I've never been a fan of the mid-range shot.
For one thing, it’s a tough shot. The attempt is often times contested, off the dribble and it’s never the same shot twice. It requires a special kind of shooter and/or a lot of (wasted) time practicing to be consistently successful. It's a high risk, low reward shot attempt.
That's how I've always felt anyway.
Using the numbers provided by hoop-math.com, which compiles statistics from official box scores such as found at iuhoosiers.com, I now have at least some statistical ammunition for my case. The two-point shot attempt is misused by basketball teams, and in the case of a few, its abused.
Below is every shot taken by the fourteen Big Ten teams last season, along with a Breakdown and question from each shot category (at the rim, or layups, three-point attempts, and two-point jumpers).
BIG TEN TEAMS AT THE RIM
1. Minnesota - 73.2 percent (416-566) with 29.4 percent of total team field goal attempts at the rim.
2. Purdue - 68.9 percent (428-622) with 33.8 percent of total team field goal attempts at the rim.
3. Ohio State - 67.2 percent (493-794) with 37.8 percent of total team field goal attempts at the rim.
4. Wisconsin - 65.9 percent (485-736) with 34.8 percent of total team field goal attempts at the rim.
5. Michigan - 64.7 percent (240-371) with 21.5 percent of total team field goal attempts at the rim.
6. Michigan State - 63.9 percent (479-750) with 34.4 percent of total team field goal attempts at the rim.
7 Iowa - 63.7 percent (347-545) with 28.6 percent of total team field goal attempts at the rim.
8. Maryland - 63.6 percent (356-560) with 31.5 percent of total team field goal attempts at the rim.
9. Illinois - 62.6 percent (256-409) with 21.5 percent of total team field goal attempts at the rim.
Nebraska - 62.6 percent (262-419) with 26 percent of total team field goal attempts at the rim.
11. Northwestern - 60.7 percent (304-501) with 30 percent of total team field goal attempts at the rim.
12. Penn State - 57.4 percent (341-594) with 31.4 percent of total team field goal attempts at the rim.
13. Indiana - 56.4 percent (481-853) with 42.9 percent of total team field goal attempts at the rim.
14. Rutgers - 54.9 percent (319-581) with 33.2 percent of total team field goal attempts at the rim.
Breakdown: The Big Ten made 63.2 percent collectively on layups attempted at the rim (5,207-8,241).
IU had the highest percentage of it's shots at the rim, but was only 13th best in the league. It finished ninth overall in offensive efficiency. The Hoosiers were 40th in offensive rebounding percentage, too, and 75th in two-point percentage shooting. Indiana was 6.8 percent below the conference average at the rim, costing the team 58 points, or 29 less field goals on the season.
BIG TEN TEAMS ON THREE-POINT SHOTS:
1. Indiana - 40.6 percent (319-786) with 39.5 percent of total field goal attempts from three-point range.
2. Northwestern - 37.4 percent (228-634) with 38 percent of total field goal attempts from three-point range.
3. Michigan State - 36.8 percent (244-657) with 35 percent of total field goal attempts from three-point range.
4. Maryland - 36.5 percent (259-688) with 38.7 percent of total field goal attempts from three-point range.
5. Iowa - 36.1 percent (191-575) with 30.2 percent of total field goal attempts from three-point range.
6. Wisconsin - 35.9 percent (288-791) with 37.4 percent of total field goal attempts from three-point range.
7. Minnesota - 35.7 percent (283-822) with 32.2 percent of total field goal attempts from three-point range.
8. Michigan - 35.4 percent (250-696) with 40.4 percent of total field goal attempts from three-point range.
9. Illinois - 35.2 percent (238-670) with 35.2 percent of total field goal attempts from three-point range.
10. Ohio State - 34 percent (283-785) with 32.1 percent of total field goal attempts from three-point range.
11. Penn State - 32.6 percent (227-680) with 35.9 percent of total field goal attempts from three-point range.
12. Purdue - 32.1 percent (195-596) with 32.4 percent of total field goal attempts from three-point range.
13. Rutgers - 28.9 percent (152-515) with 29.4 percent of total field goal attempts from three-point range.
14. Nebraska - 26.5 percent (161-566) with 35.1 percent of total field goal attempts from three-point range.
Breakdown: The Big Ten shot 35.6 percent on three-pointers attempted last season (3,086-9,233)
But here is where it gets interesting. Two-point jumpers.
