I know coming into the season, one concern many of us had was how effective we would be shooting from 3. Today we saw Illinois choosing to not double the post, and part of that reason had to be because they are one of the few teams we have played with such a dominant post player, and they figured they could live with that over letting guys get more open opportunities. Of course almost all know we have a 10 man rotation, truly unique to do with some guys not having a lot of minutes to get in a groove...one would think that might also affect shooters as they have cycled on and off of the bench.
9 of our ten guys have shot a 3 this season, with Edey the only rotation guy to not have an attempt. Trevion is and should be a very low volume guy as well. He missed his only look today, but a few of the ones he has hit have been in important game play as opposed to garbage time shots. It won't stun anybody to see that Sasha is our largest volume guy at 6.4 attempts per game. If Sasha didn't have a good game tonight, there definitely would have been 8-10 new posts titles 'Sasha" with a large diatribe explaining his deficiencies. Of course, he was very good today, but that volume also speaks to how much we need him to shoot a game...let alone make them at a high percentage that he does.
4 of the top 5 shooters are also not so much ironically starters. For those calling for IT to be replaced, likely as much out of frustration for the least offensively proficient spot on the floor, even with his struggles, he went down to only 41% for the season. Water is likely more or less finding its level as shooting in the 50's was crazy. 4 starters shooting over 40% is truly the 'pick your poison' stuff we have heard from more than a few opposing coach press conferences this season.
1. Gillis - 53%! Just a crazy percentage, and that after he missed his only attempt today.
2. Ivey - 43% This after just shooting 26% all last season.
3. Morton - 43% 29% last season. Very low volume, but you cannot leave him open and he looks confident taking that shot.
4. Sasha - 41% He is marked man every game with the opposing team putting their best perimeter defender on him.
5. IT - 41% Same percentage as Sasha which would surprise many considering his shooting slump.
6. Trevion - 38% Hard to believe. He has shot enough and made enough that Painter has obviously not shut this down.
7. Furst - 38% Who wouldn't be pleased by that for a kid that played as a dominant 5 in high school?
8. Newman - 35% He only needs to go 5-7 and will hit 40% for the season. Not as bad as could be perceived.
9. Hunter - 31% 1-1 today. When scouting Purdue, he is the guy you want taking that shot...and he is the worst at 31%! He's made only 7 all year...that is further evidence on how big that make was today.
40% as a whole team, even with the minimal walk-on attempts. Starters are shooting 43% on the season. As crazy as it sounds, I expect Sasha and IT to hit every attempt they put up. Gillis might even need a possession or 2 a game to be designed to just get him a good look. He might be a sneaky better shooter than folks anticipated. 81% free throw shooter last season and 20-20 on this one. 35% from 3 last season and seems to just have great concentration when given good looks.
9 of our ten guys have shot a 3 this season, with Edey the only rotation guy to not have an attempt. Trevion is and should be a very low volume guy as well. He missed his only look today, but a few of the ones he has hit have been in important game play as opposed to garbage time shots. It won't stun anybody to see that Sasha is our largest volume guy at 6.4 attempts per game. If Sasha didn't have a good game tonight, there definitely would have been 8-10 new posts titles 'Sasha" with a large diatribe explaining his deficiencies. Of course, he was very good today, but that volume also speaks to how much we need him to shoot a game...let alone make them at a high percentage that he does.
4 of the top 5 shooters are also not so much ironically starters. For those calling for IT to be replaced, likely as much out of frustration for the least offensively proficient spot on the floor, even with his struggles, he went down to only 41% for the season. Water is likely more or less finding its level as shooting in the 50's was crazy. 4 starters shooting over 40% is truly the 'pick your poison' stuff we have heard from more than a few opposing coach press conferences this season.
1. Gillis - 53%! Just a crazy percentage, and that after he missed his only attempt today.
2. Ivey - 43% This after just shooting 26% all last season.
3. Morton - 43% 29% last season. Very low volume, but you cannot leave him open and he looks confident taking that shot.
4. Sasha - 41% He is marked man every game with the opposing team putting their best perimeter defender on him.
5. IT - 41% Same percentage as Sasha which would surprise many considering his shooting slump.
6. Trevion - 38% Hard to believe. He has shot enough and made enough that Painter has obviously not shut this down.
7. Furst - 38% Who wouldn't be pleased by that for a kid that played as a dominant 5 in high school?
8. Newman - 35% He only needs to go 5-7 and will hit 40% for the season. Not as bad as could be perceived.
9. Hunter - 31% 1-1 today. When scouting Purdue, he is the guy you want taking that shot...and he is the worst at 31%! He's made only 7 all year...that is further evidence on how big that make was today.
40% as a whole team, even with the minimal walk-on attempts. Starters are shooting 43% on the season. As crazy as it sounds, I expect Sasha and IT to hit every attempt they put up. Gillis might even need a possession or 2 a game to be designed to just get him a good look. He might be a sneaky better shooter than folks anticipated. 81% free throw shooter last season and 20-20 on this one. 35% from 3 last season and seems to just have great concentration when given good looks.
