This Year’s 3 Point Shooting

[jibsey]

Last year’s dismal shooting was not helped by the loss of Gilbert but I still have concerns that even with him and better offensive sets this team is inadequate. There is no one on the roster that is a knockdown 3 point shooter although all of the guards can convert. Vital was a disappointment based on his freshman year and Jalen as good as he is has never really stepped up in this department, while we wait every year for a summer magical transformation. He’s off the ball more this season and that hopefully helps. Vital won’t be taking 35 footers i know. Polley showed promise. Is Smith the answer? Wilson? If our frontcourt is weak and we don’t have the shooting what do we have besides hustle and driving the lane?

 

[WhereistheDove?]

It's hard for me to really have any idea. The offense last year ended in so many bad (contested and/or off balance three point shots). I would fully expect improvement from most of the guys just based on a coach that I think/hope will be able to implement an offense that gets a good look every once in a while.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

IMO better sets equals better shots. We should have more opportunities for transition threes also.

 

[pj]

We have a lot of guys who shot in the low 30s with poor quality looks. I expect they can shoot well with good looks. We'll see.

 

[len0322]

We are not a good deep shooting team unless there was significant improvement over the summer. Hope this team does live behind it.

 

[Austin316]

It’s called a bench. If you ain’t making shots then take a seat and let ur bench try getting some exposure. Hurley needs to present opportunities to all his players. Polley shot the ball pretty well last year. I’d like to see him have a bigger role.

Remember Antwoine Anderson didn’t help us at all last year. Jalen and Vital weren’t too much better to be honest.

 

[HuskyHawk]

It starts with ball movement creating open looks. Last year we played one good half of offense that I saw. Shots fell. We generally took an absolute ton of contested shots late in the shot clock cycle. I expect significant changes.

Ball movement will open up lanes to get the ball inside for easy baskets. That will cause some perimeter defenders to actually help inside (as we over-did all year long) making the close out to perimeter guys more difficult. Polley can shoot. Jalen can shoot when open. CV can shoot when open, especially off of a catch rather than dribble, which should happen more. Gilbert can shoot, and will be even better than we've seen without shoulder pain. B. Adams can shoot as well. Wilson, we haven't really seen since high school. Hopefully he has improved in that area with a year of practice behind the scenes.

 

[tzznandrew]

If we play a deeper bench, there will be less fatigue, and if we run sets there will better open looks. That will just naturally improve the shooting.

Still, sometimes bad looks are simply a matter of being over-matched. Austrie, for instance, is the type of player who shot really well against weaker teams but couldn't replicate that against more athletic teams without a lot of help from AJ/Dyson or, earlier, Marcus Williams. CV is a good player, but he's someone who, I don't think, is ever going to generate good looks on his own against top competition. Polley strikes me as similar.

But, what we have is a healthy 'Rique and less fatigued Jalen, and are both good enough that there isn't a team in the league--or in the country--that is intrinsically better than them. With two people who can break down the defense, and with some clearer and more effective sets, we should expect Jalen to be better rested, and we should expect Jalen's shooting to increase. Further, this will help CV and Polley (and pretty much everyone else) get better looks from the perimeter than they did last year, and therefore shoot better.

Some people are very optimistic on this team. I'm glad. A healthy 'Rique, a better-rested and better coached Jalen/CV, and some more realistic offensive sets (KO did run an offense, to be clear, it just didn't fit naturally with what he had; too pro-style and guard heavy for all but the most talented college teams), will naturally make a better team. Guards are king in college, and 'Rique/Jalen is super talented, and CV a good college player with some moxie. I'm optimistic about Sid, too. But man, bad habits are hard to break, and the interior is going to get slaughtered against good teams. The improvements--and the schedule--should keep us over .500 and around 20 wins. That would be a huge win.

 

[InKembaITrust]

With Jalen off the ball more he'll shoot more 3s and at a higher % as Hurley's stressed improvement to him in this area

 

[Palatine]

Anderson went through an 0-20 from the arc last year. It hurt the team and our 3-point percentage. Just one of those (horrible, horrible) things. Without someone repeating that atrocity, our 3-point shooting should be better.

