A More Accurate Way To Look At Three Point Shooting

You have to make 2.5 bonus baskets per game to qualify for official NCAA leadership in 3-point accuracy. The ACC follows that standard which, as we’ve mentioned before, proves too narrow a measure to get the true gauge of the field of conference sharpshooters.

In 2020 a single player, Syracuse’s Buddy Boeheim, qualified officially for ACC leadership in 3-point accuracy. Last season the official universe of ACC 3-point shooting leaders grew by one, with Boeheim trailing only Virginia’s Sam Hauser, now gone to the basketball beyond.

Among returning league marksmen who appeared regularly for their teams in 2021 Boeheim’s .383 acuity ranked 10^th-best.

Of course none of the ACC bombardiers with higher bonusphere accuracy came within 46 attempts of Boeheim, a difference of about two per game, so comparisons are not fair. But they are instructive.

Added to the chart listing leaders this season is a two-year percentage from long range.

The longer span highlights opponents’ need to heed Hunter Cattoor of Virginia Tech, Clemson’s Alex Hemenway, and Georgia Tech’s Michael Devoe. All are above combined 41 percent accuracy over the past two seasons, posing a consistently danger.

Devoe already has caught everyone’s attention. He and fellow senior Boeheim were the only All-ACC picks among the best long-distance dialers.

Devoe, his team’s top returning scorer (15.0 average), won the Everett Case Award as the MVP in the Yellow Jackets’ surprise capture of the ’21 ACC Tournament championship.

Wertz, who joined Notre Dame last season from Santa Clara, also made opponents take notice in the ACC Tournament. The Charlotte product hit a looong, game-winning three off a pass to beat the buzzer in an 80-77 Irish win over Wake Forest in the event’s opening round.

Cattoor was one of two Hunters who ranked among the ACC’s best at taking a 3-point turn, and one of two Hokies along with Nahlem Alleyne.

Clemson, hardly known for its perimeter punch, returns a trio of the ACC’s most limitedly effective long-range shooters.