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30% 3-pt Shooters?

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Major_Tom

Sophomore
Apr 16, 2010
893
160
36
Why are we targeting so many…

30ish% Targets
Wilkins
Rancik
Freeman
Zoom (signed)
Hill Jr
Murauskas

Some…
35%ish Targets
Terrance Brown 36.2%
Cruz Davis 36.8%
John Blackwell 36.9%

And not targeting harder the..
40%ish Shooters
Allen Graves 41.7%
Paul McNeil Jr 42.7%
Milan Momcilovic 48.7%

Am I missing anyone?

EDIT: Some replies correctly identified some mistakes in the percentage placement above. Corrections made and also, maybe provides an answer: Because there aren’t many 40% shooters available!?
 
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Catphright23

All-Conference
Dec 6, 2023
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Major_Tom said:
Why are we targeting so many…

30ish% Targets
Wilkins
Rancik
Freeman
Zoom (signed)
Hill Jr

Some…
35%ish Targets
Terrance Brown 36.2%
Cruz Davis 36.8%

And not targeting harder the..
40%ish Shooters
Allen Graves 41.7%
Paulius Murauskas 40%
John Blackwell 36.9%

Am I missing anyone?
Click to expand...
3 pt shooters can improve. We have Kam williams back. Hawthorne can shoot threes if come back. Potter can shoot threes if he gets minutes. Noah if he can get his confidence back can shoot threes. The dude from Colgate is a good three point shooter.

Jelavic and mo d couldn't shoot them last year. Johnson was decent but couldn't do anything else.
 
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Rainmaker

Rainmaker

All-American
May 13, 2015
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Major_Tom said:
Why are we targeting so many…

30ish% Targets
Wilkins
Rancik
Freeman
Zoom (signed)
Hill Jr

Some…
35%ish Targets
Terrance Brown 36.2%
Cruz Davis 36.8%

And not targeting harder the..
40%ish Shooters
Allen Graves 41.7%
Paulius Murauskas 40%
John Blackwell 36.9%

Am I missing anyone?
Click to expand...
Cruz and Blackwell in the same bucket but you moved on to the bottom huh? Wonder why
 
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kyjeff1

kyjeff1

Heisman
Sep 8, 2012
51,338
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UK did reach out to Graves and Maxwell. Graves is going pro, it's kinda hard to get a guy that is going pro.
Sounds like Maxwell wants more $$ than anyone is willing to pay.
We can't rip Pope for overpaying for players, then rip him because he didn't overpay for a player.
I think we should complain more, that will help the situation.
 
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Major_Tom

Sophomore
Apr 16, 2010
893
160
36
Catphright23 said:
3 pt shooters can improve. We have Kam williams back. Hawthorne can shoot threes if come back. Potter can shoot threes if he gets minutes. Noah if he can get his confidence back can shoot threes. The dude from Colgate is a good three point shooter.

Jelavic and mo d couldn't shoot them last year. Johnson was decent but couldn't do anything else.
Click to expand...
Yeah, it’s good we have Kam. I’m excited about the possibility there. That’s a positive. And I agree, they could improve as shooters. But the improvements we didn’t seem to make last year make me skeptical. I would rather us go harder after the proven shooters.
 
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Smeegs

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It’s weird. When Pope was hired, we were told that he ran a unique offense utilizing three-point shooters at all five positions. So you’d think a coach using that system would have a recruiting strategy that prioritized shooters above all else.

But that’s NOT the way he’s been recruiting here at all. Not sure why. Did he just decide to stop using that system when he became the UK coach?
 
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Major_Tom

Sophomore
Apr 16, 2010
893
160
36
kyjeff1 said:
UK did reach out to Graves and Maxwell. Graves is going pro, it's kinda hard to get a guy that is going pro.
Sounds like Maxwell wants more $$ than anyone is willing to pay.
We can't rip Pope for overpaying for players, then rip him because he didn't overpay for a player.
I think we should complain more, that will help the situation.
Click to expand...
I didn’t know Graves was planning to go pro. I get not going after him. And I assume by Maxwell you mean Blackwell? I didn’t hear much noise there. But maybe the kid wasn’t interested at all.
 
M

Major_Tom

Sophomore
Apr 16, 2010
893
160
36
Smeegs said:
It’s weird. When Pope was hired, we were told that he ran a unique offense utilizing three-point shooters at all five positions. So you’d think a coach using that system would have a recruiting strategy that prioritized shooters above all else.