 

[UConnStats]

Hopefully Carlton will have improved enough to force people to respect our interior scoring. That should give our perimeter players more space when shooting. I know we're "Guard U", but it's no coincidence that the 2 years that KO had top 60 offenses were the two years he had a good scorer in the frontcourt (Daniels and Miller).

We won't become a great shooting team overnight, but we can really help the offense just by having the defense play 5 on 5 rather than 5 on 3. The ball movement needs to improve.

 

[JellyBean]

Hopefully these guys spent some quality time on their 3-point shooting this summer

 

[ctchamps]

Hopefully Carlton will have improved enough to force people to respect our interior scoring. That should give our perimeter players more space when shooting. I know we're "Guard U", but it's no coincidence that the 2 years that KO had top 60 offenses were the two years he had a good scorer in the frontcourt (Daniels and Miller).

We won't become a great shooting team overnight, but we can really help the offense just by having the defense play 5 on 5 rather than 5 on 3. The ball movement needs to improve.

This explanation is why I have a slight preference for Kofi. He will command double teams opening up opportunities for perimeter shooters and slashers. That will really help Gilbert, Bouknight and Gaffney.

Bouknight aka "The Shining Knight". I expect him to throw daggers at opponents while at UConn.

 

[UConnStats]

This explanation is why I have a slight preference for Kofi. He will command double teams opening up opportunities for perimeter shooters and slashers. That will really help Gilbert, Bouknight and Gaffney.

Bouknight aka "The Shining Knight". I expect him to throw daggers at opponents while at UConn.

It will definitely be a welcomed change of pace having 4 guards who can make 3s and are also very athletic (Gilbert, B Adams, Bouknight and Gaffney).

I really like Mitchell, but Kofi is in a different league even if he can't stretch the floor himself. Mitchell could end being a stud, but it will take him longer to start making an impact.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

Why is no one talking about Cobb has a viable 3 pt threat?

Half kidding.

 

[ctchamps]

It will definitely be a welcomed change of pace having 4 guards who can make 3s and are also very athletic (Gilbert, B Adams, Bouknight and Gaffney).

I really like Mitchell, but Kofi is in a different league even if he can't stretch the floor himself. Mitchell could end being a stud, but it will take him longer to start making an impact.

I would take Mitchell in a heart beat but with the guards UConn has next season Kofi gives them and the team the greatest balance of an inside outside game.

 

[husky429]

It will definitely be a welcomed change of pace having 4 guards who can make 3s and are also very athletic (Gilbert, B Adams, Bouknight and Gaffney).

I really like Mitchell, but Kofi is in a different league even if he can't stretch the floor himself. Mitchell could end being a stud, but it will take him longer to start making an impact.

This is a good way to put it.

At the college level, Mitchell probably has a higher ceiling, but also a very deep floor. You expect a couple years of a learning curve for him to change his body and learn some skills, but the pieces are clearly being built the right way.

Kofi will come in and average 10/10 right away. But I don't see him with as high of a ceiling as a shot blocker, passer, or finisher. Kofi is a powerful bruiser and an impact player right away. I doubt he ever has a decent shot, shotblocking, or passing ability while he's in college.

 

[Tex-Lager93]

It will definitely be a welcomed change of pace having 4 guards who can make 3s and are also very athletic (Gilbert, B Adams, Bouknight and Gaffney).

I really like Mitchell, but Kofi is in a different league even if he can't stretch the floor himself. Mitchell could end being a stud, but it will take him longer to start making an impact.

I'm a bit intrigued by a potential Mitchell / Akok combination. There would be five guys on the floor who could legitimately shoot the three. Kind of a similar skill rotation to what 'Nova lives (or dies) on. I love Mitchell's stroke - he appears to be a natural shooter.

 

[auror]

IMO better sets equals better shots.

Hurley is not Bob McKillop.

