What has happened to Kemba's shot?

[Palatine]

I've seen more than a half dozen Charlotte games this year. Kemba can't hit water from a boat. Even when he is wide open he throws up bricks. It's absolutely mystifying.

Is his hand hurt or is there something I don't now about (pertaining to Kemba)?

 

[jibsey]

Yeah, I watched for a few minutes last night and they were leaving him with wide open 3's. He's gonna have to get that down and the way Kemba works at things I'm sure he will. He also seems somewhat reluctant to shoot in general, concentrating on playmaking, but as bad as his team is, there's no advantage in his team mates shooting.

 

[UConnSwag11]

i think he's frustrated and kind of rushes his shots... i mean he has no scorers on his team other then him so he has to shoot but at the same time i feel he doesn't want to seem as a hog

 

[bpear1600]

He may find himself playing in Europe if he can't shoot at a higher percentage. The NBA doesn't have much use for short guards who can't shoot.

 

[21Huskies]

Kemba shot well as a freshman (with a lot less shots and focus on him), but his sophomore and junior sesons he wasn't a good shooter (40% and 42%). He was under 40% last year before he went on the crazy run at the end of the year and the tourney. if you combine that with the fact he's undersized and can't finish at the hoop as easily as he could in college and you see where his struggles come from in the NBA.

i got blasted last year for ripping on him hard mid year when he was playing terribly and he certainly proved me wrong in the big east tourney and the NCAA's.

certainly not hating on Kemba as he single handidly carried a decent at best offense last year to a championship but i don't think his shooting struggles should be that surprising. He's only a rookie so he obviously a shot to figure it out before the criticism comes on him... i hope he proves me wrong again cause he's a great kid and a great leader.

 

[RayRay19]

he will be fine, he is still playing more than augustine is, it is only a matter of time. This offseason will be huge for charlotte. Kemba will be able to actually do work during the offseason and they will probobly land Davis.

 

[rip7774]

Quite a grind for rookies this year - multiple cities on back to back nights seemingly several times a week. He'll b fine. He is a hard worker.

 

[partial]

Nothing happened to his shot; he has never been a great shooter, but he is certainly better than whatever he's shooting his rookie year. I thought if anything he wouldn't have the same quickness advantage that he had in college. After watching a few games I don't think that's the case. His shooting will get better, and if he ever stops putting pressure on himself to make impossible plays he could be a special player in the nba as well.

 

[Hugo]

I've seen more than a half dozen Charlotte games this year. Kemba can't hit water from a boat. Even when he is wide open he throws up bricks. It's absolutely mystifying.

Is his hand hurt or is there something I don't now about (pertaining to Kemba)?

I think Kemba will work it out over tme. I'm even more mystified with AJP. He has had some horrible nights with the Pacers. Everytime I loo0k at the box score, he is 1 for 5.

 

[upstater]

Kemba shot well as a freshman (with a lot less shots and focus on him), but his sophomore and junior sesons he wasn't a good shooter (40% and 42%). He was under 40% last year before he went on the crazy run at the end of the year and the tourney. if you combine that with the fact he's undersized and can't finish at the hoop as easily as he could in college and you see where his struggles come from in the NBA.

i got blasted last year for ripping on him hard mid year when he was playing terribly and he certainly proved me wrong in the big east tourney and the NCAA's.

certainly not hating on Kemba as he single handidly carried a decent at best offense last year to a championship but i don't think his shooting struggles should be that surprising. He's only a rookie so he obviously a shot to figure it out before the criticism comes on him... i hope he proves me wrong again cause he's a great kid and a great leader.

He was shooting badly because he was getting hacked like crazy. Do you think it's coincidence that he shot well when he played 20 odd games against non-BE competition?

 

[CamrnCrz1974]

Quite a grind for rookies this year - multiple cities on back to back nights seemingly several times a week. He'll b fine. He is a hard worker.

That was my thought as well. There is a rookie wall, but this year, the players are having to play 66 games in four months (instead of six months), after playing 33-38 games in five months in college. Plus, it is not like Walker is used to losing as much as Charlotte has; that has to take a toll.

As a Duke fan (who keeps up with Charlotte only because of Hendo and Maggette), the one thing I can say about Kemba is that he is a winner. That will be true on the NBA level.

 

[Dann]

Quite a grind for rookies this year - multiple cities on back to back nights seemingly several times a week. He'll b fine. He is a hard worker.

crazy offseason, tough compact regular season, horrible team etc etc... agree

he will figure it out and be fine.

 

[UConnSportsGuy]

Kemba will be able to actually do work during the offseason and they will probobly land Davis.

