Veteran observers of N.C. State basketball were a bit surprised by what they saw.
Not once, not twice, but frequently enough to be described as repeatedly, junior Scott Wood ran a quick curl, caught a pass, and immediately launched a shot against Maryland. Most of these mid-range jumpers went in.
The surprise was not that Wood made the shots. It was that he took them at all.
Wood was 5 of 6 on 2-pointers against the Terps en route to scoring 19 points. He actually took more shots from within the 3-point arc than beyond.
It was the first time all year the Indiana sharpshooter tried more twos than threes.
In fact it was only the sixth game in 82 as a college player that Wood did not rely predominantly on long-range marksmanship. Nearly three quarters of his career field goal attempts (.736) have been threes. (Wood also is masterful at the foul line â he hasnât missed since last season and is within striking distance of J.J. Redickâs ACC record of 54 consecutive free throws made while at Duke.)
That predilection for the bonusphere is hardly unique to the 6-6 wing from Indiana. Among ACC veterans also chronically dependent upon dialing long distance are Boston College walk-on John Cahill, Duke wing Andre Dawkins, and FSU guard Deividas Dulkys.
The recent master of this unbalanced, or rather specialized, statistical profile was Miami's Adrian Thomas.
Over the course of six seasons (he red-shirted due to different injuries in 2007 and 2008) Thomas took 81.6 percent of his shots from 3-point range. The dichotomy was even more pronounced last year, as just a shade under 88 percent of Thomas' shots came from afar.
That bests anyone active in the ACC this season, although BC's Cahill, son of the well-regarded game official, comes close. (Incidentally, John Cahill The First is not permitted to officiate his son's games.)
Of nine ACC players trying more threes than twos in 2011-12, five are returnees and four are freshmen.
| THREELY TAKEN Players Taking Highest Percentage Of Their Shots From 3-Point Range, Last Two Seasons (2012 Season Through Games of Jan. 10) |
||||||
| 3FGA as Pct. FGA |
3FG-All FG | Player, School | Year | 3 Pct | . 3FG-3FGA | FG-FGA |
| .879 | 239-272 | Adrian Thomas, Mi | 2011 | .389 | 93-239 | 105-272 |
| .848 | 28-33 | John Cahill, BC | 2012 | .464 | 13-28 | 16-33 |
| .809 | 76-94 | Danny Rubin, BC | 2011 | .434 | 33-76 | 40-94 |
| .771 | 172-223 | Scott Wood, NS | 2011 | .419 | 72-172 | 96-223 |
| .7654 | 62-81 | Lonny Jackson, BC | 2012 | .452 | 28-62 | 35-81 |
| .7647 | 65-85 | Chase Fischer, WF | 2012 | .338 | 22-65 | 32-85 |
| .758 | 25-33 | John Cahill, BC | 2011 | .520 | 13-25 | 16-33 |
| .754 | 89-118 | Scott Wood, NS | Â 2012 | .461 | 41-89 | 58-118 |
| .747 | 74-99 | Sammy Zeglinski, V | 2012 | .419 | 41-74 | 41-99 |
| .747 | 74-99 | P.J. Hairston, NC | 2012 | .365 | 27-74 | 36-99 |
| .735 | 36-49 | Terry Whisnant, FS | 2012 | .306 | 11-36 | 17-49 |
| .721 | 64-150 | Andre Dawkins, D | 2011 | .427 | 64-150 | 100-208 |
| .718 | 56-78 | Deividas Dulkys, FS | 2012 | .321 | 18-56 | 31-78 |
| .703 | 71-101 | Andre Dawkins, D | 2012 | .380 | 27-71 | 42-101 |
| .702 | 150-208 | Deividas Dulkys, FS | 2011 | .427 | 64-150 | 100-208 |
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