• Hurley has never had a top 50 offense in the country.
• Hurley's first years at both Wagner and Rhode Island had WORSE offenses than we had last year.
• Ollie in his career averaged out to a top 100 offense. Hurley's average is 147. Median 158, Ollie median 81.
• Hurley's teams at Rhode Island averaged out to be the 254th(!) best 3-point shooting teams.
• At Rhode Island, he had 1 season in the top 100 of 3pt%. They still were in the bottom 25% in points from 3pt because they didn't take many.

There's a talent level difference from those spots and UConn, especially in Hurley's initial turnaround years. However, we're not exactly at a vintage Calhoun talent level (we don't have a single top 100 recruited big and our only such wing will be a freshman).

Hurley also had a nice trend with the offense at Rhode Island, so maybe he's getting better and/or he was showing what he can do with better talent (or more suited talent). But they still didn't shoot well even when the offense got better several years in.

Add that to our demonstrably poor shooting talent and I'm not optimistic we'll light the nets on fire this year from outside the paint. Obviously would be hard to be worse than last year's 287th, though.

 

[UConnStats]

Hurley is not Bob McKillop.

• Hurley has never had a top 50 offense in the country.
• Hurley's first years at both Wagner and Rhode Island had WORSE offenses than we had last year.
• Ollie in his career averaged out to a top 100 offense. Hurley's average is 147. Median 158, Ollie median 81.
• Hurley's teams at Rhode Island averaged out to be the 254th(!) best 3-point shooting teams.
• At Rhode Island, he had 1 season in the top 100 of 3pt%. They still were in the bottom 25% in points from 3pt because they didn't take many.

There's a talent level difference from those spots and UConn, especially in Hurley's initial turnaround years. However, we're not exactly at a vintage Calhoun talent level (we don't have a single top 100 recruited big and our only such wing will be a freshman).

Hurley also had a nice trend with the offense at Rhode Island, so maybe he's getting better and/or he was getting better talent (or more suited talent). But they still didn't shoot well even when the offense got better several years in.

Add that to our demonstrably poor shooting talent and I'm not optimistic we'll light the nets on fire this year from outside the paint. Obviously would be hard to be worse than last year's 287th, though.

Great point. He’s finally recruiting shooters, but his offenses were all missing shooting at URI, even the undersized ones. Hopefully he’s learned from that, but he’s definitely a defensive minded coach. Then again so was Calhoun, and Calipari is as well.

 

[auror]

I'm a bit intrigued by a potential Mitchell / Akok combination. There would be five guys on the floor who could legitimately shoot the three. Kind of a similar skill rotation to what 'Nova lives (or dies) on. I love Mitchell's stroke - he appears to be a natural shooter.

For this team, this year. I would have taken Mitchell over Kofi. The ability to stretch and space the floor is so crucial with both Jalen & Alterique on the team (and often floor together).

Of course that's not the question. Basketball is certainly moving in the direction of the Mitchells of the world, but with the shooters we've already recruited, Kofi is probably the better fit for our future roster (plus the better physical talent).

 

[Excalibur]

Those expecting Hurley's offense to be a symphony of motion and screening are going to be disappointed. There will be lots of high ball screens and dribble penetration. I hope (and assume) that whatever we do run will be better executed than whatever it was we were running from 2016 onward.

 

[jibsey]

IMO better sets equals better shots. We should have more opportunities for transition threes also.

I wish i could believe that but there were too many wide o

Those expecting Hurley's offense to be a symphony of motion and screening are going to be disappointed. There will be lots of high ball screens and dribble penetration. I hope (and assume) that whatever we do run will be better executed than whatever it was we were running from 2016 onward.

a coach can draw up the best plays in the world but ultimately it takes talent to execute them. I know KO wasn’t admired for that but no one can win without good enough talent. At this time we look short in a couple of key areas.

 

[Palatine]

I wish i could believe that but there were too many wide o a coach can draw up the best plays in the world but ultimately it takes talent to execute them. I know KO wasn’t admired for that but no one can win without good enough talent. At this time we look short in a couple of key areas.

Ollie's problem was he lost to less talented teams. Hurley's teams haven't shown the same tendancy.