The three-point line is a crucial component of modern basketball. Its introduction to the college game in 1986 revolutionized the sport and opened new dimensions of strategy and play.
Teams that are proficient in shooting from beyond the arc can create more scoring opportunities, put pressure on their opponents' defense, and force them to make strategic adjustments.
When the best shooter in program history took over the helm as head coach at North Carolina, there was an expectation the Tar Heels would take more threes than in years past, and they have. Last season, Carolina attempted the most in the ACC with 916 and converted an impressive 35.8 percent.
That’s not to say UNC teams in the past weren’t potent from beyond the arch. But one of the issues with the 2023 version of the Heels is the long ball hasn’t been falling. Since 1986, Carolina has had eight teams average at least 20 three-point attempts per game. This season, however, is the first in which a team shooting that many threes isn’t knocking down at least 35 percent of its attempts.
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Actually, the Tar Heels are currently shooting 30.6 percent from outside, ranking them No. 322 in college basketball and last in the ACC, and dangerously close to becoming the worst three-point shooting team in program history.
And while North Carolina isn’t known historically for its three-point prowess, there are always some sharp-shooting Tar Heels sprinkled on every roster, this season has been different.
RJ Davis leads the Carolina starters in efficiency from range converting 34.3 percent. Davis is the only Tar Heel this season to get on a real hot stretch. At one point, the New York native was the leading the league in three-point percentage before reaggravating a finger injury, but largely Davis has been alone in consistent three-point production.
And obviously, when a team is shooting a low percentage from the perimeter, it can be traced back to its main contributors’ struggles. Currently, every starter in the Tar Heels’ lineup is shooting a lower percentage from three than the year before. On average, Carolina’s starters are shooting 7.7 percent worse than they did in the 2022 campaign.
“At the end of the day, we are going to have to be able to make some shots,” UNC Coach Hubert Davis said following his team’s 80-72 loss to Miami, where the Tar Heels shot 5-for-31 from three. “It is what it is. Before the Clemson game I know, percentage wise were the worst three-point shooting team in the ACC, so that’s never a good thing.”
In Hubert Davis’ first season, much of his offense was built around forcing defenses to choose between focusing on Armando Bacot or taking away the Heels’ looks from three.
“At the end of the day, what they were doing, we were trying to throw the ball to Armando,” the coach said. “Every defender from the weak side was in the lane with Armando, so all you can do is skip it, knock down the three.”
This season, UNC has made the decision much easier for its opponents, and the only way to keep other teams honest is for individual Tar Heels to shoot the ball the way they have in the past.
