One of our biggest complaints for the last ten years is, with a couple of exceptions, we never have any consistent shooters. You can't tell me there aren't shooters out there. We all know that 6'11" guys who can play are rare. But there should be thousands of kids in the 5'10"-6' range who can fill it up from the perimeter and play at our level. Surely we can have at least two good shooters in our starting lineup every season. Is it the evaluation process or what? Maybe we spend so much time learning to play defense that we don't get enough offensive practice. I don't know, but it's frustrating to see kids out there shooting bricks from the three point line. Maybe this was a one game thing. Let's hope so.

Lots of good shooters out there, but 90% of them are so slow afoot that they cannot play D1. These days, with all the emphasis on the 3, shooters are a dime a dozen. Shooters who can play D1 are not as common.

(11-17-2013 10:18 AM)MICHAELSPAPPY Wrote:  Lots of good shooters out there, but 90% of them are so slow afoot that they cannot play D1. These days, with all the emphasis on the 3, shooters are a dime a dozen. Shooters who can play D1 are not as common.

I guess great shooters who can play at the DI level are not all that prevalent. Who has UAF had in the last 10 years other than Rotnei Clark? We've had a few "pure" shooter over the years- Barksdale, Freeman, Mouzy, Nick Zachary. I'm sure we look for them, and hopefully James Reid is one.

Again, look at the stats of D2 teams and you will find some impressive stats. But they could not play at D1 level.

I'll guarantee you that some could. I recall playing, I think it was Harding at Alltel Arena, a number of years ago, and they had a couple of kids who lit us up. I think we won the game, but not by much, but they had one or two guards who could have played for us.

There are always exceptions. But last year UAFS had guys who shot 41%, 38%, 38%. They are out there, but there is some reason they did not get picked for D1.

Matt Mouzy would have been one of them if he had not been determined to play at the D1 level. I know there are some other Matt Mouzys out there. We just have to be creative and find them. Small guards who are shooters can play in our league. I think of players like Josh White of North Texas and even D'Andre Williams. I'd rather have small guards who can shoot than all these big guards who can't hit the side of a barn. You can always back them up on defense with your inside players.

You always have to have a shooter on the team, even if that is all he can do well.

Juco is the logical place to get 3-point shooters. They are shooting from the same distance as D1, and against college level competition. Even if their game is not complete, you can tell over two years if they can shoot. The Reid kid was a natural signing. Great that we could get him.

Good point. But you need more than one shooter. A decent team can gang up and stop one good shooter normally, but it's hard to defend against two or three.

In today's game, two things you have to have are 3-point shooters and good shot blockers. The first are easy to find. The second not as easy.

If the first are so easy to find, why don't we have more of them?

We have had a lot of great 3-point shooters.

But not many at the same time.

Well, you only have 13 scholarships to give, and you can't use them all on 2 guards.

Through six games, James Reid is shooting 55% from the arc. That is lights out in anyone's league. Plus he is shooting 95% from the FT line.

Now, given the fact that their whole team is shooting 44% from the arc, that is not as impressive. Obviously, defense is only a theory in that league. And when he gets here he will have to adjust to what he will have to face. But the point is that he can shoot, and shoot well.