Last night the sports world and social media were abuzz, about a kid named Jack Taylor from Grinnell College in Iowa, who scored 138 points against Faith Baptist Bible College, in a Division III matchup.
Taylor a 5-10, 170 pound guard from Wisconsin, shot 52-of-108 from the field, 27-of-71 from 3-point range, and 7-of-10 from the free-throw line to finish with the historic 138 points.
Last night everyone from Carmelo Anthony, to Kobe Bryant had a comment about the accomplishment.
Taylor was the talk of the world last night, into this morning, and was SportsCenter, the supposed pinnacle of sports success.
Not everyone was so impressed with Taylor’s performance though.
Stuart Scott of ESPN tweeted out, “”Not a big fan of Jack Taylor’s 138-pts in Grinnell win. He took 108-shots including 71-3’s…Just say that out loud. Now say “team”!”
Now less than 24 hours after having broken a record, Taylor’s game and the system used to accumulate all those points are being called into question.
Deadspin.com is reporting that Taylor’s 138 point game is a sham and should not be celebrated.
According to reports, Grinnell College and it’s head coach David Arseneault have an age-old system of trying to seek media attention through the breaking of scoring records.
Arseneault has been the head coach since 1989, and reports are that he focuses less on team goals or accomplishments, but rather on getting his players names in record books, selling his authored books, and touting his supposed innovative system.
On three separate occasions, a Grinnell College player has broken or set the Div III record for points scored in a single game.
Arseneault supposed formula breaks down into 94 shots attempted, 47 of them being 3’s, rebounding 33% of those misses, taking 25 more shots than their opponent, and forcing the opposition to commit 32 turnovers will equal a win for you.
I have already found a whole in that theory myself.
Any person with formidable basketball knowledge knows, that even the worst teams may only turn the ball over 15-20 times a game.
I find it hard to believe that someone is preaching a formula where the key to victory is based on your ability to make a team turn the ball over 1 out of every 3 possessions.
Deadspin reports that a former Grinnell player also vouched for the system, and the fact that when Arseneault implements these game plans, it’s designed to get a specific player that scoring record, even at the expense of the quality of game.
“The strategy was to use a full court press after a made basket, with the caveat that [the player seeking the record] would not cross into the defensive side of the court. So, after our opponents broke our press, we were essentially playing four-on-five, which enabled the other team to take quicker shots and fall into our game plan.
“The rationale is to essentially trade off a quick two or more attempts at lower probability 3-point shots. Given the high pace required for the system, Grinnell shifts in five players every 30 to 45 seconds. Within each shift there is a primary shooter who will take the bulk of threes (or shots) during the shift.”
The mockery of the game come into play, when Grinnell disregards playing any defense, and feels obligated to trade or even give up baskets to the opposing team.
That would explain the player from Faith Baptist, scoring 70 points in the game as well.
Reports also indicate that Grinnell goes out of its way to find a terrible or weak opponent to pull such a stunt on.
The announcer actually said that Grinnell will look on their schedule for their weaker opponents and do everything they can to run up the score and break records. This is all within the game plan. One tactic the announcer mentioned was called “The Bomb Squad”. If Grinnell’s opponent gets into the double bonus, Grinnell will sub in five freshmen players, foul their opponent immediately once the ball is in play, send them to the line, then sub the freshmen players out to put their scorers back in on offense. This takes almost no time off the clock, giving their starters as many offensive possessions as possible.
I can appreciate a record-breaking scoring achievement, but I agree with the sentiments that the record is a sham.
I know people will bash me and call me a hater for disregarding what the young man did.
Plenty of people will ask well can you do it.
My answer simply and calmly will be yes I can.
You give me 108 shot attempts on any level, yet alone the Div III level and I promise you I will get buckets.
Allow 71 of those 108 attempts to be three’s, and again I promise you I’ll get buckets.
This again in no way a means for me to diss Jack Taylor or diminish what he did.
He still had to shoot the ball yes, but the idea that 1 player could score 138 points, and his team only score 179 is absurd.
Sad what people or I’m sorry, what coaches will do for attention.