Thought this was interesting regarding Ulis 3 point shooting

[The_Answer1313]

From the SI Power Rankings.......there was a little blurb on Ulis and his shooting

http://www.si.com/college-basketbal...kings-michigan-state-oklahoma-kansas-maryland


KENTUCKY WILDCATS

LAST WEEK: 6
RECORD: 9–1
Point guard Tyler Ulis hasn’t been the long-range weapon for the Wildcats that he was last season, when he shot 42.9% from deep; he’s made just 28.2% of his threes thus far. Has Ulis just hit a cold streak, or has something changed?

As a freshman, 36% of Ulis’s shots in halfcourt situations were off the catch, and he scored an amazing 1.55 points per attempt, according to Synergy Sports Technology. As a sophomore, 28.6% of his shots in halfcourt situations are off the catch, and he’s scoring just 0.41 points per attempt. We’re still in the very-small-sample stage, but I’m curious if this huge change is, in some way, a result of how he’s getting his catch-and-shoot three feeds. Last season, Kentucky had post-up scoring threats in Karl Anthony-Towns, Trey Lyles, Dakari Johnson and (sometimes) Willie Cauley-Stein who could attract defenders and kick the ball out to the perimeter; this season, UK’s one frontcourt scoring threat, Skal Labissiere, is more of a face-up operator. I watched all 22 of Ulis’s catch-and-shoot attempts on film and just one has come on a post-up kick-out; all the others came on passes from fellow guards.


So maybe that's part of the reason he's not shooting as well.

 

[Ugoff]

I'd say there's some validity to that. Also Ulis usually winds up with the ball when the shot clock is winding down, and has taken some late 3 pt shots that he wouldn't ordinarily take.

 

[Bluegrass79]

That's exactly what his problem is. Good find. He shoots better on the post kickout. I'd avoid taking 3's from guards if I was him,.

 

[Joneslab]

I'd say there's some validity to that. Also Ulis usually winds up with the ball when the shot clock is winding down, and has taken some late 3 pt shots that he wouldn't ordinarily take.

Yes. Also seems to be kind of "between" a lot of times, i.e. caught between being a true point guard and setting things up for other people and being a scorer. Could be psychological.

I think this happened to Booker last year and maybe is happening to Jamal Murray this season a little. The between-state of driving or shooting is a big deal. A lot of times (particularly at UCLA) you can see Murray's thought process as he has the ball. Saw a lot of that from Booker last year. Cal clearly wants them to set up the drive first to open up the outside game, but it's a tough balance and I think causes some of these players to think rather than play.

 

[UKCATSFREAK]

From the SI Power Rankings.......there was a little blurb on Ulis and his shooting

http://www.si.com/college-basketbal...kings-michigan-state-oklahoma-kansas-maryland


KENTUCKY WILDCATS

LAST WEEK: 6
RECORD: 9–1
Point guard Tyler Ulis hasn’t been the long-range weapon for the Wildcats that he was last season, when he shot 42.9% from deep; he’s made just 28.2% of his threes thus far. Has Ulis just hit a cold streak, or has something changed?

As a freshman, 36% of Ulis’s shots in halfcourt situations were off the catch, and he scored an amazing 1.55 points per attempt, according to Synergy Sports Technology. As a sophomore, 28.6% of his shots in halfcourt situations are off the catch, and he’s scoring just 0.41 points per attempt. We’re still in the very-small-sample stage, but I’m curious if this huge change is, in some way, a result of how he’s getting his catch-and-shoot three feeds. Last season, Kentucky had post-up scoring threats in Karl Anthony-Towns, Trey Lyles, Dakari Johnson and (sometimes) Willie Cauley-Stein who could attract defenders and kick the ball out to the perimeter; this season, UK’s one frontcourt scoring threat, Skal Labissiere, is more of a face-up operator. I watched all 22 of Ulis’s catch-and-shoot attempts on film and just one has come on a post-up kick-out; all the others came on passes from fellow guards.


