Jacobs On The Decline Of The Three

Team accuracy on 3-pointers is in decline.

Only once since 1996 has a league squad executed sufficiently well from long-range to rank among the historic leaders using the current shot, which was instituted for the 1986-87 season. And that recent exception, North Carolina’s 2005 national champions, was only good enough to rank 14th. The ’05 Tar Heels made 40.3 percent of their bonusphere attempts.

Early returns from this season are more promising. The present Maryland squad, which employs the three sparingly in the Gary Williams tradition, is converting at a pace that threatens to break easily into the historical elite. Through nine games the ’06 Terrapins made 43.3 percent of their 3-pointers.

ZEROING IN

The decline in 3-point efficiency appears to reflect several changing factors – defenses continue to improve at contesting the shot, and teams allow a broader array of shooters, many lacking in proficiency, to fire away.

The percent of shots and points derived from beyond the arc has changed little in a decade, based on periodic peeks at ACC use of 3-pointers. Conference teams try about 60 field goals per game (59.7 in 1995, 59.0 in 2005), of which somewhat less than a third are threes. Overall league accuracy from the bonusphere has dropped, however, from .367 in ’95 to .358 last season.