BIG TEN TEAMS ON TWO-POINT JUMP SHOTS:
1. Wisconsin - 41 (241-588) with 27.8 percent of total team field goal attempts on two-point jump shots.
2. Nebraska - 38.3 percent (240-627) with 38.9 percent of total team field goal attempts on two-point jump shots.
3. Michigan - 37.1 percent (244-657) with 38.1 percent of total team field goal attempts on two-point jump shots.
4. Northwestern - 36.7 percent (195-532) with 31.9 percent of total team field goal attempts on two-point jump shots.
5. Penn State - 36.6 percent (227-621) with 32.8 percent of total team field goal attempts on two-point jump shots.
6. Ohio State - 36.1 percent (211-585) with 30.1 percent of total team field goal attempts on two-point jump shots.
Iowa - 36.1 percent (283-785) with 41.2 percent of total team field goal attempts on two-point jump shots.
8. Michigan State - 36 percent (240-667) with 30.6 percent of total team field goal attempts on two-point jump shots.
9. Illinois - 35.4 percent (291-822) with 43.2 percent of total team field goal attempts on two-point jump shots.
10. Indiana - 35.1 percent (123-350) with 17.6 percent of total team field goal attempts on two-point jump shots.
11. Purdue - 33 percent (205-622) with 33.8 percent of total team field goal attempts on two-point jump shots.
Rutgers - 33 percent (216-655) with 37.4 percent of total team field goal attempts on two-point jump shots.
13. Minnesota - 32 percent (231-720) with 17.6 percent of total team field goal attempts on two-point jump shots.
14. Maryland - 31.5 percent (167-530) with 29.8 percent of total team field goal attempts on two-point jump shots.
Breakdown: Big Ten teams shot 35.5 percent (3,114-8,761) on two-point jumpers in 2014-15.
The Hoosiers still took 10.3 attempts per game. I'd prefer to see a few of those from three, or at the rim.
Also, is it smart coaching to allow your team to shoot almost 20 two-point jump shot attempts per game, and why don't more coaches see the lack of value in the two-point jump shot?
I understand there's a time and a place, but 18.3 attempts per game over the 478 total games played by Big Ten teams last season is too high. It's an indictment on Richard Pitino and Matt Painter, personally. There's a reason each team underperformed, and it seems to me neither had the awareness or ability to make their team attempt better shots. It seems to me that teams "settled" and coaches allowed it to happen.
What say you?
For one thing, it’s a tough shot. The attempt is often times contested, off the dribble and it’s never the same shot twice. It requires a special kind of shooter and/or a lot of (wasted) time practicing to be consistently successful. It's a high risk, low reward shot attempt.
That's how I've always felt anyway.
Using the numbers provided by hoop-math.com, which compiles statistics from official box scores such as found at iuhoosiers.com, I now have at least some statistical ammunition for my case. The two-point shot attempt is misused by basketball teams, and in the case of a few, its abused.
Below is every shot taken by the fourteen Big Ten teams last season, along with a Breakdown and question from each shot category (at the rim, or layups, three-point attempts, and two-point jumpers).
