New 3-pt Line Distance

[Kyle]

I know this has been public knowledge for over a year, but I think a lot of people put it on the back burner when they announced it wouldn't take effect until the 2008-2009 season. For those who don't know, the 3-pt line for this coming season is going to be 20'9" (moved back a foot). The lane width is staying the same.

So how do you think this will affect teams in the Valley?
How will this affect the Valley as a whole when compared to other conferences?

I'm guessing this will place more emphasis on having a solid inside game. Hopefully not widening the lane won't create congestion in the post. Bradley, Drake, and others who rely on a lot of 3-pt shots will probably be at a slight disadvantage.

Also, does anyone know if this is phase one of a two phase effort to extend the 3-pt line to 23 feet in the near future?

[06panther10]

Re: New 3-pt Line Distance

I like moving it back. That line was WAY to close to be worth 3 points.

[9YRPLAN]

Re: New 3-pt Line Distance

i think people will be surprised and we will see 3FG% drop 3-4% across D-1

[Back2BackCats]

Re: New 3-pt Line Distance

We may see the shooting percentage drop a little bit but I don't see it really affecting teams that were built to shoot the 3. I have not attended the PTL this year to see our guys but I have attended the CCL in Des Moines several times and I can tell you that most of the 3's come from well beyond either line, now of course not a lot of D. I also think that early on that there may be teams that will pack the center and not contest the 3 as strongly with it a foot back.

[SteinPizza]

Re: New 3-pt Line Distance

It's not meant to lower the 3 point FG%, it's meant to open up the game. This move will spread the floor more and help in giving big men more room to operate and make it tougher to defend against the dribble-drive.

Makes sense. Let's hope it also makes sense to Jake and his staff. They do seem to be a little more open the pentrating and creating than Mac was though.

[9YRPLAN]

Re: New 3-pt Line Distance

you will still see guys chucking up a lot of threes. what its going to do is separate the truly good shooters from the medicre ones.

['70 Grad]

Re: New 3-pt Line Distance

It only unclogs the lane if the shooters are making their threes. That said, a foot or two won't harm some shooters.

Let's watch BOTH the % and the # of attempts for the season to see if either goes down.

[Kyle]

Re: New 3-pt Line Distance

Do you really think 3 feet is going to matter? How many 3-point shots were with guys "toe-ing the 3-point line?" Guys have been shooting "bombs" from well beyond that line for years.

Yes, people are going to still hoist up the 3-balls, but since the offenses that are predicated on the 3-ball will start farther out on the floor...there will be more room to operate in the lane. There will be more spacing. Can we at least agree on that?

It's actually moved back one foot, not three, and yes it will matter. If it didn't matter, the NCAA wouldn't have moved it. Players shoot from 2-3 feet behind the arc because the defense usually guards out to the 3-pt line, so to get an uncontested shot, oftentimes they have to be a couple feet beyond the 3-pt arc. Now the defenses will likely still guard up to the 3-pt line, but a shot 2-3 feet behind the arc will be like shooting it at 3-4 feet behind the arc last year.

I do agree that this will create more opportunities to drive and get rid of some congestion in the lane.

[Back2BackCats]

Re: New 3-pt Line Distance

The shooting percentage can only be affected if you get a shot off, which we were unable to do in several crucial situations last year.