I don't think the team with the worst record in the NBA has actually received the #1 pick through the lottery in a long time.

Chances are that Charlotte will not end up with the #1 pick and Davis. Instead, they will probably get the 3rd or 4th pick in the draft and pick someone like Harrison Barnes who is wildly overrated, but is a local UNC product (the Bobcats do this all the time....think Sean May).

 

[blackbird]

You think Kemba's shot is off...Take a look at poor AJ's percentages. (probably lost him his playing time.) And AJ was always a much better shooter than Kemba.

I think for AJ, his shot got screwed up with his knee injuries, and he needs a summer of coaching to get it back to where it was. Kemba's is probably just from being tired.

 

[UConn990411]

LOL, another example of how 95% of UConn fans seem to live in a vacuum.

Kemba's shooting percentage is horrible...but then again, rookies across the league this season seem to be shooting historically low percentages. For example, here's a list of how some of his fellow 1st rounders are doing:
Brandon Knight: 40.3%, 36.5%
Tristan Thompson: 43.1%
Jimmer: 38.3%, 37.4%
Iman Shumpert: 38.7%, 27.6%
Norris Cole: 39.7%, 29.5% (that's the guy Gottlieb said will be the best point in this draft class)
Chris Singleton: 35.5%, 32.6%
Nolan Smith: 36.6%, 33.3%
Marshon Brooks: 42.7%, 32.5%
Reggie Jackson: 33.1%, 21.3%
Cory Joseph: 34.6%, 22.2%

And those are just the 1st rounders.

I've seen about a dozen Bobcat games, and a lot of the problem has simply been Kemba missing easy shots - he will need to get better from mid-range to deep. But when you consider this rookie class had no offseason access to team facilities, a strike-shortened training camp, and a condensed schedule (3-4 games per week, lots of back-to-backs) it makes sense that rookies are struggling shooting the ball.

Talk to me next year if Kemba's still shooting well under 40%. Until then, I'll take the 12 ppg and 2.5 A/TO ratio from a rookie point guard any day.

 

[Gurleyman]

His A:TO ratio has been terrific lately. I think in February and March combined it is something like 120 assists and 35 turnovers. And he loses some assists by not having the best shot-makers/finishers around him.

He needs to just spend the offseason shooting rhythm jumpers and getting his NBA legs underneath him. Without the easy finishes at the rim, or even the tough twos he used to make from 10 feet and in, he needs to make more of his open looks. I didn't think he'd ever be a good college three-point shooter as a freshman, and he developed into a very good one.

 

[microfich]

LOL, another example of how 95% of UConn fans seem to live in a vacuum.

Kemba's shooting percentage is horrible...but then again, rookies across the league this season seem to be shooting historically low percentages. For example, here's a list of how some of his fellow 1st rounders are doing:
Brandon Knight: 40.3%, 36.5%
Tristan Thompson: 43.1%
Jimmer: 38.3%, 37.4%
Iman Shumpert: 38.7%, 27.6%
Norris Cole: 39.7%, 29.5% (that's the guy Gottlieb said will be the best point in this draft class)
Chris Singleton: 35.5%, 32.6%
Nolan Smith: 36.6%, 33.3%
Marshon Brooks: 42.7%, 32.5%
Reggie Jackson: 33.1%, 21.3%
Cory Joseph: 34.6%, 22.2%

And those are just the 1st rounders.

I've seen about a dozen Bobcat games, and a lot of the problem has simply been Kemba missing easy shots - he will need to get better from mid-range to deep. But when you consider this rookie class had no offseason access to team facilities, a strike-shortened training camp, and a condensed schedule (3-4 games per week, lots of back-to-backs) it makes sense that rookies are struggling shooting the ball.

Talk to me next year if Kemba's still shooting well under 40%. Until then, I'll take the 12 ppg and 2.5 A/TO ratio from a rookie point guard any day.

Truth. Rookies in NBA = low shooting pct. Every year. The rest of Kemba's game has been there. Stay tuned.

 

[Giddyup5]

Exception being Kyrie Irving. I really thought he was going to be average at best but he is playing really well. 47% 40% from 3

 

[Gurleyman]

Irving's couple of extra inches of height and longer arms make such a difference - he's able to contort for finishes that Kemba gets blocked. He makes those tough twos from 10 feet and in at the NBA level that Kemba made a living at in college. Watching him now, I'm truthfully kinda glad the timing worked out the way it did with his toe injury and his comeback last year - if he came back earlier, or if he didn't come back at all (and screw that whole team up - Nolan Smith in particular), Duke might have been a much tougher out in our bracket.