1-14 from the arc

[Palatine]

And those were NOT contested shots. Most of them were w-i-d-e open and taken by good shooters.

Hit 4-14 and its not a contest.

 

[Tenspro2002]

We haven't had a legitimate 3-point threat since AJ Price. And I don't see any on the horizon. No frontcourt and no outside shooters makes it hard to score, especially with an uncreative offense.

 

[Palatine]

They hit seven in a row last game. Very streaky and very odd.

 

[jibsey]

Here's what I saw tonight. When we get a guy in position for one, they hesitate more often than not rather than just catching and shooting. We may not be great at 3's but Ollie really needs to work them on this, especially with our deficiencies down low otherwise there's gonna be a lot of ugliness.

 

[Migs]

We haven't had a legitimate 3-point threat since AJ Price. And I don't see any on the horizon. No frontcourt and no outside shooters makes it hard to score, especially with an uncreative offense.

Riiiight, because Lamb was a crap shooter.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

 

[ctchamps]

They hit seven in a row last game. Very streaky and very odd.

Kinda like the team don't you think!

 

[Tenspro2002]

Riiiight, because Lamb was a crap shooter.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

Lamb was a career 35% 3-point shooter. That's average for a guard, nothing special.

Do you realize it's been 4 years since we had a guy shoot a reliable 38% for a season?

 

[Migs]

Lamb was a career 35% 3-point shooter. That's average for a guard, nothing special.

Do you realize it's been 4 years since we had a guy shoot a reliable 38% for a season?

Guess me and every other team we faced were wrong in considering Lamb a threat. This team looks like they should. Climbing uphill, exposed inside and struggling learn a new coach's gameplan. Give them time. Shabazz used this game to differ to other players to try to get them going before a major national showdown.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Waquoit]

They hit seven in a row last game. Very streaky and very odd.

Many of those missed 3's tonight came from attempts where the shooter wasn't square to the hoop. If the shooter doesn't have his feet set, he shouldn't take the shot.

 

[Tenspro2002]

For those who like numbers, here are our team-wide 3-point shooting percentages for the last 11 years. We were awesome during the Ben Gordon era, pretty good during the Marcus Williams/Rashad Anderson era, but have generally been dreadful since then, with the exception of AJ who helped buoy the numbers in 2009.

For a supposedly "guard-oriented" team that we've had since 2010, it sure hasn't shown up in the shooting numbres.

2001-02: 39.4%
2002-03: 38.6%
2003-04: 40.2%
2004-05: 34.7%
2005-06: 36.6%
2006-07: 32.1%
2007-08: 36.1%
2008-09: 34.1%
2009-10: 31.0%
2010-11: 32.9%
2011-12: 33.2%
2012-13: 33.3%

 

[nomar]

We've never lived and died by the 3. Sure, we had good 3-point shooters on the 2004 title team, but we've never been Grinnell College.

It'd be nice to get more consistent 3-point shooting, but that's hardly our biggest issue. Our big issue is our bigs issue.

 

[zls44]

For those who like numbers, here are our team-wide 3-point shooting percentages for the last 11 years. We were awesome during the Ben Gordon era, pretty good during the Marcus Williams/Rashad Anderson era, but have generally been dreadful since then, with the exception of AJ who helped buoy the numbers in 2009.

For a supposedly "guard-oriented" team that we've had since 2010, it sure hasn't shown up in the shooting numbres.

2001-02: 39.4%
2002-03: 38.6%
2003-04: 40.2%
2004-05: 34.7%
2005-06: 36.6%
2006-07: 32.1%
2007-08: 36.1%
2008-09: 34.1%
2009-10: 31.0%
2010-11: 32.9%
2011-12: 33.2%
2012-13: 33.3%

Can you post that again with the attempts per year included?

 

[Tenspro2002]

For those who like numbers, here are our team-wide 3-point shooting percentages for the last 11 years. We were awesome during the Ben Gordon era, pretty good during the Marcus Williams/Rashad Anderson era, but have generally been dreadful since then, with the exception of AJ who helped buoy the numbers in 2009.