So maybe that's part of the reason he's not shooting as well.

Great find OP! This makes tons of sense and was actually thinking about this the other day. It seems like last year he was on the receiving end of a lot of kick outs and that's just not happening this year. Those kick outs usually led to wide open shots for Ulis.

 

[BBUK]

Good stuff, thanks OP (and commentary....so far. )

 

[The_Answer1313]

Side note, it would be totally awesome if Synergy let the public use their data.

Tho I'd probably never leave my laptop if that happened lol

 

[BlueBomb]

That is a fabulous point.

 

[K_TIME]

Could be a good find...but Ullis has missed some wide open 3pt shots this season that have me puzzled as to what's the problem. Personally, some of his 3's are coming off of penetration and kick from Briscoe/Murray...I don't see the big difference if it's a kick out from a post or a drive and kick...both passes are coming from the paint area mostly.

It is dis-concerting how wide open some of his misses are...he's been all alone on quite a few and fails to drop them.

 

[TrustinCal]

I thought this was pretty obvious? Helps a 5'9" guy get a good shot when he has multiple lotto picks teams have to worry about down in the paint. I expected a drop in his percentage, but not this low. It will near high 30's before the year is over.

 

[hoodro]

Could be a good find...but Ullis has missed some wide open 3pt shots this season that have me puzzled as to what's the problem. Personally, some of his 3's are coming off of penetration and kick from Briscoe/Murray...I don't see the big difference if it's a kick out from a post or a drive and kick...both passes are coming from the paint area mostly.

It is dis-concerting how wide open some of his misses are...he's been all alone on quite a few and fails to drop them.

Kind of what I was thinking. A wide open catch and shoot is a wide open catch and shoot. Not sure if it really makes a difference if the kick out pass is coming from a post player or a guard.

 

[weatherbird]

Kind of what I was thinking. A wide open catch and shoot is a wide open catch and shoot. Not sure if it really makes a difference if the kick out pass is coming from a post player or a guard.

Well, it does matter. Sometimes I think the whole chemistry and experience thing is overblown, but in this case it has merit. Almost all shooters are rhythm shooters, and it matters where the ball is coming from, because it affects your rhythm. It is no different than what coaches tell players all the time about free throw shooting, make sure that you do the same thing every time you go to shoot a free throw. The reason it is easier to shoot on a kick out from the post is because of focus. There is very little movement required to lock in on the target, and in many cases, shooters don't even wait to have the ball in their hands to focus on the rim. Players try to shoot using the same shooting motion, meaning that the longer it takes for the player to bring the target into focus, the less time a player has to maintain that focus, and ultimately, the less time the player has to adjust his shot before the release.

 

[hoodro]

@weatherbird
I'm not talking about where the pass is coming from. I'm talking about who the pass is coming from. I'm talking about a guard driving and kicking the ball out. The pass is still coming from the lane, but instead of a post player passing the ball out, it is a guard passing the ball the out.

Again, not sure it really matters which position a player plays when kicking the ball out for a wide open catch and shoot.

 

[Xception]

Ulis has always played at a tempo that benefitted him best , something changed starting at the ucla game . For the first time he was forcing it in that game and playing at a hectic tempo for him . This was at the beginning of that game as well , so it wasn't catch up mode that initiated the pace . It has continued to a lesser degree after that game , imo he needs to slow it down a little bit and get back to making sound decisions that make him great at execution .

 

[Bkocats]

Ulis has always played at a tempo that benefitted him best , something changed starting at the ucla game . For the first time he was forcing it in that game and playing at a hectic tempo for him . This was at the beginning of that game as well , so it wasn't catch up mode that initiated the pace . It has continued to a lesser degree after that game , imo he needs to slow it down a little bit and get back to making sound decisions that make him great at execution .