BIG TEN TEAMS AT THE RIM
1. Minnesota - 73.2 percent (416-566) with 29.4 percent of total team field goal attempts at the rim.
2. Purdue - 68.9 percent (428-622) with 33.8 percent of total team field goal attempts at the rim.
3. Ohio State - 67.2 percent (493-794) with 37.8 percent of total team field goal attempts at the rim.
4. Wisconsin - 65.9 percent (485-736) with 34.8 percent of total team field goal attempts at the rim.
5. Michigan - 64.7 percent (240-371) with 21.5 percent of total team field goal attempts at the rim.
6. Michigan State - 63.9 percent (479-750) with 34.4 percent of total team field goal attempts at the rim.
7 Iowa - 63.7 percent (347-545) with 28.6 percent of total team field goal attempts at the rim.
8. Maryland - 63.6 percent (356-560) with 31.5 percent of total team field goal attempts at the rim.
9. Illinois - 62.6 percent (256-409) with 21.5 percent of total team field goal attempts at the rim.
Nebraska - 62.6 percent (262-419) with 26 percent of total team field goal attempts at the rim.
11. Northwestern - 60.7 percent (304-501) with 30 percent of total team field goal attempts at the rim.
12. Penn State - 57.4 percent (341-594) with 31.4 percent of total team field goal attempts at the rim.
13. Indiana - 56.4 percent (481-853) with 42.9 percent of total team field goal attempts at the rim.
14. Rutgers - 54.9 percent (319-581) with 33.2 percent of total team field goal attempts at the rim.
Breakdown: The Big Ten made 63.2 percent collectively on layups attempted at the rim (5,207-8,241).
- Minnesota and Purdue were really, really good from close last season. More on this below, but be sure to note this fact.
- There were five teams (MSU, Iowa, Maryland, Illinois, Nebraska) separated by 1.4 percent (between 63.9 and 62.5 percent) in accuracy.
- Michigan was above-average at the rim, finishing with the fifth-best percentage in the conference. But the Wolverines took the fewest layup attempts among the fourteen teams (371) .
- Indiana took more than one hundred more layups than second-place, Michigan State, which should have been outstanding for the Hoosiers. The problem was that IU only made two more tries at the rim than the Spartans.
IU had the highest percentage of it's shots at the rim, but was only 13th best in the league. It finished ninth overall in offensive efficiency. The Hoosiers were 40th in offensive rebounding percentage, too, and 75th in two-point percentage shooting. Indiana was 6.8 percent below the conference average at the rim, costing the team 58 points, or 29 less field goals on the season.
BIG TEN TEAMS ON THREE-POINT SHOTS:
1. Indiana - 40.6 percent (319-786) with 39.5 percent of total field goal attempts from three-point range.
2. Northwestern - 37.4 percent (228-634) with 38 percent of total field goal attempts from three-point range.
3. Michigan State - 36.8 percent (244-657) with 35 percent of total field goal attempts from three-point range.
4. Maryland - 36.5 percent (259-688) with 38.7 percent of total field goal attempts from three-point range.
5. Iowa - 36.1 percent (191-575) with 30.2 percent of total field goal attempts from three-point range.
6. Wisconsin - 35.9 percent (288-791) with 37.4 percent of total field goal attempts from three-point range.
7. Minnesota - 35.7 percent (283-822) with 32.2 percent of total field goal attempts from three-point range.
8. Michigan - 35.4 percent (250-696) with 40.4 percent of total field goal attempts from three-point range.
9. Illinois - 35.2 percent (238-670) with 35.2 percent of total field goal attempts from three-point range.
10. Ohio State - 34 percent (283-785) with 32.1 percent of total field goal attempts from three-point range.
11. Penn State - 32.6 percent (227-680) with 35.9 percent of total field goal attempts from three-point range.
12. Purdue - 32.1 percent (195-596) with 32.4 percent of total field goal attempts from three-point range.
13. Rutgers - 28.9 percent (152-515) with 29.4 percent of total field goal attempts from three-point range.
14. Nebraska - 26.5 percent (161-566) with 35.1 percent of total field goal attempts from three-point range.
Breakdown: The Big Ten shot 35.6 percent on three-pointers attempted last season (3,086-9,233)
- The most popular shot attempt among conference teams for 2014-15 was the three-point attempt.
