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Miami's Coles learned to love the 3-point line
Sunday, May 06, 2007
There are some people in basketball history who would have greatly benefited from a 3-point line.
Charlie Coles is one of them. As a senior at Yellow Springs' Bryan High School, he averaged a state-high 41 points per game as a spot-on shooter without the 3-pointer.
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So I was curious what Coles thought about the NCAA potentially moving the 3-point line back by a foot in 2008.
"I didn't like the rule when they first put it in," said Coles, the Miami University basketball coach.
Defense before then, he said, was simpler. You doubled down in the post, because an outside shot hurt you just as much as a layup.
But Coles has learned to love it. Now, you have to cover the post and the 3-point line equally, which makes for some interesting strategy and game planning for coaches.
If the 3-point line is moved, things will ease on the outside defensively. The men in the post will get much more attention because the fringe shooters won't need the same defensive care on the outside.
"It's been fun like this, though," Coles said. "There's very little room for error, and I think that makes it fun. If you bust your tail, and the shot clock's going down, and you leave that guy open for that shot, he's going to hit it."
Still, Coles loved the defensive strategy of it, the pressure on the perimeter defenders. He'll miss that if the line is moved back. But he won't miss the game-winning 3-pointers by opponents.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-7389
or knagel@DaytonDailyNews.com
