What I liked about last night's 3-pt shooting...

[WashDCWarrior]

...wasn't the fact that we shot 57%.  Ok, I did like that, but what I REALLY liked was that we only took 7 3s all game.  James, Fitz, and Cubillan took 2 each, with Matthews taking one.  Going into this game, the team averaged 19.3 3 attempts a game.  While I wasn't there last night, Homer and JMac made it sound as if the 3s we did take were open shots within the flow of the offense.  That means two things.  First, the percentage should go up, plus that gives us over 12 extra shots from within the arc.  That means extra chances to shoot from closer (duh), get to the foul line, and get the opponents in foul trouble.  This is exactly what happened as 3 players fouled out and another 2 had 4 PFs.

We're not a good 3-point shooting team, and we're not going to be, but if we employ shot selection from long range similar to last night, then 3-point shooting will be an asset (maybe 36-38%), not a liability (32% going into last night) for us.  I would love for this team to average under ten 3 attempts per game.  It puts more pressure on the opposing team to guard us.  YOU CAN'T PLAY 40 MINUTES OF HELL IF YOU LET THE OPPONENT RELAX ON DEFENSE.

Ideally, I'd like the 3 attempts to average as follows:

Fitz 3
Cubillan 3
Matthews 1 (gotta keep the D honest, and doesn't have the first step of James or McNeal)
Hayward 1 (eventually he'll get it going)
James 1 (shot clock and end of half situations)
McNeal 0 (he can always get a better shot)

[Murffieus]

I say take MORE treys-----but teach them how to shoot them-----there's a right way and a wrong way to shoot treys just as there is in swinging a golf club!

Treys make the possession more efficient-----3 points instead of 2 points!

[WashDCWarrior]

Currently, Marquette is 78-239 (32.6%) shooting 3 pointers and 355-783 overall.  This means they are 277-544 (50.9%) shooting 2 pointers.  .326 x 3 = .98 and .509 x 2 = 1.02 meaning more points are scored per 2 point shot than 3 point shot.  I cannot argue that this could flip if their 3-pt percentage increased.

However other factors need to be taken into account.  Namely, you get to the FT line much more often taking 2s than 3s.  You force the other team to play tougher D leading to more foul trouble.  You also get the opponent tired forcing them to either play tired or sub.  We are a deep, athletic team, and shooting 2s vs. 3s is a great way to use that to our advantage.

[Mayor McCheese]

yes, threes ARE more points, but they are only points when you make them... and when you are struggling from the three land, you have to be disciplined to stop shooting them.  3-18 against Wisconsin, why keep shooting them when you are not hitting.  DJ was 2-7 from threes, Hayward was 0-4, STOP SHOOTING THEM.  I hate going back to the Wisconsin game, but it is a perfect example of why the three point shot is not MU's game.  There will not be a team all year that we face that will be more athletic than us, especially at the guard spot, there just isnt.  There is no reason why DJ should be settling for threes when he is the quickest guy on the floor.  Last night was beautiful way of utilizing the 3 point shot.

[MarquetteDano]

is transition defense.  Long rebounds lead to easy baskets on the other end.

That said, we shouldn't de-value the three.  The Big East is going to "pack it in" against us this year.  We are must make three's to draw them out.

 - Dano'

[spiral97]

I say take MORE treys-----but teach them how to shoot them-----there's a right way and a wrong way to shoot treys just as there is in swinging a golf club!

Treys make the possession more efficient-----3 points instead of 2 points!

hrm... by that argument, if the NCAA made shots from past the halfcourt be worth 4 points and shots from inside the opponents three point arc be worth 5 points then we shouldn't even bother coming to our end of the court.. just grab the rebound and lob em from where they're standing..