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Published Dec 28, 2021
Jaden Ivey's three-point shooting has been a difference-maker for Purdue
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Brian Neubert  •  BoilerUpload
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Nobody's put more of himself into their jump shot than Jaden Ivey.

It was a year ago at this time that the then-freshman was getting off the bus following road trips and heading straight to empty games to shoot, or returning to the Mackey Arena floor virtually as soon as games ended to shoot some more.

Now, he says, he's doing even more, shooting daily after practices and not cutting any corners in his routine.

He's being rewarded handsomely for it.

Through Purdue's first dozen games — non-conference play concludes Wednesday evening against Nicholls — Ivey's shooting 44.6 percent from three-point range. That is more than double the percentage he shot in Big Ten games last season (21.6) and an 18.8-percent increase over his full-freshman-season percentage of 25.8.

Ivey does not qualify for various leaderboards, because NCAA stat-keeping policies require an average of two-and-a-half made threes per game — Ivey averages 2.1 — but his success rate stacks up favorably against Big Ten leader Payton Willis (46.0) and second-place Alfonso Plummer (44.7). Ivey's percentage is almost a percentage point above Sasha Stefanovic for Purdue's team lead, though Stefanovic carries heavier volume.

What's more: The bigger the game, the better Ivey seems to shoot.

He's shooting 50 percent against high-major opponents, and just 33.3 against low- and mid-majors.

The sophomore's stock response to his shooting success — or even his struggles last season — always comes back to his work ethic in that area.

But so much more has gone into it this season.

For one thing, he is clearly being more judicious.

Ivey's not taking fewer threes on average. Last season — the whole season – 43.5 percent of his field goal attempts were threes. Thus far this season that percentage is 42.1 percent.

But he is clearly doing a better job with rhythm this season.

In his highest-volume games, the four in which he attempted six triples, Ivey's shooting 58 percent, capped by a 6-for-6 game against Butler. That's a stark contrast to the eager player who was prone to 0-for-5 and 0-for-4s often last season after missing a bunch of games early in the season, setting back his learning curve.

Confidence has never been Ivey's issue, for better and worse, but it seems to be being applied more productively this season, and success appears to be begetting success.

"When I get into games, it's my confidence," Ivey said of this season. "Every three-point shot I take, I feel like I'm going to make it."

This was always something Ivey was likely to grow into, and it's happened relatively quickly as he's gained experience.

"The shot selection (is better)," Coach Matt Painter said. "He's taking his time, not just getting up shots. He's taking what the defense is giving him and getting in rhythm, whether that's off the dribble or off the catch. He has a good shot. I would have said that last year when he struggled.

"He has a good shot, he puts time into it, has a good release, good rotation. He's just needed to learn about shot selection and as time's gone on, he's done a better job with what to take and what not to take."

Here's the thing, though: As well as Ivey has shot this season, Painter's message won't change. He doesn't want his star guard "settling" for threes. Ivey's an elite penetrator and scorer off the dribble, and developing rapidly as a facilitator, as well. Those are the strengths Purdue will want him playing to, but the completeness of Ivey's scoring repertoire now puts even more of an onus on his decision-making against defenses who'll have no right answer if this keeps up.

"I think I'm just taking what the defense gives me," Ivey said. "If they're playing off me, that's a shot every time, taking the good open ones. But if they're up on me, that's a drive to the basket."

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