Tino: women can 3 all day long

[Cheriehoop]

I'm not knocking the ladies. Its just a fact that the ball the women use is smaller and thus the shot can be off center more than it could with a larger ball and still go through. I think this is simply one of the reasons however as the women's game has seemed to stress shooting much more than the men's. Thankfully the NBA of late seems to be stressing shooting again and thus the college men's game will follow. Obviously there are some style differences as well. The reason why the ball is smaller doesn't change the fact that it is smaller and thus to an extent easier to put through the hoop however marginal that difference may be.

BTW, thanks for the history lesson as I didn't know any of that and its always good to learn. My 7 year old daughter started bball over this last winter so I'm trying to advance my knowledge when it comes to women's hoops. I'll be watching the Orange tomorrow and cheering.

The men changed it based on what they considered physics/science. They believed that women's smaller hands, shorter height, less weight made the womens' game less comparable to the men's game, less attractive , thus less lucrative when $$$$ got added to the mix and the NCAA became involved. They believed that women could control the ball better, have more force from shooting distances with a smaller ball. It's the same rationale that youth leagues use even smaller balls than the women's ball. What advantage there is having a smaller ball based on physical size is an interesting one. I was used to the mens' ball so it was a pain for us who played back then. When it changed, there was a transition period but personally I saw no advantage nor disadvantage other than initially after the change itself. Bad shooters didn't become good shooters and poor ball handlers didn't become good ones either.

 

[Brooky03]

The men changed it based on what they considered physics/science. They believed that women's smaller hands, shorter height, less weight made the womens' game less comparable to the men's game, less attractive , thus less lucrative when $$$$ got added to the mix and the NCAA became involved. They believed that women could control the ball better, have more force from shooting distances with a smaller ball. It's the same rationale that youth leagues use even smaller balls than the women's ball. What advantage there is having a smaller ball based on physical size is an interesting one. I was used to the mens' ball so it was a pain for us who played back then. When it changed, there was a transition period but personally I saw no advantage nor disadvantage other than initially after the change itself. Bad shooters didn't become good shooters and poor ball handlers didn't become good ones either.

A smaller ball is easier to control and easier to put in the hoop. I don't know much about the motivations behind the smaller ball, nor do I have an opinion either way on the validity of shrinking the size for women, but the fact remains that a slightly smaller ball is easier to use than a bigger one. The size difference certainly isn't enough to make a bad player good in the areas of ballhandling or shooting, but it's probably enough to make a marginal player good, or at least better. In terms of 3 point shooting, we're probably talking about a couple percentage point difference, not something drastic, but there would be a difference.

 

[andyw715]

The ball is also lighter, which I've heard isn't great for it bounce off the rim more. I think they would rather just have a heavier basketball.

 

[DeGrozz]

Good is 33%. They are 29%. Not great, but not "terrible" either.

33% from 3 yields the same points as 50% from 2.

Way too basic of way to look at it.

If you are taking 2s, you're likely driving it to the hoop, drawing fouls, getting big men out of position for offensive rebounds and easy put backs, etc. Sure on one shot it may yield the same points, but over the course of a game, 50% from 2 yields a hell of a lot more than 33% from 3.

 

[tipphill]

the ladies appear to be far superior foul shooters than the men----

 

[Doc5120]

the ladies appear to be far superior foul shooters than the men----

If you're just talking SU women vs SU men - that's not true. Men just under 69% and women just over 67%