Lost Art of the Mid-range Game -by Coach Brian Schofield http://www.hoopskills.com
Believe it or not, but there was a time when high school and college basketball did not have a 3 point line. It seems strange but when I was growing up you had to get fouled while making a shot to get a chance at a true 3 point play. In the mid 80's the rule was changed to allow 3 point baskets and with it started the demise of the mid-range jump shot. What you have to understand is how the 3 pointer truly changed the game completely. It went from an inside game to an outside game almost over-night. The true theory on basketball before was to take the shot closest to the basket and that resulted in big players who could put the ball in the basket with ease. When the 3 point shot was born all that changed and players had to be guarded far away from the basket. This opened up the lane and really made it more of a balanced game but it messed things up for coaches. To understand it completely you have to really look at the math of it. 50% on 2pointers is equal to 40% on 3-pointers. So if a team makes 6 2-pointers, they only have to make 4 3-pointers to equal the points. They could score more points per possession and that had a lot of coaches questioning the validity of the 18-footer for only 2 points.
1 Lost Art of the Mid-Range Game-hoopskills.com