Kansas Basketball Takeaway No. 3: Three-Point Shooting Could Once Again be the Downfall of the Jayhawks
Last season, the Jayhawks struggled to find consistent perimeter shooters outside of Gradey Dick. In five of their eight losses, they shot below 30% from behind the arc. It appears as if those issues might carry over to this season, as well.
Including the games in Puerto Rico, they have failed to eclipse the 30% mark in four of their five exhibition games. I do think that part of the early struggles could be due to the step up in competition for a number of the players. Nicolas Timberlake, Parker Braun, and the freshmen are all playing on the brightest stages of their lives, so it could take them a little while to get their footing.
If Timberlake can shoot like he has up to this point in his college career, along with McCullar already showing an improvement, that would be a huge development for this team. If there are multiple threats on the floor around Dickinson, it will be much more difficult for teams to double down when he gets the ball in the post. That would be a very, very good thing for the Jayhawks.