Texas Tech basketball: 5 surprises so far in 2020-21 season

LUBBOCK, TEXAS – DECEMBER 17: Guard Terrence Shannon Jr. #1 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders shoots a three-pointer during the first half of the college basketball game against the Kansas Jayhawks at United Supermarkets Arena on December 17, 2020 in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images)

Shannon’s 3-point shooting

Let’s wrap up with a pleasant surprise, Terrence Shannon’s 3-point shooting. Though the sophomore still has one of the wonkiest shots in the Big 12, he’s made noticeable strides from behind the arc.

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After being just a 25.7% shooter from long distance last year, he’s currently hitting at a 36.7% rate. That’s good for second-best out of any player in the eight-man rotation.

This season, the Chicago native has attempted multiple 3-pointers in a game five times and has put up 22 already on the year. That’s one more 3-pointer than he shot all of last year.

We all remember the KU game when he hit 4 of 7 shots from deep. That was his true coming-out party as a 3-point weapon. Now, he has to keep proving to be a reliable weapon from deep.

That’s because the team is currently lacking in that regard. At just 6.0 long-range makes per game, Tech ranks just 262 nationally in that category. What’s more, at 33.1% as a team, the Red Raiders are only no. 172 in the NCAA.

Shannon likely isn’t going to keep shooting at better than 36% from beyond the arc. His shot simply is not that pure.

It remains a shot that he shoots from the middle of his body and he almost turns sideways when he lets it fly. What’s more, he has a slow release. So as teams begin to respect his 3-point shooting ability and try to guard against it, he will likely find it more difficult to connect from deep.

However, the fact that he’s proven capable of hitting an outside shot more than just once in a blue moon is what’s important. That’s because now, teams have to at least be aware of his outside ability and that will open up driving lanes for one of the most explosive small forwards in the NCAA.