Memphis Basketball: 5 keys for a successful 2018-19 campaign

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NEW YORK, NY – DECEMBER 16: Martin #3 of the Memphis Tigers looks on. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images) /

2. Perimeter shots start to fall

In the modern age of college basketball, shooting the ball well from 3-point range is *almost* mandatory for every good team. Last season, though, Memphis basketball was one of the worst 3-point shooting teams in the country according to both volume and efficiency. Over the course of the year, the Tigers ranked 330th in the nation (out of 351 teams) at 31.7% shooting from beyond the arc. In addition, there was not a single player on the team who shot better than 38% from three. This is a major issue that needs to be remedied.

Rising seniors Raynere Thornton (37.7%) and Kyvon Davenport (35.5%) were the best shooters by percentage on the team last season and they will need to at least hit those marks again during 2018-19. In terms of volume, Jeremiah Martin attempted the most 3-pointers on the team (156). However, he buried just 32.7% of those shots and is a career 31.0% shooter from beyond the arc. Judging by these numbers, there is not a whole lot of hope surrounding the shooting potential of the returning roster.

This is why the Tigers will need some freshmen to be immediately impactful shooters. Of the seven recruits, one JUCO, joining the program (more on them in a bit), at least a couple of them have to be able to consistently knock down perimeter jumpers. With a guard-heavy recruiting class coming in, there are a few players who have flashed potential as outside shooters.