What You Should Know about UofL for Dec 20th
UofL had their best 3 point shooting game of the year against Kent State, hitting 9 of 18 shots from deep. That's impressive, but What You Should Know is that UofL's 3 point success this season has been tied to a player who is only 3 for 18 on 3 pointers: VJ King. But before I explain, here are the stats profiles for the Kent State game and the season to date:
UofL Stats Profile vs Kent State
UofL Stats Profile: Season to date through Dec 15
What You Should Know: For the season, UofL is shooting 46% on 3 pointers when VJ King is in the game, and 31% when he sits. In fact, UofL's 3 point shooting has been better in every game except Marquette when King is in the game:
This is despite the fact that King has the worst 3 point shooting percentage on the team, at 17% (3 for 18).
What Is Happening? First of all, this isn't caused by King playing more time with UofL's best shooters. Dwayne Sutton is leading UofL at 42% from deep; about 55% of King's minutes have been alongside Sutton, but Sutton has played in 96% of the minutes when King sits. Ryan McMahon is probably UofL's best shooter by reputation; 54% of King's minutes have been alongside McMahon, and McMahon has played in 51% of the minutes when King sits.
In fact, UofL's shooters nearly all shoot better from 3 point range when they play alongside Vj King, some significantly so:
Given King's struggles from the outside, you'd think that teams would sag off of him and challenge opposing shooters more, making it harder for teammates to shoot from deep, not easier. But that's not what's happening.
What's happening is two subtle effects from how King plays, which are helping to open the court for his teammates. First, King is a very good defensive rebounder, collecting over 18% of the opponent's misses (per KenPom.com). When King gets a defensive rebound, he can and does lead the fast break. This leads to higher quality looks in transition for UofL. UofL is 12 for 27 (44%) on 3 pointers in the first 10 seconds of the shot clock when King is in the game, compared to 16 for 44 (36%) on the same shots when he sits. Second, one of King's strengths is his willingness to drive with the ball. He's able to get into the lane, draw attention, and kick the ball to the perimeter. This usually forces the defense to scramble, which leads to quality 3 point attempts. The other UofL player who does this well is Darius Perry, and the team's shooting improves with their skills. With King and Perry in the game, UofL shoots 46% on 3 pointers; with neither of them in, they shoot a pitiful 24%. While Perry is a solid 10-25 (40%) from deep himself, UofL's shooting with King is in spite of his wayward 3-18 performance on 3 pointers.
What Does This Mean? Because UofL plays undersized lineups, they need to be accurate from deep as often as possible. In order to get good looks from deep, they need the driving skills of King and Perry. Even though VJ King is plainly not a good shooter from deep, and is not having a productive offensive season statistically, UofL is having a lot of success when he plays because of his hard work in opening the floor to get good shots for his teammates on the fast break and in the halfcourt. VJ King is a textbook example of the adage that "some things he does don't show up in the box score". UofL should continue to give him solid minutes, even if he struggles to create his own offense.
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