Martynas Bareika (10) of UTC dribbles past Ethan Mackey (33) of Maine during the 2013 Dr. Pepper Classic.It's not a stretch to believe that the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's basketball team's potential improvement from 3-point range this season could come from the post play.
Not from any formation or style adjustment, but from the particular Mocs playing the inside positions.
As a team, the Mocs were ninth in the Southern Conference last season, shooting 33.2 percent from the arc. That's a stat that coach Will Wade hopes will improve, and his "bigs" may be big helps. Martynas Bareika was and will be the team's "licensed bomber," the player expected to keep defenses honest this season, but the Mocs also benefited from the signings of Duke Ethridge and Chuck Ester, each of whom can knock down the 3-point shot.
Bareika adjusted well to his long-shot role for the Mocs in his junior season. He led the team in 3-pointers made (57) during the 2013-14 season, and 161 of his 245 shots from the field (66 percent) were from 3-point range.
"We've really improved at that spot last year," Bareika said. "We're a lot more confident from 3-point range."
He mentioned that preseason all-conference forward Casey Jones is now shooting 3s with more confidence after attempting only two last season.
"When he's able to make a few, it'll make things even easier for himself and the team," Bareika said.
Bareika, who primarily played on the wings his first two seasons, made the move to post and was fifth on the team in scoring at 9.4 points per game. Although it isn't a natural position for the 6-foot-5 forward from Kedainia, Lithuania, the move creates mismatches at that position against teams that have post players more accustomed to playing inside.
Bareika, along with Ester and Ethridge, will have gaps to penetrate if opponents close out too quickly, or opportunities to shoot if the defense chooses not to honor their abilities from deep.
Ethridge, a second-team National Junior College Athletic Association All-American last season, shot 42.1 percent from deep, while Ester, who shot 35.7 percent on 14 attempts, also has shown a nice touch from long range.
"Entering this season, we're much more athletic, but we also shoot the ball better," Wade said. "The guys know if they work hard and do what we ask in practice, the numbers will be drastically better.
"It's what we've worked on, and we'll need to shoot better to play the way we want to play."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him at twitter.com/genehenleytfp.