Enough is enough with DJ's threes. He is beginning to look

[79Warrior]

downright inept from the outside. Nobody even covers him from the arc.

[Detfan23]

No kidding, his selection is terrible.  This team is so much better off when he is slashing through the paint and dishing the rock off.  He gets the looks, but this is a bad sophomore slump. 

[shaquilvaine]

Can anyone remember a former MU player having a shooting slump this bad?  At some point it goes from being a slump to just being a horrible shooter. 

[Buzz Williams' Spillproof Chiclets Cup]

DomiSteve JaNovak rears his ugly head again.

[🏀]

Let's just hope he got that junk out of his system.

[ozmetal71]

He shot, what 2-14 tonight?

What I don't get is that he can't hit a three to save his life, and yet he just keeps on jacking up shots.  When he penetrates and passes the ball he is great, but I don't understand how when you are 5-45 on threes over the past few games that you just feel that you should keep shooting them.

We won, and that is what matters, and we most likely solidified a 6 seed in the NCAA's, but if James plays like this tomorrow, we are going to get beat.

[maxpower773]

The difference between tonight though and other nights, was he was just plain missing wide open shots. His shot selection wasn't as bad as it has been in some games, just not making a shot makes it look worse.  As long as he stops just jacking up shots outside of the flow of the game then I don't care, it opens up his driving even more if he does start to hit shots.  As of now though, teams can just wait and collapse on him when he drives.

[ozmetal71]

His shot selection was not the problem.  The problem is that when you are 0-7 on threes at one point you think you would stop shooting them and try to something else.

One of the reason why he was so wide open is that the defenders knew that he wasn't going to make the shots and weren't in his face.

James needs to focus on penetrating, passing, and playing defense, and creating for his teammates.

[NavinRJohnson]

As long as he stops just jacking up shots outside of the flow of the game then I don't care, it opens up his driving even more if he does start to hit shots.  As of now though, teams can just wait and collapse on him when he drives.

You nailed it. He stops taking them completely as many of the whiners are saying he should do, and he hands the defense a huge advantage. On the flip side, if he hits just one or two and forces teh defense to respect it, he becomes way more difficult to defend, which opens up everything for the whole team.

[maxpower773]

Just think if 2 of those 3's fall how much the game opens up.  Not only does our lead grow and gives the team more confidence, but St. John's defense would be force to cover James up to the 3 point line and switch out on screens leaving good opportunities to drive to the hope or do a  pick and roll.

[mviale]

he needs 20 shots. Those last 6 would have been net.

[chapman]

Did he always shoot 3's with a huge leg bend?  With his hops it seems like the shots would have a better chance of going in from half court...I don't know if it's excitement or what, but it seems like there's a lot of wasted motion in his shot and you can picture the ball flying wildly off the rim as soon as he cranks up.

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

Can anyone remember a former MU player having a shooting slump this bad?  At some point it goes from being a slump to just being a horrible shooter. 

Holy Christ....great win, but it's taken you this long to figure out who the poor shooters on this team are?? He was a bad shooter when he stepped on campus.

What about Kinsella? And Fitz? Fantastic!!

Thank God TCU is not in this tournament.

[77ncaachamps]

As a DJ critic, I must say this was a very good game for him spare his offensive troubles (but that was expected). He did a good job of distributing the ball.

I would like to see the always optimistic Crean have DJ watch his shot and have NBA trainers work with his shot.

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

For anybody who has ever played basketball, this is a joke. He should not be shooting...period. It's outrageous to suggest otherwise.

It's not a "slump." He's a terrible shooter. You cannot coach this stuff. It's an ability and, guess what? He doesn't have it!!! His ability is limited to getting by his defender. At that point, he shoudl be looking to distribute the ball.

If he can get to the basket and either throw up a lay-up or dish it to somebody fine. But, I'm begging...DO NOT SHOOT!!

[77ncaachamps]

Amigo,

You know he has to.

Only for one reason: to keep the defense honest.

[StillAWarrior]

His ability is limited to getting by his defender. At that point, he shoudl be looking to distribute the ball.

Like a lot of other people, I cringe every time I see him throw up a trey.  But, your comment is a little bit -- OK, a lot -- over the top.  He is the team's leading scorer this year, and he was the second leading scorer on the team last year (behind a guy whose playing in the NBA right now).  So he does have some abilities beyond gettng by his defender.  Inside 15 feet, he's pretty dangerous.  But, I do agree that he should focus more on looking to distribute the ball.

[spiral97]

This is not intended to be a slam on DJ so please do not take it as such.  I would have to believe this would very standard and very routine but does anyone know if the team is required to and has taken a vision test within the last 6 months?  I know that eyesight can change dramatically in a fairly short amount of time and, in many cases, not even be obvious to the person.  It is such a quick and painless test to do that I wouldn't be surprised if it is performed several times through a season.

Some shots put up are done so in a wide open setting with all the time in the world and it still misses by the length of a mile.  Further, most of DJ's trey attempts missed about the same way - off the back of the rim and bouncing into the glass.  I noticed once in the mid/late 2nd half where it clanged off the front of the rim but I got the feeling he was over-correcting.

[NavinRJohnson]

Spiral - I've had the same thought, particularly because so many of his misses are long. I have to assume this has been looked at if there is anything to it, but I have certainly wondered.

[ecompt]

If Pitt is smart tonight, Jaime will tell Gray not to switch out on the high pick-and-roll. If DJ wants to take that shot, let him. He has no outside touch whatsoever.

[marquetteff03]

The thing is that now the teams are absolutely jumping him coming off picks because they don't respect his shooting. How many times did he try to drive and St J had 2 people waiting for him, then he forced passes. I am a huge fan of DJ but he had a terrible game, lots of TO to go with the 0 fer. He must shoot decent tonight or we are toast without anyone else to penetrate.

[ozmetal71]

Why doesn't DJ drive and take that nice 15-foot jump shot that he has, a la Cordell Henry? 

Plus, just because you have an open look at a 3 doesn't mean that you have to take it.  When you are a terrible long-range shooter, you would think that you would stop after you start out 0-7 in a half.

But, I guess not.  That is what makes people criticize James. 

[NCMUFan]

This off season DJ needs to spend hours in the gym with a shooting coach.  Until then, guess we will just have to live with his shooting.  Hopefully the coaches can spot something obvious to help him out.  I hope he maintains a good attitude because in the big picture he is a huge asset to the team.

[ChicosBailBonds]

He is going to have to keep shooting the 3's from time to time.  I didn't think the shot selection tonight was that terrible (a few yes)...some were in and out some were brick city.

But he's going to have to hit those shots not only for the team but for his game.  If he doesn't, they just collapse and he can't drive without making some circus attempt.

They will start falling...just a matter of when.

[San Diego Warrior]

I wish he'd quit forcing those 3's and try to go to the hot guy occassionally.  Kinsella hit back to back 3's and was wide open, but instead of passing the ball to Kinsella, DJ decided to shoot the 3 himself with the shot clock winding down.  It seems to be a pattern of ours to go away from the hot shooter in games.