- Nine teams were at the Big Ten average or higher, illustrating the importance of three-point defense, one of the few areas Indiana was successful defensively last season.
- The five teams below the Big Ten average combined to shoot 31.7 percent (929-2,931).
- Wisconsin actually led the conference in three-point attempts. Surprised?
- Neither Rutgers nor Nebraska managed to hit 30 percent from deep as a team, yet the teams combined to attempts 1,081 three's, making just 313. The Hoosiers had 319 made by itself.
- Indiana was five percentage points above the average, and 12.2 percent higher than the worst three-point shooting team, Nebraska.
But here is where it gets interesting. Two-point jumpers.
BIG TEN TEAMS ON TWO-POINT JUMP SHOTS:
1. Wisconsin - 41 (241-588) with 27.8 percent of total team field goal attempts on two-point jump shots.
2. Nebraska - 38.3 percent (240-627) with 38.9 percent of total team field goal attempts on two-point jump shots.
3. Michigan - 37.1 percent (244-657) with 38.1 percent of total team field goal attempts on two-point jump shots.
4. Northwestern - 36.7 percent (195-532) with 31.9 percent of total team field goal attempts on two-point jump shots.
5. Penn State - 36.6 percent (227-621) with 32.8 percent of total team field goal attempts on two-point jump shots.
6. Ohio State - 36.1 percent (211-585) with 30.1 percent of total team field goal attempts on two-point jump shots.
Iowa - 36.1 percent (283-785) with 41.2 percent of total team field goal attempts on two-point jump shots.
8. Michigan State - 36 percent (240-667) with 30.6 percent of total team field goal attempts on two-point jump shots.
9. Illinois - 35.4 percent (291-822) with 43.2 percent of total team field goal attempts on two-point jump shots.
10. Indiana - 35.1 percent (123-350) with 17.6 percent of total team field goal attempts on two-point jump shots.
11. Purdue - 33 percent (205-622) with 33.8 percent of total team field goal attempts on two-point jump shots.
Rutgers - 33 percent (216-655) with 37.4 percent of total team field goal attempts on two-point jump shots.
13. Minnesota - 32 percent (231-720) with 17.6 percent of total team field goal attempts on two-point jump shots.
14. Maryland - 31.5 percent (167-530) with 29.8 percent of total team field goal attempts on two-point jump shots.
Breakdown: Big Ten teams shot 35.5 percent (3,114-8,761) on two-point jumpers in 2014-15.
- Minnesota led the B1G in shooting at the rim, 73.2 percent on 566 attempts. Yet the Gophers finished 13th in two-point jumpers, 32 percent on 720 attempts! To put it another way, Richard Pitino's team took 154 more two point jumpers than layups last season, even though it shot 41.2 percent better at the rim.
- Purdue was very good at the rim, too (68.9 percent). The Boilers were bad everywhere else on the floor (33 percent), including at mid-range shooting. PU took 622 jumpers, along with the 595 three point tries. The Boilers took almost twice as many perimeter shots as it did layups last season, even though Purdue was unquestionably an interior team.
- Illinois took twice as many two-point jumpers as layups, which is questionable considering the Illini shot 27.2 percent higher at the rim.
- The two-point jumper was the lowest made attempt among the three categories.
The Hoosiers still took 10.3 attempts per game. I'd prefer to see a few of those from three, or at the rim.
Also, is it smart coaching to allow your team to shoot almost 20 two-point jump shot attempts per game, and why don't more coaches see the lack of value in the two-point jump shot?
I understand there's a time and a place, but 18.3 attempts per game over the 478 total games played by Big Ten teams last season is too high. It's an indictment on Richard Pitino and Matt Painter, personally. There's a reason each team underperformed, and it seems to me neither had the awareness or ability to make their team attempt better shots. It seems to me that teams "settled" and coaches allowed it to happen.
What say you?
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