For a supposedly "guard-oriented" team that we've had since 2010, it sure hasn't shown up in the shooting numbres.

2001-02: 39.4% (154/391)
2002-03: 38.6% (196/508)
2003-04: 40.2% (249/619)
2004-05: 34.7% (154/444)
2005-06: 36.6% (188/514)
2006-07: 32.1% (147/458)
2007-08: 36.1% (168/465)
2008-09: 34.1% (165/484)
2009-10: 31.0% (125/403)
2010-11: 32.9% (234/711)
2011-12: 33.2% (185/557)
2012-13: 33.3% (33/99)

3PM/3pA now included next to the percentages in the quote. 2 of our top 3 years in terms of attempts have been the last 2 years. And in those years we only shot it at 33%, quite mediocre.

Don't ask me to do too much more random crap or you'll start sounding like my boss. And I hate my boss.

 

[UChusky916]

Many of those missed 3's tonight came from attempts where the shooter wasn't square to the hoop. If the shooter doesn't have his feet set, he shouldn't take the shot.

Our whole offense is out of synch and ugly and methodical.

Each of our guards take ill-advised shots. Bazz, Boat, and Omar all attempt and and can sometimes hit difficult shots while setting from odd releases (not always squared).

The problem is confidence in their shots. When they get cold, they get tentative and can have off nights because the way they set isn't always a consistent act within the flow of the game. The guards need to utilize the pull-up jumper better. They always either take an ill-advised 3 or take it all the way to the rack (sometimes erratically turning it over or charging (DD especially)).

The guards (and our 4's too) should utilize the drive and kick or drive and pull up so that better shots come easier to them.

There's not enough good basic movement created by the offense. There should be driving, kicking, ball fakes, movement. Make the extra-pass to free up a shooter for a better shot.

Instead, the offense we've been running has consisted of having undersized guards and 4's and 5's setting screens to isolate TO for jump shots? What other offense do we run outside of Olander jumpers and Shabazz and Boatright settling for 3's?

Getting hot from three is what increases your percentages. Our offense never got into a rhythm. I thought New Hampshire did a good job of calling timeouts during the game to prevent us from getting any momentum to go on runs.

 

[61cygni]

3PA 3PA/g 3PA/FGA
2001-02: 39.4% 391 11.5 19.4%
2002-03: 38.6% 508 15.4 24.7%
2003-04: 40.2% 619 15.9 25.8%
2004-05: 34.7% 444 14.3 23.7%
2005-06: 36.6% 514 15.1 24.6%
2006-07: 32.1% 458 14.8 25.5%
2007-08: 36.1% 465 14.1 24.7%
2008-09: 34.1% 484 13.4 23.0%
2009-10: 31.0% 403 11.9 21.5%
2010-11: 32.9% 711 17.3 29.3%
2011-12: 33.2% 557 16.4 29.3%
2012-13: 33.3% 99 16.5 30.0%

The last 2 years and current year have shown a marked increase in the frequency with which we end up taking a 3 pointer. It's probably no coincidence that the 2 are somewhat inversely correlated, though it seems like a good 3 point shooting team will be coached to take more, a team also settles for less open 3s in order to take more, and in the case of our teams, it seems like the latter is winning out.

 

[caw]

For those who like numbers, here are our team-wide 3-point shooting percentages for the last 11 years. We were awesome during the Ben Gordon era, pretty good during the Marcus Williams/Rashad Anderson era, but have generally been dreadful since then, with the exception of AJ who helped buoy the numbers in 2009.

For a supposedly "guard-oriented" team that we've had since 2010, it sure hasn't shown up in the shooting numbres.

2001-02: 39.4%
2002-03: 38.6%
2003-04: 40.2%
2004-05: 34.7%
2005-06: 36.6%
2006-07: 32.1%
2007-08: 36.1%
2008-09: 34.1%
2009-10: 31.0%
2010-11: 32.9%
2011-12: 33.2%
2012-13: 33.3%

Not fully comparable: In 2007, the NCAA lengthened the men's three point distance to 20 feet 9 inches, with the rule coming into effect at the beginning of the 2008–09 season.

