OT: You Only Get One Shot

[UConnTrumbull]

I’ll take the layup. Put it all on the roulette table. Better odds than me hitting a clutch shot.

 

[CTBasketball]

Give me $50k and I’ll turn that into $300k at the blackjack table.

I’ll also turn it into $0k at the craps table.

 

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

5 hole, wrist shot /s
*skated by 4, never played basketball; Rick Barry underhand foul shots count?

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

Give me a couple months to get my 58 year old carcass to learn to shoot again with the arthritis and general lack of flexibility and I’ll take top of the key. Right now walking in the door I’d have no choice but a layup. It’s not so much for me who it’s in front of as it is age-related crappiness. Father Time remains undefeated.

And I'm thinking, "Ah to be 58 again."

 

[uconnfan68]

And I'm thinking, "Ah to be 58 again."

Oh to be 68 again, but I’m actually doing better physically since then. Retirement is a great thing.

 

[Umami Zen]

Been awhile but top of the key would be my choice.

 

[Revrat]

My dad always said the corner three was the easiest long shot in basketball. I never really understood why. I need that box backround because im banking everything. I would probably miss the layup. So i might as well miss something else for more cash. So I go wing three for $750

 

[SCNCHuskie]

Depends if I get time to warm up or not. At my age, shooting cold my three point percentage would be ridiculously low. With a little warm-up time and then having to take one shot, I would probably go with the wing three. Isn’t the old saying, “750K in the hand is worth 1Mill in the bush?”

Note: a student of mine entered me in a foul shooting contest at Chapel Hill during a UNC versus Virginia basketball game. When my name was called to actually shoot the free throws at halftime, I realized I was wearing an unrelated orange shirt so I had to borrow a replacement from complete strangers because I did not want to be wearing Virginia orange at a UNC foul shooting contest.

I was shooting pretty decent and had hit eight or nine consecutively, but the cheerleaders were taking forever to return the basketball to me, throwing my rhythm way off. One time they even chose to chase down a ball that rolled away rather than reach back into the rack for a close one. I was begging them to speed up the passes. When they said, “Stop,” the public address announcer said the winner was Joe Smith (or something like that) I put my head down dejectedly when the UNC representative put his arm around my shoulder and whispered “No, you won, they just couldn’t say your name!” I still have a copy of the check I earned that day. Had I hit two more I would’ve been in a later contest due to the consecutive makes, plus the check would have been much larger. I attribute the failure to the cheerleaders. Coincidentally, a good friend of mine was chosen to take a halftime shot, which was a dreadful airball. The funny part was, Dick Vitale walked by and said to me, “Man, UNC could’ve used you today.”

 

[UCFan1513]

… to not miss your chance to blow

 

[mussels]

Depends if I get time to warm up or not. At my age, shooting cold my three point percentage would be ridiculously low. With a little warm-up time and then having to take one shot, I would probably go with the wing three. Isn’t the old saying, “750K in the hand is worth 1Mill in the bush?”

Note: a student of mine entered me in a foul shooting contest at Chapel Hill during a UNC versus Virginia basketball game. When my name was called to actually shoot the free throws at halftime, I realized I was wearing an unrelated orange shirt so I had to borrow a replacement from complete strangers because I did not want to be wearing Virginia orange at a UNC foul shooting contest.

I was shooting pretty decent and had hit eight or nine consecutively, but the cheerleaders were taking forever to return the basketball to me, throwing my rhythm way off. One time they even chose to chase down a ball that rolled away rather than reach back into the rack for a close one. I was begging them to speed up the passes. When they said, “Stop,” the public address announcer said the winner was Joe Smith (or something like that) I put my head down dejectedly when the UNC representative put his arm around my shoulder and whispered “No, you won, they just couldn’t say your name!” I still have a copy of the check I earned that day. Had I hit two more I would’ve been in a later contest due to the consecutive makes, plus the check would have been much larger. I attribute the failure to the cheerleaders. Coincidentally, a good friend of mine was chosen to take a halftime shot, which was a dreadful airball. The funny part was, Dick Vitale walked by and said to me, “Man, UNC could’ve used you today.”

In all fairness to the UNC announcer, probably only one in a hundred could correctly pronounce Scnchuskie.

 

[NEforceUConn]

Candy for a baby. Corner 3, the Bazz style with right foot extended. I can shoot them 8 out of 10. Yo.

 

[bendm]

The picture is of an nba court meaning the corner 3 is closer than the top of the key or wing 3, so idk why the corner 3 is worth more

 

[mauconnfan]

Boneyard has to recruit more shooters. 25% from the corner?

Very weak! Go big or go home!

 

[Huskyforlife]

Free throw. Practice them more than any other shot, and I surprise myself with the layups i miss.

 

[Mike Honcho]

The picture is of an nba court meaning the corner 3 is closer than the top of the key or wing 3, so idk why the corner 3 is worth more

No potential of backboard assistance?

 

[aburks41]

I would have the same nerves going for a layup or taking a 3 from the wing, so give me the 3 from the wing for 15x more value

 

[bendm]

No potential of backboard assistance?

perhaps for depth perception, shouldnt be banking in a 3, but id take the closer shot

 

[Umami Zen]

Walk into the arena-Pick up the ball with no warmups-Draw iron on your first shot from your spot(except layups) Gotta be worth something! Amirite? LOL

 

[Mr. Wonderful]

It's an easy choice for me.

I once made 29 free throws in a row.

That was over thirty years ago, but you never really lose the stroke, right?

 

[uconngb]

do I have to be moving when I shoot the layup?

I would ask if I GET to be moving when shooting the layup!

 

[uconnfan68]

It's an easy choice for me.

I once made 29 free throws in a row.

That was over thirty years ago, but you never really lose the stroke, right?

Right. You're exactly the same as you were over 30 years ago. ;^)

 

[Viet Vet]

Corner 3. It's closer to the rim due to the configuration of the line.

 

[Tenspro2002]

I'm going with the wing 3-pointer (750k).

I've always been a poor free throw shooter and, to me, a wing vs top of the key three-pointer is the same difficulty. My baseline threes are under 20% with lack of a backboard.

Part of me is like ''take the easy layup money, pay those bills!" but I'l take the 30ish% chance of making the three over a nearly guaranteed 50k. It's a one-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Let's consider this from an expected value point of view. I'm probably:

98% to make the layup --> 50K * 0.98 = 49K EV
70% to make the free throw --> 100K * 0.7 = 70K EV
30% to make the top of the key 3 --> 500K * 0.3 = 150K EV
20% to make the wing 3 --> 750K * 0.2 = 150K EV
10% to make the corner 3 --> 1000K *0.1 = 100K EV

So if the value of money is linear to me, I'm probably going with the top of the key 3.

However, the value of money isn't necessarily linear, might be closer to logarithmic. I'd consider the free throw. But probably the top of the key 3. It'd be hard to pass up a 5x increase in payoff for a shot from 7 feet farther away.

Edit: can I revise my answer? If it's shooting on that court, the corner "3" looks like it's about 16 feet. I'll go with that one lol

 

[Tenspro2002]

The picture is of an nba court meaning the corner 3 is closer than the top of the key or wing 3, so idk why the corner 3 is worth more

Look closer, friend, the arc is tangent to the top of the semi-circle. It's not an NBA court. It's just a really narrow 1900s-era college court. Either way, the corner 3 is much closer, though I still hate the sight line.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

At my age it’s the layup , that’s a new maybe 2 new Bsthtooms and peace and tranquility will reign for a few months .
A million would make my heirs and the IRS happy but it’s not the lute it once was .