Interesting article in the WSJ about a HS team that only takes 3pt shots and layups. The Coach using Moneyball ideas found it to be a competitive advantage.
Last night I spoke with a HS coach with significant college experience and he confirmed this is the wave of the future. Not sure I want to see the diminished role of the jump shot, but it does make me appreciate Marquise's ability to be one of the best at getting to the basket.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-basketball-team-that-never-takes-a-bad-shot-1485788165
On the night that Rademacher accidentally made his shot from the mid-range, Pine City attempted 64 field goals, and 62 were layups or threes. It was a remarkably ordinary game for the Dragons. Mid-range shots—the sport’s least efficient—account for only 4.2% of Pine City’s attempts. That’s lower than any NBA team or Division-I men’s college team and likely every high-school team in the nation.
Pine City is simply taking to the extreme an idea that has smitten the NBA. The frequency of mid-range field goals—long shots with lousy value because they’re still worth two points—has decreased in every season for the last decade, and this year is responsible for 10 of the 25 teams in history with the lowest reliances on mid-range shots. It also has produced the team with the fewest inefficient shots of all time: 8.6% of the Rockets’ field-goal attempts come from this part of the court.
Houston star James Harden is so careful about his shots that free throws, layups and threes account for 87% of his points. The most electrifying player in college basketball is even more selective. Those highly efficient shots comprise 99% of UCLA freshman Lonzo Ball’s points, according to hoop-math.com.
Last night I spoke with a HS coach with significant college experience and he confirmed this is the wave of the future. Not sure I want to see the diminished role of the jump shot, but it does make me appreciate Marquise's ability to be one of the best at getting to the basket.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-basketball-team-that-never-takes-a-bad-shot-1485788165
On the night that Rademacher accidentally made his shot from the mid-range, Pine City attempted 64 field goals, and 62 were layups or threes. It was a remarkably ordinary game for the Dragons. Mid-range shots—the sport’s least efficient—account for only 4.2% of Pine City’s attempts. That’s lower than any NBA team or Division-I men’s college team and likely every high-school team in the nation.
Pine City is simply taking to the extreme an idea that has smitten the NBA. The frequency of mid-range field goals—long shots with lousy value because they’re still worth two points—has decreased in every season for the last decade, and this year is responsible for 10 of the 25 teams in history with the lowest reliances on mid-range shots. It also has produced the team with the fewest inefficient shots of all time: 8.6% of the Rockets’ field-goal attempts come from this part of the court.
Houston star James Harden is so careful about his shots that free throws, layups and threes account for 87% of his points. The most electrifying player in college basketball is even more selective. Those highly efficient shots comprise 99% of UCLA freshman Lonzo Ball’s points, according to hoop-math.com.
