Creighton’s Ty-Shon Alexander likes the new 3-point line
The New 3-Point Line? Most in the BIG EAST Like It
By SEAN BRENNAN
Special to BIGEAST.com
Ty-Shon Alexander was grinning even before the question was finished being asked. The query was this: will the NCAA's decision to move the 3-point line back over a foot, from 20-feet, nine-inches to the current 22-feet, 1 inches, have a big impact on teams in the BIG EAST this season.
But Alexander, Creighton's superlative junior guard who led the Bluejays with 97 3-pointers last season, waited patiently for the question to be asked.
"Everybody knows we're ready to shoot it as soon as we cross halfcourt," Alexander said with a laugh. "It's not going to affect us much at all. We've been shooting it deeper in practice since they moved the line. So I don't think it's going to affect us at all to be honest."
And true to his word, Alexander then went out and shot 5-of-8 from 3-point range in the Bluejays' season-opening win over Kennesaw State.
But opinions varied as to what kind of impact the move will have with some coaches feeling some level of concern while players, well, no so much.
DePaul head coach Dave Leitao is one of those concerned coaches as his Blue Demons will be adjusting to the new 3-point line without the graduated Max Stus, who sank 113 3-pointers a year ago.
"I think the 3-point line moving back is a concern for a lot of coaches," said Leitao, who has the Blue Demons off to a 4-0 start to the season. "If you have a natural shooter such as Max, who shot the ball from long distances, it doesn't matter. (Seton Hall's) Myles Powell is not going to be affected by it. But guys who are used to shooting it at a certain distance, but who now have to move out and who are not natural shooters, it will be interesting to see what happens to them. So it's an overall concern of mine."
The play of Kansas-transfer Charlie Moore may calm Leitao's concerns a bit as he's sank 9-of-17 (52.0%) of his 3's through the Demons' first four games.
Georgetown head coach Patrick Ewing is all for the deeper 3-pointer, saying it will help those players who are looking to play professionally after college.
"I think it's great that they moved it back," said Ewing, who has the Hoyas off to a 2-0 start. "What kind of effect it will have, I'm not sure. Everybody has had time to practice with it and play with it so all the guys who are shooters will step up and make it. All of them want to get to the next level and at that next level the line is further back."
Like his coach, Georgetown's stellar sophomore guard James Akinjo is a proponent of the deeper 3-ball.
"I like it actually. I think it's going to help prepare me for the next level because at the next level the 3-point line is a little deeper," said Akinjo, who was tabbed as BIG EAST Freshman of the Year last season. "And shooting it deeper is something that I've been working on and I think it's going to help me and my team. The floor is going to be much more spaced when we play because the line is deeper so I like that, too."
Villanova's Collin Gillespie is another, like Alexander and Akinjo, who sees no problems with the new 3-point line.
"I think it's a small adjustment, just being moved back a little further," said Gillespie, who sank 3-of-7 from 3-point range in the Wildcats' season-opening win over Army. "I don't think it will affect me or anyone on our team. I don't really think about where my feet are on the court. I think the only thing that's different is the corners are a little bit shorter."
Villanova sank 12 3-balls in all in the win over Army with Cole Swider nailing 4-of-6 from long range.
Creighton head coach Greg McDermott thinks the distance change will affect some teams, especially at the start of the season. But for a Bluejays team that sank a school-record 372 3-pointers last season, it will more or less be business as usual.
"I think it will impact an average shooter more than it does a great shooter," said McDermott said. "These guys don't spend any time concentrating where they're standing on the floor because they have range well beyond that line anyway. So I don't think it impacts us. I didn't feel it in the NIT in the two games that we played (last March). It didn't have any impact on what we were trying to do. But on someone that's an average shooter it's certainly going to have an impact."
For some teams, the longer distance will change how they choose to defend the 3-ball.
"I think it will change the way you think defensively," McDermott said. "How you navigate some ball screens because of your positioning on the floor and the length of that shot. It's a little longer run to the post for teams that are double-teaming and that sort of thing. You've got to get back to the 3-point line on a great shooter. But I think there are some things defensively you're going to see teams do because the line is moved back a foot."
Marquette, it should be noted, played like it was oblivious to the line change in its season-opening victory over Loyola (Md.) as Markus Howard sank 7-of-10 from deep while newcomer Koby McEwen went 3-for-3 as the Golden Eagles bagged 14-of-23 (60.9%) from 3-point range in the win over the Greyhounds.
Still, there is at least one BIG EAST coach who thinks it would be just fine if the game was just left alone.
"I was a fan years ago of keeping the game where it was," Providence head coach Ed Cooley said. "I didn't think the game itself was very complicated. So you know, sometimes I think our rule makers and decision makers tinker with the game that can mess with it a little bit. But we as coaches have to adjust and we'll see what happens."