3 Point Shooting In '15-'16

[Medill90]

In looking at the roster in the other thread I was taken aback at the number of quality three point shooters on the roster. NU now has three elite three point shooters: Tap, Falzon and Lindsey. And three more who are quality: Demps, B Mac, Law. And it's not a tough shot for Olah. He has all the mechanics down, it just did not fall for him last year.

There was a nice increase in NU's three point shooting percentage last year. .359 versus .306 the prior year. Every player with meaningful minutes shot better than .333 except Alex Olah.

Demps took the most 3 pt shots (154) followed by B Mac (110), Law (76) and Tap (70). Roughly 120 3 pt attempts left the program with Cobb, Sobo and the two transfers.

My thoughts on 3 pt shooting for the upcoming season:

Of the three rising sophomores who are three point shooters, two -- Lindsey and Law -- will take more shots that last year and make shots at a higher rate. B Mac will be flat year-over-year in attempts but his percentage will go up.

Tap takes a few more, but it'll be tough for him to shoot .500 like he did last year.

Demps reduces his attempts. I think he eliminates the early season struggle we've seen in years past.

Olah takes the same number but moves his sub .300 conversion rate to over .400.

Lumpkin takes very few threes.

Falzon takes 80ish threes over the course of the season.

I think the team 3 pt percentage approaches .390.

This will be one of the deadlier 3 pt shooting teams NU has ever had.

 

[thewildcat2011]

It would be by far THE deadliest 3pt shooting team we've ever had if that happens. Even when we were scoring 70pts. a game and winning 20 games in recent history we weren't making .390 on threes.

.390 would have put us in the top 25 teams in the country in 3pt% last year. Many of those teams won a lot of games and were in the tourney. I don't know what will happen, but I'll say this: If we shoot .390 from three this season, we will make the tournament fairly easily.

 

[NUCat320]

In looking at the roster in the other thread I was taken aback at the number of quality three point shooters on the roster. NU now has three elite three point shooters: Tap, Falzon and Lindsey. And three more who are quality: Demps, B Mac, Law. And it's not a tough shot for Olah. He has all the mechanics down, it just did not fall for him last year.

There was a nice increase in NU's three point shooting percentage last year. .359 versus .306 the prior year. Every player with meaningful minutes shot better than .333 except Alex Olah.

Demps took the most 3 pt shots (154) followed by B Mac (110), Law (76) and Tap (70). Roughly 120 3 pt attempts left the program with Cobb, Sobo and the two transfers.

My thoughts on 3 pt shooting for the upcoming season:

Of the three rising sophomores who are three point shooters, two -- Lindsey and Law -- will take more shots that last year and make shots at a higher rate. B Mac will be flat year-over-year in attempts but his percentage will go up.

Tap takes a few more, but it'll be tough for him to shoot .500 like he did last year.

Demps reduces his attempts. I think he eliminates the early season struggle we've seen in years past.

Olah takes the same number but moves his sub .300 conversion rate to over .400.

Lumpkin takes very few threes.

Falzon takes 80ish threes over the course of the season.

I think the team 3 pt percentage approaches .390.

This will be one of the deadlier 3 pt shooting teams NU has ever had.

Respect to you and your optimism, m90, but you should probably temper expectations a little.

Tap was the only guy who exceeded that number, and he benefited from open shots as the fourth or fifth option.

(I, however, will not temper expectations, as I do not fear disappointment. I see 40.5% for these cats. Every june, they're the best team in the country.)

 

[Medill90]

The '11-'12 team had three players who shot over .400 and the team shot .385 for the year. The highest percentage shooter -- Shurna -- took the most 3 pt shots. He was at something like .440.

I see a lot of reasons why NU should improve from .359. Sans Demps, the rising sophomores will be physically stronger and will shoot with a lot more confidence. An elite shooter in Falzon is being added to the mix. And I think the up and down game is going to open up some shots.

The talent is there to be a top 30 three point shooting team. The guys I'm really keying on are Law and Lindsey. I really like both of their outside shots.

 

[thewildcat2011]

The '11-'12 team had three players who shot over .400 and the team shot .385 for the year. The highest percentage shooter -- Shurna -- took the most 3 pt shots. He was at something like .440.

I see a lot of reasons why NU should improve from .359. Sans Demps, the rising sophomores will be physically stronger and will shoot with a lot more confidence. An elite shooter in Falzon is being added to the mix. And I think the up and down game is going to open up some shots.

The talent is there to be a top 30 three point shooting team. The guys I'm really keying on are Law and Lindsey. I really like both of their outside shots.

I think 3-point shooting will definitely improve--I just don't know that it will get to quite that level. We haven't seen Falzon play a minute against college competition. I think Shurna could be labeled as an elite shooter and he didn't hit a percentage close to .390 during his first two seasons.

You are right that shots will definitely be there. Shots were there last year, but they just weren't being hit.

The '11-'12 team had three players over 40% and still didn't hit .390 on the year, meaning that it would be quite a feat to hit it this year. I think that if we do, we will be a lot scarier than most are expecting and will have a really, really fun season.

 

[Medill90]

I think 3-point shooting will definitely improve--I just don't know that it will get to quite that level. We haven't seen Falzon play a minute against college competition. I think Shurna could be labeled as an elite shooter and he didn't hit a percentage close to .390 during his first two seasons.

You are right that shots will definitely be there. Shots were there last year, but they just weren't being hit.

The '11-'12 team had three players over 40% and still didn't hit .390 on the year, meaning that it would be quite a feat to hit it this year. I think that if we do, we will be a lot scarier than most are expecting and will have a really, really fun season.

I think it's incredibly difficult.

It's far from a 50/50 proposition.

But it's not a ridiculous concept which is why this roster is so exciting.

That '11 - '12 team had three very solid shooters. This team has Tap, Falzon, Lindsey, B Mac, Law and Demps, all quality from behind the line. I've watched Ash and he looks like a decent shooter to me as well.

No, none of them will take the same number of threes as Shurna and hit anywhere near his percentage. But this is the most lethal shooting NU team I can recall in 35+ years following the team.

 

[TheC]

I think it's incredibly difficult.

It's far from a 50/50 proposition.

But it's not a ridiculous concept which is why this roster is so exciting.

That '11 - '12 team had three very solid shooters. This team has Tap, Falzon, Lindsey, B Mac, Law and Demps, all quality from behind the line. I've watched Ash and he looks like a decent shooter to me as well.

No, none of them will take the same number of threes as Shurna and hit anywhere near his percentage. But this is the most lethal shooting NU team I can recall in 35+ years following the team.

You don't need anyone to repeat what Shurna did if you have 3,4 and sometimes even 5 guys on the floor that can hit a decent percentage from 3. The multiple threats will open up the floor creating driving lanes for Mac and Law and Demps while giving Olah more room to operate. Looking forward to this team!

 

[EvanstonCat]

It would be by far THE deadliest 3pt shooting team we've ever had if that happens. Even when we were scoring 70pts. a game and winning 20 games in recent history we weren't making .390 on threes.

.390 would have put us in the top 25 teams in the country in 3pt% last year. Many of those teams won a lot of games and were in the tourney. I don't know what will happen, but I'll say this: If we shoot .390 from three this season, we will make the tournament fairly easily.

After watching what GSW did in the finals, I'm thinking we should build and coach the team similarly.