KU three-point shot charts: Naadir Tharpe’s hot spot and other quirks

By Staff     Jan 2, 2013

Elijah Johnson

To get a better feel for the Kansas men’s basketball team’s long-range tendencies, I consulted CBSsports.com’s shot charts and marked down the location of each three-pointer taken by KU’s five most frequent outside shooters.

Green Xs are made threes, while red Xs are missed threes.

Let’s take a closer look.

Point guards
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• **Johnson’s made threes are distributed fairly evenly, though his go-to spot appears to be the left-side wing.** Half of the senior’s threes have come from that area (10-for-24 shooting, 41.7 percent).

Naadir Tharpe

• **Talk about a hot spot.** Tharpe thrives on the left side as well, but he’s best just the left of the circle. Tharpe is 8-for-8 in that location this year, but when he moves farther left down the perimeter, he’s 0-for-8. It’s a small sample size but interesting nonetheless.

Shooting guards/wings
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• **Releford appears to be most comfortable on the right wing, as he’s made six of nine shots from that location (66.7 percent).** Also notice that 21 of Releford’s 36 three-point tries have come from the right side (58 percent). He doesn’t appear to be a fan of shooting from the deep corners, attempting just three shots there while making none.

• **There’s not as much data yet for White, though I do find it interesting that 19 of his 22 three-point attempts have come in four distinct locations.** White also appears to like the straight-on shot, as five of his tries have come from that area (only Johnson has more).

• **Though I would have bet money a couple days ago that a majority of McLemore’s threes were from the corner (doesn’t it seem like that?), the shot chart shows that only four of his made threes have been from there.** The deep left corner might even be his most *inefficient* shot, as he’s just 3-for-12 in that location (25 percent). McLemore actually is best a few steps away from the left corner, where he’s made seven of 10 threes. The freshman doesn’t appear to have a glaring weakness, making a three on nearly every spot around the perimeter.

Travis Releford

Andrew White III

Ben McLemore

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