Michigan State Basketball: Josh Langford’s quest for the “40-40-40-40” club
Last Season’s Club Candidates
I “created” the 40-40-40-40 club heading into last season when I highlighted five players that had a chance to gain entry. Langford and Barry, two of the five, ultimately missed the season due to injury, but what about the other three? Marquette’s Markus Howard, Nebraska’s Matej Kavas and Idaho State’s Balint Moscan.
This trio had an especially difficult challenge given that the 3-point line was moved back prior to last season. Across the sport, 3-point percentage fell from 34.3% in 2018-19 to 33.3% last season (the worst percentage in KenPom’s database, which dates back to the 1986-87 season – prior low was 33.9% in 2012-13).
Markus Howard: After shooting 54.7% (4.8 attempts per game), 40.4% (8.1), and 40.3% (8.8) his first three seasons, Howard closed the deal by shooting 41.2% (10.1) in his final year with the Golden Eagles.
Matej Kavas: After shooting 40.4% (3.9), 46.4% (5.9), and 45.8% (4.0) his first three seasons with Seattle, Kavas transferred to Nebraska to close out his college career. He saw a dip in playing time (23.1 minutes to 14.5) but still managed to play 22 games and average 3.1 long-range attempts per contest. Kavas ultimately couldn’t gain entry to the club, however, hitting only 33.8% of his long-range attempts.
Balint Moscan: After shooting 43.0% (3.3), 41.9% (4.9) and 43.0% (5.5) his first three seasons with Idaho State, Moscan didn’t play last season. Despite my best detective efforts…I couldn’t figure out why…(injury?). The sharpshooter was in position to be a candidate to enter the club this season, as it was announced on April 13, 2020, that he would be transferring from Idaho State, opting to finish his career at Weber State. In August, however, Moscan announced that due to the coronavirus, he had signed a contract to play professionally in his come country of Turkey.
Next. Preseason top-25 power rankings for 2020-21. dark
Each of Josh Langford, Trae Berhow, Terell Gomez, and Brendan Barry are capable of shooting at least 40% from three this upcoming season, which would earn them a membership to the 40-40-40-40 club. Although this would be a notable accomplishment for each of these players, it would be an especially nice way to cap off Langford’s roller coaster of a career.