St. John's needs misfiring Brady Dunlap to heat up on three-pointers
St. John's forward Brady Dunlap (44) controls the ball against Wagner guard Ja'Kair Sanchez (3) during the second half at Carnesecca Arena on Wednesday, Nov 13, 2024. Credit: Brad Penner
The NCAA adopted the three-point shot for the 1986-87 season and Providence was one of the first programs to make it a strategic centerpiece. Coach Rick Pitino’s Friars took 30% of their shots outside the arc and made 42% of them on their way to reaching the Final Four.
Since he took over at St. John’s, Pitino has talked of wanting his teams to make a high percentage on three-pointers and how well the Red Storm would perform on the arc this season was a big question. And for the first half-dozen games, due in large part to Brady Dunlap, it didn’t appear like it would be an issue.
St. John’s was off to a 5-1 start, the sophomore guard was 10-for-19 on three-point attempts and the team was shooting 39% from distance. Even in the one loss — a double-overtime heartbreaker to Baylor in the Bahamas — St. John’s was 14-for-24 on threes.
Things have changed since then. St. John’s (7-2) and Dunlap are in a long-distance shooting slump as they head into Wednesday night’s non-conference game against Bryant (6-5) at Carnesecca Arena.
Over the last three games, the Storm are making 22% on three-point attempts and didn’t break 30% in any of them. Dunlap went 1-for-11 on three-point attempts in those games, though he made solid contributions in other areas.
“I’ve kind of had a few off games shooting the ball,” Dunlap said Tuesday. “I’m not shooting as well as I’d like to be shooting (and) it’s kind of bothering me. It's kind of my role on the team, even though the coaching staff isn’t really going to tell me. . . . I need to make shots and I’m (saying) it.”
Dunlap believes he isn’t using his best form of late.
“There’s obviously some tweaks fundamentals-wise to change when I get shots in the games,” Dunlap said. “In practice, I can shoot the ball higher and . . . perform well in drills. In games, sometimes I get nervous because I’m only going to get five or six shots and I have to make those shots for the team because obviously we’re not a great three-point shooting team.
“So when I catch the ball, I might be a little tight up front, just because I feel the importance of that shot. . . . (I need to) relax and shoot the ball higher and trust myself and my training.”
Pitino was asked if the three-point shooting was a concern after the Nov. 30 win over Harvard and replied, “I don’t think it’s an asset for us.”
“There's some mechanical problems about three-point shooting that can be corrected,” Pitino said. “Aaron (Scott) takes too long to get his shot off, but he's very good shooter based on all our numbers that we do. RJ (Luis Jr.) doesn't shoot it normal — he tries to get extra arc which is not necessary.”
He added that Dunlap needs to stop hunting shots and keep moving without the ball and concluded, “I think it's correctable with those guys. I think the other guys just need a lot of work.”
The news isn’t all bad for St. John’s. It closed the K-State win with a monster second half and looked capable of beating anyone. In those last 20 minutes, it outscored the Wildcats by 21, was plus-11 on the backboards and didn’t allow a three-pointer.
Dunlap was asked if Pitino has spoken to him about this small slump and said, “He doesn’t really bring up the shot. … But at the same time, I’m not an idiot and I understand how important shooting is for this basketball team. I’ve got to be more of a knockdown guy.”
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.