Dismal 3 Point Shooting

[KhalidShockedTheWorld]

UConn is now 69-229 for 3s on the season - 30.1%. That would be good to rank #322 out of 347 teams in Division 1 basketball.

To say that the 3 point shooting of this team has sucked moose balls would obviously be an understatement. To me, it's a big surprise. I did not think it could be this bad.

4-28 today speaks to tired legs by a team that fought but just did not have enough bodies. Still, this is not going to win games. Way too many attempts especially against a team they pounded in the paint in the first half. They then decided to play small ball. Every team UConn will play is going to be deeper. UConn could have beaten Ohio State and Auburn but they did not get those Ws in large part because they just did not have enough fresh bodies at the ends of those games.

Someone needs to start making some 3s.

 

[Dominicfrank]

I know Purvis was the only guard basically at the end of the game with Auburn but dang.....how does he get to just crank things up with FAcey on fire...... Terrible coaching....Facey should have been fed like he was a 5 star stud.

 

[KhalidShockedTheWorld]

Rodney was spoken to after the game about his decision making. He was 1-13 on 3s and is now shooting 29% on the season, 23-79, which is sort of in line with how the team is shooting. In fairness to Rodney he did have some open looks and in the past has been a streaky 3 point shooter, and it's asking a lot of him to make proper post entry passes. He is not used to having to feed the bigs or get the ball to them in the correct positions, so it's easy for him to hoist 3s instead. In the postgame Rodney admitted his play had been selfish and that the coaches had spoken to him about shot selection and how UConn had gone away from feeding the bigs. But I do not blame Rodney. As soon as Jalen went out with a concussion it was a borderline unwinnable game against a team like Auburn. It is sad because UConn could have beaten both Ohio State and Auburn but lost both games due to being shorthanded on men, plain and simple and that is the difference between 5-6 and 7-4 going to conference play. So I give the UConn players and coaches a pass on this loss. I actually saw a lot of good things but 3 point shooting was certainly not one of them. I feel that heavy minutes by the guards is one reason why it was that bad this game, but it has not been good all season.

 

[jhc08002]

I've posted this in a couple other spots, but for those that haven't seen it yet I cut up the film on Vance Jackson here:

He's shooting 26% from 3 and he's left so many wide open looks on the table. He's not the only problem, but given that is main skill set is his shooting touch, I would consider this unacceptable even as a freshman.

 

[KhalidShockedTheWorld]

Here is how it has shaken out by 3s attempted:

Rodney Purvis - 23 for 79- 29.10%
Vance Jackson - 13 for 49- 26.5%
Chiristian Vital- 13 for 46 - 28.2%
Jalen Adams - 13 for 30- 43.3%

So those are the only active players who have hoisted more than 10 3s. The top 3 guys by 3s attempted are shooting 29.1%, 26.5%, and 28.2%, respectively. This tells me they need to stop shooting 3s and take higher percentage shots. If you are not making 34% or better you should not be shooting that much. I would tend to give Vance a pass for now because I think he will be better and it would be preferable to have at least two guys with a green light to shoot 3s. Jalen should be the other.

I would agree that VJ has been a disappointment so far. He had a couple of games where he was clearly overwhelmed by the pace and physicality of the college game and it got in his head a bit. I think on some of the looks where he has in reality been wide open he did not realize how wide open he was and quickened his release. It's got to be mental but I believe he has the stroke and will eventually be a sweet shooter.

I look back at Rashad Anderson's freshman year and he did not really get off the bench until a game in Hartford against UMass (right around this time of year - December break) when UConn was down by 25 points to UMass. Calhoun emptied the bench and brought in Rashad who then unleashed a storm of 3s, which erased the 25 point deficit and UConn would win the game by 11. Anderson never looked back, after that Calhoun knew he had a marksman on his hands. Jackson needs to have a big shooting game like that to surge his confidence. I was counting on him being better but also thought Rodney could be high 30s at least and not 29%. And I thought Jalen would be better as well because despite his stats last year he has a very nice stroke. And Jalen has been better but has only taken 30 3s, making 13. I would rather he be hoisting 79 3s than Rodney.

 

[CaNOLEE]

Purvis is shooting 33% overall. That's horrendous. He should be 45% at worst and if he was, we'd have 2-3 more wins even with the injuries.

 

[KhalidShockedTheWorld]

If you look at Rodney's shooting stats this season compared to his last two seasons, they are inexplicable. Rodney in his first 3 seasons shots 3s at 38.5%, 36% and 38.5%. He is a 37-38% career 3 point shooter and his 2 point shooting was consistently 42-43%. To see him drop down to 29% on 3s and 33% on 2s is not normal. Usually a 5th year senior has his best shooting numbers and stats in his final season. Also, Rodney's minutes are way up, partly of necessity, to 36 minutes per game from 28 per the last two seasons.

It was a reasonable preseason expectation, just based on his track record, that he could possibly be 40% from 3 point range and 45% from 2 point range. Those numbers would be only a modest increase from last season's numbers. Instead, Rodney has slumped dramatically. Many of his misses have been wide open looks. I suspect he is having some mechanical issues that need to be corrected. He cannot continue to be this bad. It is a factor in these losses. You cannot have a 5th year senior shooting and playing like a freshman. He is better than this.

 

[andersonfro]

I know Purvis was the only guard basically at the end of the game with Auburn but dang.....how does he get to just crank things up with FAcey on fire...... Terrible coaching....Facey should have been fed like he was a 5 star stud.

He's not a point guard. He doesn't possess the ability to handle the ball under pressure and possibly that's the same reason he doesn't possess the acuity to run an offense. He also happens to be a pig, the ball movement dies with him. If the Huskies have a healthy team I don't think Purv would get more than 15 mpg at this point in the year.

KO & staff can no more change these facts than make you into a serviceable pg. Not being able to manipulate the looks without a point guard is not "bad coaching".

 

[jhc08002]

In addition to the piece by A Dime Back about the bad 3 pt shooting, the numbers don't lie that this team has on a positive note, gotten better defensively, while simultaneously getting worse defensively.

 

[the Blades]

 

[rta32]

Happy day

 

[jhc08002]

On the Coach KO show:

 

[KhalidShockedTheWorld]

On the Coach KO show:

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No kidding!