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Message: [QUOTE="JoeySimz, post: 2413217"] 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. [INDENT]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[/INDENT] 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! [INDENT] 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. [/INDENT] 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. [/QUOTE]

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