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Saturday, October 11, 2008

Top of the Charts

By Mark Smith
Journal Staff Writer
      He's the most accurate 3-point assassin in University of New Mexico basketball history.
       But if senior Chad Toppert is to retain that title, he will have to use a slightly different scope on his long-range rifle this season.
        “It is taking a while to get used to; coming off the screens and getting your feet further back behind the line,” Toppert, who was second in the nation in 3-point percentage last season, says of the new rule to make the shot tougher. “But once I get that down, it's really not that big of a deal. I don't think it will affect me, because I like to shoot pretty deep as it is. But I am more aware of it than when the line was normal.”
       Normal — ever since the NCAA adopted the shot for the 1986-87 season — has been 19 feet, 9 inches. This season, the NCAA has moved the line back to 20 feet, 9 inches.
       The women's line remains at 19-9.
       For his career, Toppert has hit 3s at a 45.7 percent clip — the best in school history. Last season, he was 85-of-107 for 48.0 percent, second best in the country after Utah State's Jaycee Carroll (49.8).
       But while Toppert's 3-point accuracy has improved each year, the 2004 Albuquerque Academy graduate has the odds against him of keeping the trend going this season.
       Not only has the line been extended out, but Toppert is no longer just some bench player who could sneak a few shots past opponents.
       “That's not going to work this year,” the 6-foot-7 former walk-on says of being under the radar. “I guess everybody knows (I can shoot) now, and they won't just let me just do what I want to do. So I've got to work on other things.”
       As does every other player — guard, wing or post — in the country.
       Moving the 3-point stripe back should change the game in a number of ways, including:
       â–  Cutting down of 3s and attempts
       â–  Opening up the inside for big men
       â–  Forcing teams to stretch their defenses
       UNM coach Steve Alford, one of the best 3-point shooters in the country while leading Indiana to the NCAA title in 1986-87 — the first season the NCAA used the 3-point shot — says he has long campaigned for the change.
       “I think it was time,” Alford says. “I still would like the lane expanded, too. But the only thing I don't like (about the new 3-pointer) is having two lines. It's unfortunate the women and men aren't the same. I'm not saying the women should (change), I'm just saying that's the only thing I don't like about it. But for our game, it's best it got moved back.”
       It will take some getting used to visually. UNM's Bob King Court, already an interior designer's nightmare, will be even more cluttered with the two 3-point lines.
       “I don't think it should be a problem at all for Chad, he's such a good shooter and he shoots so far out,” says UNM senior post Daniel Faris. “I think the only problem that might occur with any team, is just guys getting their foot on the line, just getting used to it.”
       Toppert says the two lines did make it “a little confusing at first, and it will take some getting used to. But it's just something we have to work on.”
       While Toppert typically shoots his 3s from — or beyond — NBA range (23-9), many other players have typically tried to sneak as close to the 19-9 without putting a little piggy on the stripe.
       Slashers like Lobo senior Tony Danridge (35.4 career 3-point percentage) and sophomore Dairese Gary (39.1) don't typically shoot deep 3s. So they will have to develop a longer range on their jumpers, or teams will play off them a little because they are so strong driving to the basket.
       Overall, however, Alford doesn't think the new line will hurt his team, which finished second in the nation in 3-point percentage last season at 42.0 percent.
       “Early on, it hasn't affected us much,” Alford says. “It's hard to duplicate last year, we led the country (at times). But when you start looking at our team, we've still got eight or nine guys who can shoot the 3. We're just a little bit younger.
       “… Sometimes for guys like Tony, who's a slasher and scorer, not so much 3-point shooter, it might hamper him more. But as coaches we wanted to move it back to open things up. There's more areas to drive, more areas to cut. So by moving the line back, it should help a guy like Tony who can drive it.”
       Faris says Danridge, who sat out last season with a broken leg, has developed a great shooting touch, and “I hope teams will lay off of Tony on the 3-point shot. He'll make them pay.”
       As for the 6-9 Faris, who's made one 3 in his Lobo career, the rule change should help him in two ways:
       â–  More room to roam in the paint.
       â–  Less temptation to shoot the 3.
       “It will probably keep my percentage at zero — which is good, because I don't think I'll try one all year,” Faris, who was actually a pretty solid 3-point threat at Eldorado High, says with a laugh. “I've made one here in my career here (in 12 attempts), but I don't know if I'll get another one. It's not my role.”
       For Toppert, it is his role. It used to be his only one.
       That will change this season, as he becomes a marked man.
       And while Toppert acknowledges the rule change comes at a inopportune time for his career, he's not overly concerned.
       “It's too bad, but I've just got work on it more,” he says. “I'm going to be guarded tighter, so I've got to concentrate more on using screens and reading my man; making sure I'm getting both feet behind the line.”
       

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