But that’s NOT the way he’s been recruiting here at all. Not sure why. Did he just decide to stop using that system when he became the UK coach?
Click to expand...
My sentiments basically. With the exception of year 1. Did we get killed on physicality that first year? Yes. But other programs managed to have physicality with shooting. I don’t think there was a necessity to sacrifice one for the other. I think Pope thought he could turn those Y2 transfers/players into shooters. That didn’t work so well.
 
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Reggie Noble

Reggie Noble

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kyjeff1

kyjeff1

Heisman
Sep 8, 2012
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Major_Tom said:
I didn’t know Graves was planning to go pro. I get not going after him. And I assume by Maxwell you mean Blackwell? I didn’t hear much noise there. But maybe the kid wasn’t interested at all.
Click to expand...
Yeah, everyone is throwing rocks at Pope every time a kid signs with another school, but there is a multitude of reasons for why Pope didn’t get a guy.
To me, with Rob Wright, it looks like he didn't want to leave BYU, UNLESS he got an offer he couldn’t refuse. Pope did the right thing.
I wish he could get Blackwell (not Maxwell) to visit, but I bet he tried. Heck, it seems like he called every kid in the portal
 
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BellyBall

Senior
Jul 18, 2020
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Pope said he's wanting more playmakers this year. Elite playmakers that shoot 35% from 3 are rare and coveted. Kind of the natural trade off when you want more on ball playmakers.
 
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UKBB4Ever

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Catphright23 said:
3 pt shooters can improve. We have Kam williams back. Hawthorne can shoot threes if come back. Potter can shoot threes if he gets minutes. Noah if he can get his confidence back can shoot threes. The dude from Colgate is a good three point shooter.

Jelavic and mo d couldn't shoot them last year. Johnson was decent but couldn't do anything else.
Click to expand...
Can you name one player that’s improved at any part of the game under Pope?
 
M

Major_Tom

Sophomore
Apr 16, 2010
893
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36
BellyBall said:
Pope said he's wanting more playmakers this year. Elite playmakers that shoot 35% from 3 are rare and coveted. Kind of the natural trade off when you want more on ball playmakers.
Click to expand...
That’s good context. Perhaps the strategy is more holistic than I’m giving him credit for. Maybe by adding more playmakers that will create open looks and knocking 3s down at around a 1/3 clip is good enough.
 
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Catphright23

All-Conference
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UKBB4Ever said:
Can you name one player that’s improved at any part of the game under Pope?
Click to expand...
Plenty Oweh, Butler, Aberdeen, Chandler. Can you name any thread you have been positive on since Pope has been hired? Oweh averaged 10 at Oklahoma and was ranked 100 and something in portal. Amari williams also. Aberdeen was better last year than he was at Florida in limited time. He just played behind walter Clayton. Mo d also better rebounding and scoring for us. His three point shot was bad lack of pg.
 
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BlueSince92

BlueSince92

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Pope’s system will NOT work without at least two players on the floor at the same time who can both shoot near 40% at high volume in actual games (sorry Noah) and can also handle their other duties like defense and passing to justify keeping them on the floor. Last season when he didn’t even try to build a team like that I kept my concerns real gentle (“it sure would help this team to have a bona fide sniper”) but mostly just assumed he had a magic master plan that was going to make things work out without that and that I was just too dumb to understand it. No more of that. Bring in the players you need.
 
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Major_Tom

Sophomore
Apr 16, 2010
893
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Reggie Noble said:
(39.5% on unguarded catch-and-shoot 3s), So you cherry picked unguarded catch-and-shoot 3s for him versus all threes for the others or you cherry picked 18 games? I see where it has 40% but that is through 18 games of a 33-game season, the stats I posted are for the entire season.
Click to expand...
What’s with the accusations? Chill friend. Peace lol. I’m not intentionally cherry picking. If you look at the stats they have listed lower on the page, they say 40%. But now looking at ESPN (I should have done that) he’s 33ish. So he should be in the first group and maybe that’s why we aren’t targeting him like Freeman who’s more explosive? Anyway, constructive conversation makes for better dialogue! :)

www.espn.com

Paulius Murauskas Career Stats - NCAAM - ESPN

Complete career NCAAM stats for the Saint Mary's Gaels Forward Paulius Murauskas on ESPN. Includes points, rebounds, and assists.
www.espn.com www.espn.com
 
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RedwoodHigh

RedwoodHigh

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Numbers never lie :
33.3% of 8 shots = 2.7 makes
40% of 8 shots = 3.2 makes

conclusions = .5 more makes on 3 point shots is 1.5 points a game -
so judging a player strictly by their % of 3 point makes disregards assists ,2pt % ,Turnovers , fouls ,rebounds,FreeThrow % , rebounds ,steals & defensive hustle. Not to mention attitude & team spirit.
Odd how so many great 3 pt shooters make only 65 to 75% of their free throws & play crap defense.
Pope’s offense was developed at Utah Valley & BYU when they were in WCC which is different from SEC & Bg12 conferences.
 
