One more interesting note on Jimmy Baron: Mike Laprey, Rhode Island's assistant athletic director for sports communications, tackled a nice project this summer when he went back and watched every Rams game from last season and charted how many 3-pointers Baron took from the so-called new 3-point line.
What did he find?
Laprey found that 123 of Baron's 244 3-point attempts last season came from beyond 20 feet, nine inches -- otherwise known as the new 3-point line that was installed before this season. Also worth noting is that Baron made 55 of those 123 (44.8 percent), meaning he actually made a higher percentage from farther away considering he shot 40.6 percent overall from 3-point range.
And yes, I believe there is an explanation.
It makes sense to conclude that cleaner looks come from deeper, right? If so, then a great shooter with unlimited range (like Baron) should always make more attempts from a deeper distance because those attempts offer the best looks, whereas shots right on top of the 3-point line (old or new) are typically the ones that are contested.
So that's one lesson.
Another is that it would be wise to guard Baron well beyond the 3-point line.