To take it a step further - I wonder if he's added some pressure to himself. We (fans and media, and even coaches) all made such a big deal of him being out for ISU - and the team play reflected it. I have to think he might have taken that a little too much to heart. Might have gotten into his head that the team has to have him to win. Not selfishly, mind you; but he was probably not ready to come back for the UCLA game. It was obvious Tyler wasn't 100%, but he pushed it, and had a not-so-great game. It's thrown him off a bit since. - ugh, having a really hard time conveying my meaning here. My apologies if this makes little to no sense.

 

[Aike]

Could be something, could be nothing. 22 kickouts isn't a big enough sample size to draw definitive conclusions.

My opinion is that he is shooting poorly as a result of having more duties on his plate than he did last year.

I like the idea of putting the ball in Briscoe's hands more as the season wears on. Let him run downhill. Side screen/roll with Skal. Ulis and Murray spot while Poy or Lee crash.

One caveat being that Briscoe has to make his free throws.

 

[Joneslab]

One caveat being that Briscoe has to make his free throws.

Another being that as we go along, what's inevitably going to happen with Briscoe is that the defender is going to lay off by 15 feet and be waiting in the lane. The guy's so spectacular of a driver that he can still score, but it still makes it difficult on everybody else when they can slough that hard.

But right now, through 10, our best player has been Briscoe. I think he's the best freshman perimeter defender Cal has had.

 

[Aike]

Another being that as we go along, what's inevitably going to happen with Briscoe is that the defender is going to lay off by 15 feet and be waiting in the lane. The guy's so spectacular of a driver that he can still score, but it still makes it difficult on everybody else when they can slough that hard.

But right now, through 10, our best player has been Briscoe. I think he's the best freshman perimeter defender Cal has had.

This is true, but Briscoe is one of those guys who finds a way to sliver through a three inch crack.

Obviously a lot of our issues would vanish if Briscoe became a knockdown jump shooter.

 

[BBUK]

To take it a step further - I wonder if he's added some pressure to himself. We (fans and media, and even coaches) all made such a big deal of him being out for ISU - and the team play reflected it. I have to think he might have taken that a little too much to heart. Might have gotten into his head that the team has to have him to win. Not selfishly, mind you; but he was probably not ready to come back for the UCLA game. It was obvious Tyler wasn't 100%, but he pushed it, and had a not-so-great game. It's thrown him off a bit since. - ugh, having a really hard time conveying my meaning here. My apologies if this makes little to no sense.

Yeah...don't ramble...

 

[The_Answer1313]

I think another factor that gets somewhat ignored is the platoon system itself last season.

With most players as their usage goes up, their efficiency goes down. So it was expect to see a drop off from his numbers from last season.

 

[K_TIME]

One thing that people want to overlook..is Ullis main trait that holds him back in HS rankings as well as NBA potential...5'9 is what it is. I still see some wide open looks that have nothing to do with his height but he can't just get in the lane and pull up...his shot gets effected due to his lack of length. I think some of his end of clock shots get effected by his lack of height.

Ullis is a gutsy kid...but he needs volume shooters/scorers around him to flourish...right now on this team only Murray is a potential volume shooter/finisher. When he pick and rolls with Lee/Skal/Poythress, etc..teams just can lay back on that combo as none can do much...I think last years team had better skills to make Ullis a better player. THis year's team simply isn't as talented offensively.

 

[Joneslab]

I think another factor that gets somewhat ignored is the platoon system itself last season.

With most players as their usage goes up, their efficiency goes down. So it was expect to see a drop off from his numbers from last season.

This is undoubtedly true, but then again Ulis is missing so many easy shots early in games.

 

[The_Answer1313]

This is undoubtedly true, but then again Ulis is missing so many easy shots early in games.

Of course. I mean there's really no one set reason and some of it is simply small sample. He'll go back up somewhat.

 

[AnarchoNeoLuddite]

Ahh, good shooters make shots they are not at mercy to being set up or shooting in particular instances.

 

[bucsrule8872]

Interesting. Hopefully, he will adjust if this is the case.

 

[CalsKingdom8]

I came here just to see if bostoncat had posted yet.