Dave Reynolds' blog- Bradley shooting woes explained

[Future Walk-On]

sometimes i like to think that HS coaches and AAU coaches teach kids how to shoot, before they become D1 prospects.

[tornado]

there are definitely coaches who are or were extremely good shooters and who do teach players proper shooting technique and make better shooters out of their players...
but not many - some just assume the kids should already know by college or already have techniques that are set in stone so they don't try...

BUT - I am a strong believer that improving technique can improve success - the kid in Wheaton who hits 90+% of his shots and the guy that does halftime demonstrations who can hit 80% are a couple examples of what good technique can do.

[lefty]

The team also worked mostly on the defense in preparation for this trip and just a little on the offense....

[AZ BU Fan]

I also lead AZ BU Fan's prediction contest last year from start to finish, and finished #1. I was also #1 in predicting just about every week, in the preconference games, in the MVC games, and overall. And I predicted we would be a poor 3-point shooting team each of the last 2 years and was right about everything I predicted. So just saying...I think my track record of predictions has been pretty good.

Ooookay DC...

You are close to being banned from the 2013-4 BF.com pick em contest?© for excessive celebration and unauthorized reference to last year's BF.com pick em contest?©

AZ BU Fan ?® The Penny ?®

[AZ BU Fan]

While it would be nice to have a team which can successfully jack it up from beyond the arc, I would much prefer a team and players which play championship defense, don't turn the ball over, rebound like demons, make FT's, give their all for 40 minutes, and run offensive sets that rely on motion, ball movement, and great screens which doesn't end up having players who don't shoot well jacking up shots as the shot clock expires.

BU has been fixated on the run and bomb offense and has not had much success with it for over a decade. Best success came when team played inside the arc.

Will wait and see what BU looks like after non con completed to gauge how successful BU can be. Lots of new pieces.

Too many times pre-season predictions of the team's recruits and chances ('best player I have recruited/coached) had me pumped me up prematurely.

PS Should BU not win the MVC this year, remember even the gifted one's program took a detour after some initial success while trying to turn the program around. No need to rant/panic/wish for the good old days.

[tornado]

The team also worked mostly on the defense in preparation for this trip and just a little on the offense....

with all due respect, I know you were there when Geno said they would get in 2 to 3 two-and-a-half hour practices a day until they used up all ten days they could practice prior to the trip --

if you are saying all those hours of basketball practice and we didn't get any offense in??? Come on...we saw them working for over an hour on offense with Geno reffing and coaching right out on the floor..


Anyway - it's NOT just the half dozen other teams in the Bahamas - surely you know there are about 40 other D-I teams doing preseason tours Vandy, Oklahoma, Alabama, Marshall, La. Tech, etc......even some non-D-I's like Illinois Wesleyan --
and ALL are playing FIBA rules - and every single one of them, FWIW, is shooting better than we did..
many have their stats posted - just check it out - most are shooting 2 to 3 times better than the percentage we shot - LINK
None of those teams had any more practice nor any more advantages than we did, so we start to run out legitimacy on excuses when we shot so significantly worse from 3-pt than dozens of other teams did - plus all their opponents as well, many of whom had zero warmup or preparation as Dave Reynolds described - they just showed up after work, laced 'em up and played against us.

[lefty]

with all due respect, I know you were there when Geno said they would get in 2 to 3 two-and-a-half hour practices a day until they used up all ten days they could practice prior to the trip --

if you are saying all those hours of basketball practice and we didn't get any offense in??? Come on...we saw them working for over an hour on offense with Geno reffing and coaching right out on the floor..


Anyway - it's NOT just the half dozen other teams in the Bahamas - surely you know there are about 40 other D-I teams doing preseason tours Vandy, Oklahoma, Alabama, Marshall, La. Tech, etc......even some non-D-I's like Illinois Wesleyan --
and ALL are playing FIBA rules - and every single one of them, FWIW, is shooting better than we did..
many have their stats posted - just check it out - most are shooting 2 to 3 times better than the percentage we shot - LINK
None of those teams had any more practice nor any more advantages than we did, so we start to run out legitimacy on excuses when we shot so significantly worse from 3-pt than dozens of other teams did - plus all their opponents as well, many of whom had zero warmup or preparation as Dave Reynolds described - they just showed up after work, laced 'em up and played against us.

You don't have to believe it.....just mentioning what I know.

[tornado]

well - but my point is just this simple - if a guy comes in last in the Olympic mile race I don't think I'd buy the excuse that he didn't have time to work on his running game plan when he had exactly the same amount of time as the myriad of runners who finished well ahead of him..

[LittleBrave]

I also lead AZ BU Fan's prediction contest last year from start to finish, and finished #1. I was also #1 in predicting just about every week, in the preconference games, in the MVC games, and overall. And I predicted we would be a poor 3-point shooting team each of the last 2 years and was right about everything I predicted. So just saying...I think my track record of predictions has been pretty good. But anyone who wants to differ is free to.
What do you think this teams' 3-point shooting percentage will be?

As much as I dislike reading your apparent somewhat pessimistic outlook (from most fans' perspectives) about our team the past couple seasons, you have been right on the mark with the majority of them. So it shouldn't be looked at so much as pessimistic, but more realistic.

Past stats and trends usually make a strong point in predicting what will happen, and it would seem you look into these quite often. Sometimes performance needs to be proven in order to stray from the numbers and outlook.

[lefty]

well - but my point is just this simple - if a guy comes in last in the Olympic mile race I don't think I'd buy the excuse that he didn't have time to work on his running game plan when he had exactly the same amount of time as the myriad of runners who finished well ahead of him..

I'm not talking Olympic races which seems to be a pretty bad anology for a team game actually.....just saying that as a team they worked on the defensive aspects of their game a whole lot more than the offense. Sure they worked on some plays and shooting but nothing compared to what they worked of defensively

[Da Coach]

As much as I dislike reading your apparent somewhat pessimistic outlook (from most fans' perspectives) about our team the past couple seasons, you have been right on the mark with the majority of them. So it shouldn't be looked at so much as pessimistic, but more realistic.

Past stats and trends usually make a strong point in predicting what will happen, and it would seem you look into these quite often. Sometimes performance needs to be proven in order to stray from the numbers and outlook.

Thanks. I try to be objective when predicting games.
I still feel we will not be a good three point shooting team. Despite being criticized for saying that, the Braves seemed to prove me right in the Bahamas by shooting about 20%. Yes, I have heard all the excuses, but every other team shot better than we did. I still think there is room for improvement, and that when the season begins, we will be above 30%, but will not be in the upper half of the MVC in 3pt%.

[tornado]

.... apparent somewhat pessimistic outlook ..about our team the past couple seasons...

Hey - I think you somehow miss the 95-98% of the time that I am optimistic and being accused of being too positive like
discussing games, current players, exciting fun events, and Bradley's great history & tradition
(ps- do this - a search for the phrase "good news" and see who uses that phrase more than everyone else combined on this board)
...but you got me puzzled - if there's a time to occasionally view things a bit more realistically
or pessimistically - would it not be after a couple past seasons of getting whupped by 30 and setting records for losing?

[bradleyfan124]

Isn't the national average for 3 pt shooting 35%?

[Da Coach]

Yes, the national average each year is around 35% on 3-point shots, and around 45% on all shots.