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Major_Tom

Sophomore
Apr 16, 2010
893
160
36
Edited OP! Maybe the answer is there aren’t many 40% shooters out there available to us!?
 
AllBall

AllBall

All-American
May 5, 2015
4,908
6,451
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Major_Tom said:
Why are we targeting so many…

30ish% Targets
Wilkins
Rancik
Freeman
Zoom (signed)
Hill Jr
Murauskas

Some…
35%ish Targets
Terrance Brown 36.2%
Cruz Davis 36.8%
John Blackwell 36.9%

And not targeting harder the..
40%ish Shooters
Allen Graves 41.7%

Am I missing anyone?

EDIT: Some replies correctly identified some mistakes in the percentage placement above. Corrections made and also, maybe provides an answer: Because there aren’t many 40% shooters available!?
Click to expand...
Bc there aren't many 40%
 
Rainmaker

Rainmaker

All-American
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Michael Mcnair from Boston U, we are in contact with him and he's one of the best out there. Time to pay that man!
 
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Damage_inc

Senior
Oct 4, 2019
539
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I'm gonna say something unpopular. But a lot of basketball fans need to be re-wired......again. This whole notion about "modern basketball" being the only way to win in 2026 is bunk. It was always bunk. Hell it isn't even modern. It was Rick Pitino 1990's-esque style of play. Sure it's fun to watch when the shots are falling, but what a risk to take. To build your whole roster and your whole identity around it is a risky choice man. You can't count on a team full of shooters to hit their shots night in and night out while being deficient in other areas. But you can count on a big, skilled athletic player being big, skilled and athletic.

Look what michigan just did. Look at how Florida plays. Look at UCONN. It wasn't "modern basketball". It was Big athletic kids who can guard every position and who played tough. You can count on those attributes. I think most every team needs a real good shooter or 2 but no a million of em
 
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Reggie Noble

Reggie Noble

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Damage_inc said:
I'm gonna say something unpopular. But a lot of basketball fans need to be re-wired......again. This whole notion about "modern basketball" being the only way to win in 2026 is bunk. It was always bunk. Hell it isn't even modern. It was Rick Pitino 1990's-esque style of play. Sure it's fun to watch when the shots are falling, but what a risk to take. To build your whole roster and your whole identity around it is a risky choice man. You can't count on a team full of shooters to hit their shots night in and night out while being deficient in other areas. But you can count on a big, skilled athletic player being big, skilled and athletic.

Look what michigan just did. Look at how Florida plays. Look at UCONN. It wasn't "modern basketball". It was Big athletic kids who can guard every position and who played tough. You can count on those attributes. I think most every team needs a real good shooter or 2 but no a million of em
Click to expand...
I couldn't agree more. Also, Arizona took almost the fewest in the nation.

NCAA Basketball Stats - NCAA BB Team Three Pointers Attempted per Game | TeamRankings.com
 
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Phil_The_Music2

Phil_The_Music2

Heisman
Nov 29, 2010
3,323
13,273
113
Smeegs said:
It’s weird. When Pope was hired, we were told that he ran a unique offense utilizing three-point shooters at all five positions. So you’d think a coach using that system would have a recruiting strategy that prioritized shooters above all else.

But that’s NOT the way he’s been recruiting here at all. Not sure why. Did he just decide to stop using that system when he became the UK coach?
Click to expand...
His first team was a team full of shooters. But he didn't have any athletes that could create open shots. Even the best shooters struggle with a hand in their face. I think he's trying to find a balance of decent to good shooters who are also athletic.
 
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W

Woodrow24

Heisman
Dec 21, 2015
6,533
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Smeegs said:
It’s weird. When Pope was hired, we were told that he ran a unique offense utilizing three-point shooters at all five positions. So you’d think a coach using that system would have a recruiting strategy that prioritized shooters above all else.

But that’s NOT the way he’s been recruiting here at all. Not sure why. Did he just decide to stop using that system when he became the UK coach?
Click to expand...
I figured he is trying to put together a more balanced team so that he can be good defensively too? I don’t know that’s just my guess on it.
 
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