Just saying.

 

[Tenspro2002]

Not fully comparable: In 2007, the NCAA lengthened the men's three point distance to 20 feet 9 inches, with the rule coming into effect at the beginning of the 2008–09 season.

Just saying.

That's a great point, I totally forgot about that.

On the other hand, I don't know what the NCAA-wide shooting numbers were, but my gut says they weren't a 5% drop, which is basically what you see in our shooting percentages before vs. after.

 

[Palatine]

We've never lived and died by the 3. Sure, we had good 3-point shooters on the 2004 title team, but we've never been Grinnell College.

It'd be nice to get more consistent 3-point shooting, but that's hardly our biggest issue. Our big issue is our bigs issue.

Our big man issue will be with us all season. There isn't much upside. It is what it is.

Our 3-point shooting percentage was 8 percent last night -- eight. That can and should be improved. This is an area were even mild improvement can make a big impact and offset our lack of an inside game.

So I would say that our 3-point shooting percentage is the issue that will decide if we have a good or bad season. If we don't knock down open threes against good teams, we're in sad shape.

 

[ctchamps]

Our big man issue will be with us all season. There isn't much upside. It is what it is.

Our 3-point shooting percentage was 8 percent last night -- eight. That can and should be improved. This is an area were even mild improvement can make a big impact and offset our lack of an inside game.

So I would say that our 3-point shooting percentage is the issue that will decide if we have a good or bad season. If we don't knock down open threes against good teams, we're in sad shape.

Very few athletes perform at the top of their game 24/7. In every athletic event there is pressure on players that changes their performance. Two years ago trick shot Mac on UConn's football team showed what he can do without players rushing at him and given the opportunity to replay his mistakes. His You Tube video went viral. The kid has the arm. That didn't translate to on field success.

I've watched a lot of games in which a team is far behind in the score and suddenly the players start hitting threes. I've watched a lot of games in which a team starts to pull ahead and suddenly guys are making shots that they previously missed. What's happening in both these cases. The players are no longer playing tight. In the first case the players have nothing to lose so they just start shooting and are no longer thinking about what the coaches told them in practice. In the second case the players start getting confident about things and that relaxes them.

We sit at our keyboards and insist players and coaches do this or that! That is unrealistic imo. It doesn't take into account the human factor of reflexes, the ability to adapt during competition or the ability to handle ourselves under pressure.

Of course the same can be said about posters. Some fans can handle adversity or limitations of our teams and some can't. Some fans can handle shocking losses, others can't. It's no surprise that fans who struggle during these situations lack the understanding of players who struggle under adversity or pressure. We want others to do things that we are incapable of doing ourselves.

 

[UconnDon]

Deja vu, I think I was at a Yankee Conference game last evening!!

 

[nomar]

Our big man issue will be with us all season. There isn't much upside. It is what it is.

Our 3-point shooting percentage was 8 percent last night -- eight. That can and should be improved. This is an area were even mild improvement can make a big impact and offset our lack of an inside game.

So I would say that our 3-point shooting percentage is the issue that will decide if we have a good or bad season. If we don't knock down open threes against good teams, we're in sad shape.

You can literally say that about every facet of the game: if we shoot 8% from 3, if we shoot 20% from the floor, if we get out-rebounded 3-to-1, if we turn over the ball at twice the rate of our opponents.

We're not going to shoot 8% from the 3 most nights. And there's not a lot of we can do to "fix" our 3-point shooting. Some days they go in, some days they don't. I like who we have out there: Napier, Giffey, Daniels, Calhoun (who's just getting warmed up), and even Boat's not bad when he steps into it.

I mean, yeah, I agree, 3-point shooting can vary wildly and thus affect ballgames. But my point was that it's not something to focus on. And Kevin's not. You hear about him making the kids kill themselves to improve their rebounding -- not their outside shooting. You can improve rebounding with hard work. We don't need to win the rebounding battle, but we can do better than we've been doing. I agree there isn't much upside but fortunately our coach thinks it's worth working at improving in that facet as much as we can.

