Three point shooting

[Da Coach]

In Geno's three seasons, Bradley has finished next to last in 3-point percentage every year.
2014- 32.2%

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/statistics/team/_/stat/3-points/group/18

2013- 31.8%

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/statistics/team/_/stat/3-points/sort/threePointFieldGoalPct/year/2013/group/18

2012- 30.0%-

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/statistics/team/_/stat/3-points/sort/threePointFieldGoalPct/year/2012/group/18

Will Bradley's 3-point shooting be better this season?
I do not believe a D1 team can have much success without above average 3-point shooting.
Will the new players help change that?
Tramique Sutherland shot 43.6% from three last season at Hill College, though he only attempted 1.2 per game
Warren Jones attempted 4.3 per game, and made 40.9%.
Kendahl Amerson attempted 6.8 per game, and made 39.5%

The other new players, Donte Thomas, Josh Cunningham, Mike Shaw, & Jermaine Morgan, won't likely be attempting many three pointers.

And the returning players showed only modest percentages last season:
Omari Grier- 32.2% on 177 attempts
Auston Barnes- 34.1% on 88 attempts
Ka'Darryl Bell- 35.6% on 45 attempts
Anthony Fields- 1 of 4 attempts- 25%
Xavier Taylor- no attempts

How will Bradley be this year with 3-pointers?

For the record- here is a thread from last year when we discussed Bradley's three point shooting after they shot an abysmal 14% in the Bahamas. Some predicted improvement with the incoming players (many of whom are now gone), and some did not expect much change.

https://www.bradleyfans.com/vb/showthread.php?t=23061

[Da Coach]

My prediction is that Bradley will be better on 3-point percentage this season, though I do not think we will rely on a lot of 3-pointers. Having guards who are more consistent perimeter players is something the program has lacked for a while. I believe Sutherland, Jones, and Amerson will help there, but I am always a bit cautious about making judgments based solely on a kid's shooting percentage in junior college.
Jucos are notorious for poor defense- Utah State-Eastern, where Kendahl Amerson played, averaged 88.5 ppg. SCC, where Warren Jones played, averaged 81.8 ppg, and Hill College, where Sutherland played averaged 85.6 ppg. By comparison, no team in the MVC averaged more than Wichita State's 75.5 ppg, and Bradley averaged just 63.5 ppg, worst in the MVC last year.

It's uncommon that a junior college kids shoot as well in Division I as they did at juco.
But I do believe Bradley will be improved- I'll predict 34% from three.


Here are the 3-point shooting stats for the NCAA over the past years. Note that the line was moved from 19'9" to 20'9" starting in the 2008-09 season, and there was a drop in the number of 3-pointers attempted, and the percentage sucessful. Last season was the highest 3-point percentage seen since the line was moved back- 34.4%.-

http://statsheet.com/mcb/beyondthearc

[Biff]

We better be improved.
It would be hard not to be.
It appears the recruiting last spring targeted shooting guards to try to improve that part of the game, so if the percentage isn't better, it could be another one of those darn "recruiting misses".