracuse runs tons of shooting drills. Jb said Oshae makes threes in practice. Our best player Tyus shoots a lot but doesn't make many. They just, somehow, have to make more threes. Even a slight bump in percentage would be welcome.

Outside of shooting the three better, there are several initial things we can do to improve on offense such as Frank getting us right into the offense (please!), cutting turnovers, Tyus cutting offensive fouls, the bigs/wings knowing their spots, getting into transition quickly to capitalize on our strengths (steals/rebounding). We also have to get the other guys involved. We sorely need Matt and Marek to be a reasonable threat to score so defenses can double and triple our main guys. Be more aggressive with the ball and move without the ball! Just thinking out loud.

All that might get us a few easy buckets but it doesn't necessarily translate to shooting threes better since we already miss open shots. We might actually be shooting better from 17 feet, which many would argue is a more difficult shot in today's game. We can only hope that as this young team continues to mature, shooting will improve!

Bonus material:
I thought these stats were really interesting. Some common opponents. It shows how crazy basketball can be. These are games I watched except the last one. Most are of significance to Syracuse/UW.​

3-pointers
KU 36% 11/31 winner
SU 22% 6/27, highest attempts this season

SU 25% 4/16 winner
UConn 37% 7/19

KU 29% 8/28 winner
UK 23% 3/13, doesn't shoot well, limits attempts

UW 43% 9/21 winner
KU 25% 5/20

VaTech 68% 15/22 winner big,
UW 28% 5/18

Florida 47% 17/36 winner, 2ot
Gonzaga 32% 10/31

Duke 44% 10/23 winner, close game, two teams who rely on the three
Florida 40% 8/20

Fla.St. 30% 7/23 winner, killed them on the boards
Florida 24% 6/25

Loy. Ill. 50% 6/12 winner, one of the top shooting teams in the country
Florida 10% 2/19

It's worth noting that compared to the other teams above we are middle of the pack in opponents percentage while last in shooting percentage. This is reflected nationally, as the op points out. The closest to our 27% is UConn at 31%. Everyone else is 34+.

Also, we are the only team to beat an opponent who shot the three better than us and in this case it was significantly better. Random list, though.

If you look at whole schedules, you can see some stylistic markers too. Teams that prefer high-scoring perimeter games like Florida, Duke, and VaTech versus teams like Syracuse, UK, and Fla.State. Matchups are a big deal.