 

[caw]

UConn: stolen from post above

2003-04: 40.2%
2004-05: 34.7%
2005-06: 36.6%
2006-07: 32.1%
2007-08: 36.1%
2008-09: 34.1%
2009-10: 31.0%
2010-11: 32.9%
2011-12: 33.2%
2012-13: 33.3%

National Average: http://statsheet.com/mcb/beyondthearc


2003-04: 34.49% +5.71%
2004-05: 34.61% +0.09%
2005-06: 34.81% +1.79%
2006-07: 34.81% -2.71%
2007-08: 35.02% +1.08%

2008-09: 34.18% -0.08%
2009-10: 34.14% -3.14%
2010-11: 34.34% -1.44%
2011-12: 34.23% -1.03%
2012-13: 33.13% TOO EARLY

UConn appears to have changed in the past 5 years, since the line change was introduced. In the 5 years prior to the line change, UConn was above the national average 4 out of those years. In the five years since, UConn has been below the national average by about 1-3 percent. They are slightly above this year, though it is early.

It should be noted that 03-04 was a truly fantastic shooting team, tied for 8th in the country that year and would have been top ten almost any year since. Not shocking when you have Ben Gordon (43.3%)and Rashard Anderson (41%) on 452 combined attempts. Then you have Denham (39.1%) and Charlie (36.7%) combining for 141 attempts and the rest of the team at 26 total attempts.

Overall though UConn has gone from a solid shooting team to a below average shooting team. I wonder how much is based on the line, recruiting, philosophy or what?

 

[jibsey]

Boat can get his shot off from the line pretty easy and I see him pass up quite a few shots. Maybe his success rate would improve.

 

[ctchamps]

UConn: stolen from post above

2003-04: 40.2%
2004-05: 34.7%
2005-06: 36.6%
2006-07: 32.1%
2007-08: 36.1%
2008-09: 34.1%
2009-10: 31.0%
2010-11: 32.9%
2011-12: 33.2%
2012-13: 33.3%

National Average: http://statsheet.com/mcb/beyondthearc


2003-04: 34.49% +5.71%
2004-05: 34.61% +0.09%
2005-06: 34.81% +1.79%
2006-07: 34.81% -2.71%
2007-08: 35.02% +1.08%

2008-09: 34.18%-0.08%
2009-10: 34.14%-3.14%
2010-11: 34.34%-1.44%
2011-12: 34.23%-1.03%
2012-13: 33.13% TOO EARLY

UConn appears to have changed in the past 5 years, since the line change was introduced. In the 5 years prior to the line change, UConn was above the national average 4 out of those years. In the five years since, UConn has been below the national average by about 1-3 percent. They are slightly above this year, though it is early.

It should be noted that 03-04 was a truly fantastic shooting team, tied for 8th in the country that year and would have been top ten almost any year since. Not shocking when you have Ben Gordon (43.3%)and Rashard Anderson (41%) on 452 combined attempts. Then you have Denham (39.1%) and Charlie (36.7%) combining for 141 attempts and the rest of the team at 26 total attempts.

Great analysis! thanks.

Overall though UConn has gone from a solid shooting team to a below average shooting team. I wonder how much is based on the line, recruiting, philosophy or what?

 

[Husky68]

You realize that if you take 20 3's a game and shot 36% vs. 33% for a season that is .03 x 20 = .6 3's more per game which is 1.8 points. Boat/Calhoun/DD have each lost more points than that in the 1st half of games with bad dribbling and passing. Get close to mid 35% is good enough to win if you have a good team, shooting 40% won't win if you don't.
Getting good enough overall shot position (especiall if Bazz stops undershooting); players are capable of making shots and over course of season will. Bazz, Boat, DD, Calhoun and Giff all have shooting ability to be over 35% shooters; that's plenty good enough, now just have to do it.