Illinois Basketball: Illini are about to change from three-point range

I think it is fair to say the Illinois basketball team hasn’t been known as one of the elite three-point shooting programs in the country for quite some time.

Yes, once a long time ago, the Illini had someone named Cory Bradford who could light it up from beyond the three-point arc. But, over the past 10 seasons, things have hit a lull when it comes to scoring from deep.

Three-point woes for the Illinois basketball program

Looking back at the past 10 seasons of Illinois basketball, so the oldest season being the 2011-12 campaign, you will see wildly inefficient three-point shooting.

In nine out of the 10 seasons, Illinois failed to crack the top 100 in three-point percentage. In five of the 10 seasons, we weren’t even in the top 250 in the nation in three-point shooting.

When you aren’t making the three-point shot, you would think the team would start doing something else. The three-point shot totals would start decreasing because, clearly, that isn’t a strength. That wasn’t the case, though.

In three of the 10 seasons, Illinois was in the top 100 in three-point shots attempted. One example is 2012-13, where Illinois attempted 24.1 three-pointers per game, which ranked No. 9 in the nation. They only hit 31.8-percent of those three-pointers, which ranked No. 259 in the nation. That is inefficiency at its max.

The current regime under Brad Underwood has started to turn the tides a little bit on three-point efficiency, though. In his first year with the Illini, the team was No. 158 in attempts and No. 263 in percentage. Those numbers have continued to creep closer each season.

In 2018-19, Illinois ranked No. 147 in three-pointers attempted and No. 165 in three-point percentage. The following season, the Illini ranked No. 301 in attempts and No. 311 in percentage. It all added up to this past season where Illinois was the most efficient I have ever seen the program.

The Illini only attempted 17.6 three-pointers per game, which ranked No. 310 in the nation. That isn’t a good number, but what is extremely impressive is that Illinois was making those 17.6 three-pointers at a clip of 37.2-percent, which ranked No. 30 in the nation. That is optimal efficiency.

Illinois basketball is about to change from three-point range

The number of three-point shots was down last season to the lowest point in the last decade. But I wouldn’t expect that to last too long, as Illinois has a team loaded with three-point talent this season.

Let’s go over who is returning. Trent Frazier is back, and he took the most three-point shots on the team last season. He hit those shots at a clip of 36.2-percent. That is a solid shooting percentage, but it only gets better from here.

Da’Monte Williams is also back. He was third on the team in three-point shots and was 54.7-percent from behind the arc. Jacob Grandison is returning as well, and while he didn’t shoot at a high volume – 1.4 three-pointers per game – he was able to covert his shots at a clip of 41.5-percent.

What I am most excited about is the additions to the Illinois program. Illinois has added four high volume and high conversion rate three-point shooters to the mix.

Alfonso Plummer is coming in from Utah as a transfer. He put up 6.7 three-pointers per game last season and was making 38.3-percent of his shots. Austin Hutcherson will get a chance to suit up for the Illini. In his final season with Wesleyan, he was shooting 6.64 three-pointers per game and converting at a clip of 39.2-percent.

Those two have experience at the college level, but let’s not forget about the young guns coming in. Luke Goode had a great senior season for Homestead. He shot 7.12 three-pointers per game and was making 40-percent of those deep balls. Brandin Podziemski is joining Goode in Champaign. The Wisconsin Mr. Basketball shot an incredible 9.00 three-pointers per game and was hitting those shots at a clip of 43-percent.

Illinois basketball isn’t known to be a three-point dominant team. That is all about to change, though. Underwood has recruited a great group of snipers who will all be able to fill up the stat sheet. We are going to go from a team that pummels you inside the paint to a team that buries you from three-point range. Sit back and enjoy, Illini fans, this should be a fun season ahead.