Photo credit: Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports
Duke Basketball Forward Leads High-Majors in 3-Point Percentage Lately
The arc on Mark Mitchell's 3-point attempts is noticeably flatter than most shooting gurus teach. And the Duke basketball sophomore forward's 1-for-22 start to the season looked like evidence that his basic mechanics might need fixing.
Yet by trusting rather than modifying his stroke while becoming a bit more decisively selective in pulling the trigger from deep, Mitchell has posted an 8-for-14 clip (57.1 percent) beyond the arc across the Blue Devils' 13 games (11-2). The stretch began after he experienced a nine-game drought (0-for-15) without a made three.
Now, as Duke basketball director of player branding Nick Colosimo pointed out in the following post, Mitchell boasts the highest 3-point percentage (minimum two attempts) among high-major players since the first weekend in January:
Meanwhile, Duke leads all ACC teams with its 38.6 season 3-point percentage.
After watching Mitchell deliver 17 points, seven rebounds, and three steals while shooting 7-for-10 from the field and 1-for-1 from downtown in Wednesday night's 84-59 home win over unranked Louisville, Duke head coach Jon Scheyer explained to the media the significance of the 20-year-old Kansas City native's confidence reset:
"Christmas break was a big thing — and coming back and just trusting your work and being decisive. And he's done that. He's played inside-out, not outside-in; that's different. And he's a complete player. Like, he just does so much. I don't know that he gets the credit that he probably should nationally or even in our league.
"When you talk about key guys, I think anybody would love to have Mark Mitchell on their team because he does so much besides just the 3-point shooting. But you love when it goes in."
Mitchell, a second-year full-time starter in Durham, is one of Duke's most versatile producers once again, averaging 12.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.8 blocks. His 55.4 field goal percentage is the highest among the six Blue Devils attempting at least six shots per game.
In other words, whatever Mitchell is doing when it comes to shot selection and mechanics, it seems most would now agree that there's no sense in trying to fix what isn't broken.
NEXT DUKE BASKETBALL GAME: No. 10 Blue Devils (22-6, 13-4 ACC) at home versus unranked Virginia (21-8, 12-6 ACC), 6 p.m. ET Saturday (ESPN)
STREAM: fuboTV (start your free trial)
Stay tuned to Blue Devil Country on SI.com for more Duke basketball news.
