Never mind three-point shots; Kentucky basketball players practice ’four-pointers’
Kentucky freshman TyTy Washington arguably went to the outer limits when asked recently about his shooting range.
“I say my range is probably, like, one step in front of Curry,” he said.
Of course, that would be Steph Curry, who helped revolutionize NBA basketball by making the three-point shot a reliable offensive option. It’s not unusual for him to shoot from well behind the NBA three-point line, which is 23 feet, 9 inches from the basket at the top of the key and 22 feet away in the corners..
A quick glance at Kentucky’s practice floor suggests that shooting from beyond the college three-point line (22 feet, 1¾ inches) is part of workouts.
It’s called the “four-point line.” It’s said to be 29 feet from the basket and it’s reportedly on the practice courts of several NBA teams.
James “Bruiser” Flint, whose title is associate to the head coach, cited several reasons for there being a four-point line on UK’s practice court.
“Build confidence to shoot it when you’re out there,” he said. “And a lot of times people are not going to guard you out there.”
While a cynic might think there’s an obvious reason such a long-distance shot is unguarded, Flint added, “a lot of NBA teams, they do it. And we talked about it and we just have the confidence (for players) to shoot it.
“But you’ve got to practice it to be able to shoot it.”
The Philadelphia 76ers were the subject of a story three years ago about the four-point line. ESPN’s Malika Andrews quoted then-Sixers coach Brett Brown as saying shooting from the line was a just-in-case precaution.
“I call it ‘game-iffy,’” Brown said. “We ‘game-iffy’ in the gym.”
Shooting — and making shots — from the four-point distance would further (or is that farther?) discourage opponents from reducing driving opportunities by packing a defense closer to the basket.
When asked about the four-point line, Dontaie Allen smiled. Besides himself, he said teammates Davion Mintz, Kellan Grady and Washington regularly practice shooting from that distance.
“If you stand out there, no one is going to guard it,” he said. “And if you hit it consistently, then that’s a good shot for you.”
Grady, whose admiration for Curry led him to play for Davidson before transferring to UK, said he was comfortable shooting from 3 or 4 feet beyond the college three-point line. But Curry’s range might be out of reach.
“He’s unique in his own right,” Grady said. “There’s no one else in the world (that shoots from that distance), maybe Damian Lillard.
“But I’ll leave that to Steph.”
Longtime NBA coach Del Harris, who now is vice president of the G League’s Texas Legends, suggested a downside to Kentucky shooting a lot of four-pointers. It involved big man Oscar Tshiebwe.
“The way Oscar rebounds, he has a chance to get the shorter rebounds,” Harris wrote in a text message. “But the threes and beyond usually bounce out over his head. Long shots = long rebounds. Really long shots = you know what.”
Bottom line on the four-point line: Will Kentucky shoot from that distance this season?
Washington said such shots were “second nature to me.”
Added Allen: “We’ve done it all summer. So, it just becomes repetition in your mind.”
Flint smiled when asked how often UK players would shoot four-pointers in a game.
“Not that many,” he said. “Once in awhile, maybe to get that in the scheme of the game sometime. But I don’t see it being like a habit where we’re going to be shooting 45-footers.”
Super Bowl?
John Calipari likes to say that opponents consider a game against Kentucky as a Super Bowl.
Former Blue Devils guard JJ Redick, whom ESPN recently hired as an NBA analyst, was asked during a teleconference a few days earlier how Duke would view Tuesday’s opening game.
“In my experience, every game at Duke is a big game,” he said. “That’s the way Coach (Mike Krzyzewski) operates. … That’s something that was instilled in me as a freshman, and it’s one of the reasons that I was able to have the NBA career that I had. Because I learned that at Duke.
“I was around (Krzyzewski) for four years, and I never saw him have an off day. There’s a personal standard and a personal excellence that he brings every single day. He wants his teams to reflect that. …
“It doesn’t matter if we’re opening with Southwest Montana State or Kentucky at the Garden. It’s a Duke game. It’s a big game.
Routine victory?
Duke has now beaten Kentucky in five of the last six games they’ve played (and nine of the last 11).
So, if you thought Tuesday’s 79-71 Kentucky loss was a routine victory for Duke, Paolo Banchero would disagree.
When asked about the significance of the victory, Duke’s star freshman said, “Yeah, seeing that clock hit zero with us with more points than them was a relief, man. Like, we wanted to get this win, especially for Coach (Mike Krzyzewski) in this first game. It was a big game for us.”
Success vs. UK
To put Duke’s recent success against Kentucky in perspective, there have been eight instances of similar winning streaks since World War II.
In chronological order, Saint Louis won five of six in a span from 1960 to 1965, North Carolina won six of seven from 1965 to 1974 (a streak that extended to 10 of 12 by 1995), Indiana won five in a row from 1972 to 1975 (a streak that extended to six of seven by 1976), Tennessee won five in a row from 1975 to 1977, North Carolina also won six straight from 1976 to 1995, LSU won six of eight from 1978 to 1981, North Carolina won five in a row from 2005 to 2009 (a streak that extended to six of seven by 2011) and Vanderbilt won five of six from 2006 to 2008.
No UK nor Duke
Neither Kentucky nor Duke has played in the last five Final Fours.
That’s the longest span of Final Fours without UK and Duke since five straight beginning in 2005.
It’s only happened four other times: five straight beginning in 1979, five straight beginning in 1943, six straight beginning in 1952 and eight straight beginning in 1967.
Paisans?
John Calipari was in a light-hearted mood after Kentucky lost to Duke. Perhaps because it was the opening game and thus plenty of time for team improvement.
The UK coach talked about his extensive recruiting effort regarding Paolo Banchero, who ultimately signed with Duke and scored 22 points and tied for the team high of seven rebounds in the game.
“I hope he does well, and we play them again and he doesn’t play so well,” Calipari said as reporters chuckled. “His dad is Italian. He’s an Italian citizen. So am I. …
“And I still didn’t get him. I don’t know.”
Banchero has the benefit of athletic genes. His father, Mario Banchero, played football for the University of Washington. His mother, Rhonda, played basketball for the Huskies.
Pronunciation guide
According to Duke’s game notes, Paolo Banchero’s name is pronounced Paul-o Ban-CARE-oh.
Balancing act
How do coaches balance the work toward improved performance by teams and individual players against the need for patience?
“Most coaches don’t have much patience,” Robert Morris Coach Andy Toole said during a recent teleconference, “and crave performance.”
Happy birthday
To Brad Calipari. He turned 25 on Thursday. … To Ohio State Coach (and Kentucky native) Chris Holtmann. He turned 50 on Thursday. … To Jason Lathrem. He turned 45 on Friday. … To Jared Prickett. He turns 48 on Sunday (today). … To Twany Beckham. He turns 33 on Sunday (today). … To A.J. Stewart. He turns 33 on Sunday (today). … To TyTy Washington. He turns 19 on Monday. … To Karl-Anthony Towns. He turns 26 on Monday. … To Charles Matthews. He turns 25 on Monday. … To Clarence Tillman. He turns 61 on Monday. … To former Auburn coach Sonny Smith. He turns 85 on Monday. … To Alex Legion. He turns 33 on Tuesday. … To Syracuse Coach Jim Boeheim. He turns 77 on Wednesday.
