180 Club Shooters: Breaking Down the Best in College Basketball

This article is the 4th of a series from Jordan Petersen of our partners at Positionless Basketball. Read the others here. We are very fortunate to work with Coach Petersen as he has tremendous experience as a basketball coach, trainer, and player at different levels.

You can also check out different basketball drills from Jordan in the Dish Lab here!

A 180 shooter is a player whose combined field goal percentage, 3 point percentage and free throw percentage equals up to 180 or more.  No matter what level you are at, the 180 club is an unbelievable accomplishment with only elite shooters in the club. In major college basketball there are only two players who qualified with a couple others near misses like Jalen Brunson and Dakota Mathias.  The two players in major college basketball who qualified are Sam Hauser of Marquette and Mikal Bridges of Villanova. There were 5 mid major players who qualified and they are Connor Burchfield of William & Mary, Andre Wolford of St. Francis (PA), Anthony Mathis of New Mexico, Sam Merrill of Utah State and Fletcher Magee of Wofford.  To say the least, these guys can flat out shoot the ball.

Sam Hauser

Hauser came into college basketball as a knock down shooter and has lived up to the hype.  At one point in the year Hauser was close to an even more elite club, the 50-40-90 club (50% from the field, 40% from 3 and 90% from FT).  Hauser finished the year at 49.9 FG%, 48.7 3P% and 83.6 FT%.   This puts him just over 180 at 182.2.  There is no doubt Hauser is one of the best shooters in the country and he does it in a variety of ways.

Overall Shot

Hauser has picture perfect form and every shot he takes looks like it is going to go in.  The two biggest takeaways from Hauser’s shot is his shot prep and balance. On every shot he is always on balance, taking off on two feet, and landing on two feet.  This helps with consistency on his shot and it is shown in his numbers. Hauser is always ready to shoot and his feet are quick to the floor and this allows him to quickly go up into his shot.  He utilizes both the 1-2 and hop into his catch depending on the situation. If he is on the move he tends to utilize the hop and if he is set, he typically uses the 1-2.

Catch and shoot

One of the main ways that Hauser shows off his elite level shooting is in catch and shoot situations.  His shot prep allows him to allows be shot ready and quickly get his shot off. One thing you will notice is how well he spaces off of his teammates drives.  This creates more space for his teammates to drive and stresses the defense to either help on the drive or stay locked onto Hauser.

Screen and Pop

Coach Wojo utilizes Hauser in the screening game often using him as a ball screener or in pin downs and other off ball screens.  After Hauser sets the screen he pops and finds space. With Hauser as the screener it makes it extremely difficult for the defense to defend.  Does the defense give help off of the screen and leave Hauser open or do they stay on Hauser and risk giving up and straight line drive/curl?

Mid Post

Hauser isn’t just a 3 point shooter.  When he gets a smaller defender on him, he takes them into the mid post where he can use his size and advanced footwork to create his own shot.  His favorite move in the mid post is the turn around jumper, but also utilizes shot fakes and pivots to finish at the rim.

Check out Sam Hauser’s shooting breakdown below:

Mikal Bridges

Bridges is known as a long athletic defender who can do a variety of things offensively.  Over the last 3 years he has developed into a knock down shooter. Throughout the NCAA tournament he knocked down big shot after big shot and was a mismatch nightmare.  Bridges finished the year at 51.4 FG%, 43.5 3P% and 85.1 FT%.

Overall Shot

Bridges length, skill and athleticism allows him to get off his shot in a variety of ways.  After watching Mikal Bridges shoot you will immediately notice his consistency on his form. His footwork, release and follow through are all the same on every single rep.  What separates Bridges is his ability to consistently shoot at all three levels (3, mid range & at the rim).

Catch and Shoot

Majority of Bridges 3 point attempts come from catch and shoot situations.  Like Hauser, he uses both the 1-2 and the hop depending on if he is stationary or on the move.  Bridges ability to get his feet set quickly allows him to get his shot off quickly. As the ball is in the air, Bridges feet are in the air and when he catches the ball his feet are set and is ready to go up into his shot.  

Midrange

Much like his teammate, Jalen Brunson, Bridges footwork in his pull up and midrange game is textbook.  If he is dribbling left he always steps right-left and if he is dribbling right he always steps left-right into his shot.  His athleticism and length allow him to pull up and shoot over shorter defenders and even defenders who have size. Within the midrange area, Bridges also uses a step back and punch drag move to create separation for his shot.

Finishing

Bridges athleticism and length help make him an elite level finisher as seen by his FG%.  He has the ability to rise up and finish at the rim with authority when in space or through contact.  Another way he finishes at the rim is with an extended finish. This allows him to shield off defenders and extend the ball out so it does not get blocked.  

Check out Mikal Bridges shooting breakdown below:

Once again, we'd like to thank Jordan for his contributions to us at Dr. Dish Basketball but also the basketball coaching industry as a whole! Stay tuned for more great stuff coming from Jordan.

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