I believe you can teach shooting ability. You can not teach quick twitch athletic ability. I would take Dunn over Sheppard, Filipowski, Knecht or a lot of those guys in front of him. Way more upside for Ryan.
Really hope he turns pro and doesn’t look back. He is ELITE on the defensive end, he’s a great kid, and will work incredibly hard to improve his deficiencies on the offensive end.
Go grab your bag RD.
Go HOOS. Please stay Elijah.
Dunn will go and get paid he should go and get paid. The upside of remaining at UVa is too small when there is money on the table to be had. The longer he remains in college the more the scouts watch the film and pick apart his game and realistically he’s not going to transform into a 35+% shooter from deep or a 50% shooter from 2 in the next year.
He’ll go, now if he’s still there in 4 years???..
Dunn shot over 60% from 2 both years.
What percentage of those 60% “shots” are this?
What percentage of those 60% made are this?
It felt like RD shot 100% on turnaround fadeaway jumpers. He just couldn’t hit any other kind of jumpshot
Because it didn’t require him to think. I’d much rather Dunn take a contested, end of shot clock heave thena 3 pointer with no one in the vicinity
Dunn airballed more than 6 free throws and airballed more 3pters than he made.
If teaching shooting were straightforward, why is basketball not awash with more excellent shooters? Why is the NBA G league full of dudes who are grinding all day every day but can’t shoot reliably enough on volume to make the league? Not at all trying to be combative on the point, I just think it’s an interesting discussion.
I mean, you definitely can teach shooting and you can improve it. I’ve just said before and I’ll say it again - I think a lot of folks way overestimate how straightforward it is to do.
My unpopular opinion is the time you can teach shooting is middle school and high school. By the time they’re in college, these dudes have too many reps with broken shots. Some exceptions will be able to change (maybe Dunn will be one of them) but most aren’t going to boost their percentage like 15 percentage points.
Side note: so did we just never try and fix Reece’s broken looking shot? There’s another example - if it was easy to do, it’d be a disservice to Reece’s professional future to not try and fix that wonky release. And yet four years later, here we are - his shot still looks as janky as ever and it’s going to hold him back professionally.
Great question about Reece, his motion has never visibly been tweaked. But I generally agree, yes shooting can be taught. But it does not mean that it’s easy to learn and it does not mean that an NBA team will wait you a player to develop that skill when there’s an influx of 40+ guys who are just as good or better every year.
I think there are 3 groups when it comes to shooting. The gifted that you can’t screw up, the normal majority who with enough work can become good but never great, and then the disadvantaged group who no amount of reps or coaching or therapy can help. Nobody worked harder on their shot than Jontel Evans, you see what that got him.
I like that idea of groups. Probably a better way to look at it.
Dunn is the first pick in the second round of ESPN’S 2024 NBA Mock Draft posted today.
That’s still a lucrative draft slot and should get him at or a bit more than $6 million guaranteed.
RD is in group 4 - you might be terrible but your defense, length, athleticism are high enough that we are willing to roll the dice because what else are we likely to get in this draft between 20-40.
Individual workouts are gonna be huge for him. I suspect he might be gone from grounds soon to start working out for the workouts.
Ryan could bet on himself. Fix his jump shot. Lottery pick.
In my eyes. It makes absolutely zero sense for him to come back. If he stays, he would have to split his time between basketball and school. If he goes, he could spend the entire time working on his shot, not have to worry about classes, and start the timer on his potential second contract a year earlier. I think if he wants to bet on himself, he’ll take the latter option and hope for the second contract, which would make the difference between 15th and 30th almost negligible. The only thing he’d have to worry about at that point would be getting a fair shot in the NBA and not getting sent down to the G-league, which could very well be the case if he struggles early on
I mostly agree here- which is why I’ve been pissed At Reece’s highschool coach for not fixing his shot when he knew for 2 years atleast that Reece was a high major. As a highschool coach they could have had bragging rights if Reece developed more so.
Couldn’t agree more but you also have to possess shooting talent to be a reliable shooter in college. So, teach them early the proper form and practice habits and if they are born with touch … they can be a very good shooter. Beauty is skin deep but “bad shooter” goes all the way to the bone.
Reece’s form is that of a middle schooler who has to lean over to his left to hoist the shot from distance. Unfortunately, Beeks never shook that habit and then throw in the fact that he fades sideways on most of his midrange shots.
Shooting is lots and lots and lots and lots of repetitions and work. It is not working with a trainer on your dribble in out step back move or whatever. It is shooting over and over
I think this is why you see so many NBA bigs that end up shooting and making 3s (Karl Anthony Towns). You are at your job all day and have lotta time to work on it and everybody likes to make a 3
RD was a really good shooter before his huge growth spurt. I bet you he finds it in the next year or two
And best way to do that is to go to the NBA now IMO