Texas Tech basketball: 5 pleasant surprises in 2020-21 season

Terrence Shannon’s 3-point shooting

It is still a bit unorthodox and herky-jerky but Terrence Shannon’s jump shot is improving.  In fact, this year, he took a huge step forward as a 3-point shooter and that was a pleasant surprise.

As a true freshman a season ago, the lefty shot just 25.7% from beyond the arc.  This year, that number jumped exactly ten percentage points to 35.7%.  That’s a significant increase over the course of one year.

After last season, most of us would have been happy with a five-percent increase out of Shannon.  But to see him jump up into the mid-30s as a 3-point shooter was quite the revelation.

While he still has a ways to go as a marksman, Shannon was Tech’s third-leading shooter in terms of the number of shots made from deep.  With 30 made long-distance shots, he trailed only Kyler Edwards (56 made 3s) and McClung (47 made 3s).

There’s no question that Shannon is a future NBA prospect.  In fact, many believe he could be taken in the next NBA Draft.

However, in order for him to stick in the NBA, he is going to have to prove to be a reliable 3-point shooter given that the 3-pointer is now more preferable to NBA teams than the mid-range jumper.  Thus, his 3-point shooting might be the key to his entire career as a basketball player being as he already has the athleticism and explosiveness needed to play at the professional level.

This year, Shannon made massive strides as an outside shooter and connected at a rate that is higher than many thought he’d ever get to given the funky mechanics of his jumper.  Though that aspect of his game could still improve, it was nice to see his hard work pay off as he became a respectable 3-point weapon.