Too easy? Just move it back.
We are now 28 games into ACC action (and the ACC remains undefeated), but let's take a second and see how one of the most covered offseason topics has affected the game this season.
The NCAA ruled this offseason that the line get moved back one foot from 19'9" to 20'9". Let's see what affect this has had on shooting percentages so far...
| Year | 3P Made | 3P Attempted | 3P % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 1797 | 5262 | 34.15 |
| 2005 | 2227 | 6418 | 34.69 |
| 2006 | 2154 | 6430 | 33.49 |
| 2007 | 3827 | 10938 | 34.98 |
| 2008 | 3904 | 11147 | 35.02 |
| 2009 | 334 | 1039 | 32.14 |
* Note our 2004-2006 data only considers ACC non-conference play.
First, shooting percentages are down 3 % from last year, so increasing the distance of the shot has had an effect. Of course that wasn't the goal of the committee, was it?
The goal was to decrease the usage of the 3 point shot, so let's take a look there...
| Year | 3P Attempted | FG Attempted | 3P Att % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 5262 | 16126 | 32.63 |
| 2005 | 6418 | 19359 | 33.15 |
| 2006 | 6430 | 20168 | 31.88 |
| 2007 | 10938 | 34294 | 31.89 |
| 2008 | 11147 | 34512 | 32.29 |
| 2009 | 1039 | 3360 | 30.92 |
* Note our 2004-2006 data only considers ACC non-conference play.
Once again, we do see a slight decrease in the usage of the shot, but not a significant one.
So, was the change necessary? I'll leave that one for you to discuss. Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
