The Fallout

[purplehorse]

INCONSISTENT.

That largely sums it up! And I still believe that whether or not we hit the 3 influences the outcome of many of our games.

[Furmanoid]

We are 10th in 3 pt attempts and 76th in 3 pt percentage. We do a lot of something we aren’t good at. So we will have a few great nights, lots of bad nights and a few horrible nights. Any pressure will skew it towards horrible. Fortunately the bad nights are good enough to beat most of our opponents.

[Paul C]

We are in the top 1/3 of D1 in 3 pt % (108th of 353).

Please expand on how that’s “not good”

[apaladin]

Kenpom has us ranked above UNC-Chapel Hill.

And we’re upset.

Yes and Tar Heel fans are jumping off bridges and buildings!

[apaladin]

We are 10th in 3 pt attempts and 76th in 3 pt percentage. We do a lot of something we aren’t good at. So we will have a few great nights, lots of bad nights and a few horrible nights. Any pressure will skew it towards horrible. Fortunately the bad nights are good enough to beat most of our opponents.

That is actually very very good. Think about it. We shoot the 3 a lot more than most teams and are still better at it than almost 300 other teams.

[Jasper]

We are 10th in 3 pt attempts and 76th in 3 pt percentage. We do a lot of something we aren’t good at. So we will have a few great nights, lots of bad nights and a few horrible nights. Any pressure will skew it towards horrible. Fortunately the bad nights are good enough to beat most of our opponents.

That is actually very very good. Think about it. We shoot the 3 a lot more than most teams and are still better at it than almost 300 other teams.

I suspect those other 300 teams are not going to be in the NCAA tournament.

[Furmanoid]

I’m speechless. 10th in attempts and 108 in percentage and that’s good?

[Jasper]

Furman's offense is not predicated on three-point shots, its a motion that sets up open looks...A lot of them from three...But when. Furman misses open looks, you can't say its coaching for relying on the three too much...It's missing shots...A coach can only do so much...Players have to make shots...That's the bottom line.

So when the motion offense sets up an open look for a player who cannot shoot from the outside, is it OK for him to take that shot? Shouldn't the harder to make/higher reward shot be reserved for those who have the ability to make them to an acceptable degree? Most good teams have a player or more who are defensive specialists or rebounders. I have never known a coach who did not have a lot to say about shot selection by individuals.

[apaladin]

I’m speechless. 10th in attempts and 108 in percentage and that’s good?

Yes it is. Very good. Better than 245 other teams and it's not like we are shooting 10 a game. We shoot it a lot. Would you rather see a higher percentage and less attempts? That would equate to fewer points on the scoreboard.We have to shoot it a lot. We are not going to dominate inside.

[Furmanoid]

Most teams with similar percentages have 100-200 fewer attempts. Only San Francisco (13-6) and UTSA (11-8) have similar attempts and percentages. So our approach is not typical. But you may be right that it is all we can do with the guys we have. Just saying we shouldn’t be surprised at our streakiness.

[Monday]

Kenpom has us ranked above UNC-Chapel Hill.

And we’re upset.

Yes and Tar Heel fans are jumping off bridges and buildings!

That’s the point of my comment. Not clear enough, I suppose.

[soconjohn]

Furman has excellent shot selection...Rarely do they take ill-advised threes....I think to some degree the team can be too unselfish and passes up good shots at times...That would be my only criticism and that's not a bad thing at all.

[tya1]

The following stats are only for games between two D1 teams.
Furman is #3 in the country in two point shooting percentage. Dayton is #1 and Loyola-Chicago is #2. Gonzaga is #4 and LSU is #5. ETSU is #19 and Auburn #22. Almost all the teams high in this stat are having very good seasons.
Furman is #26 in three point shot attempts. Some others include Villanova at #21, Wofford is #27, UNCG #33, and Western Carolina #34. Three point shooting attempts doesn't translate directly into wins. Some very good teams shoot a lot but some weaker teams also shoot a lot of threes.
However, the Paladins are outstanding in the stat that brings it all together. Furman is #17 in effective FG% at 54.4. That is really good shooting.

[FurmAlum]

As much as I hate Wofford, and Lord I do, they may not be as bad as we think. Yes, they have been unimpressive up until the other night, but they still have 2 starters, and at least 4-5 players from last year's team that not only went undefeated in the SoCon, but also won the SoCon tournament, an NCAA tourney game, and almost beat UK.

That means they still know how to win and maybe they have struggled so far with a new coach and blending in new players. Nobody in the conference has beat them in Sburg yet. They're getting better and will be hard to beat the rest of the season.

We just need to get a little rest, practice, regroup, and come out swinging. The season is far from over.

[Furmanoid]

It’s just a letdown that’s all and you are right that we should get over it. But it is hard to accept. I started following Furman when my brothers went there in the 70’s. At the time USC was a big deal nationally but little Furman overtook them under Joe Williams and was clearly the better program after a few years. Meanwhile Wofford was struggling in NAIA- not really competitive with Newberry (a powerhouse) or even Erskine. We had a few good Jonathan Moore years when I was at Furman, but we’ve been pretty crappy ever since. Meanwhile Wofford has caught up and passed us by. How could that happen? Last year I got all excited thinking we were on our way back but it looks like my expectations were too high. I shouldn’t expect to beat the Terriers.