The days of the mid-range jump shot in basketball are numbered, but the LSU women’s basketball team is doing its best to resurrect an endangered species.
In what sophomore Seimone Augustus called an “old school” style of play, she and teammate Temeka Johnson are blasts from the past.
Augustus said it all started for her as a child growing up with her father.
“We looked at a lot of old films from way back when, when they didn’t even have a 3-point line,” Augustus said. “They scored all their points basically with twos. That’s basically how I play my game, like an old school terminology.”
Augustus said she remembers watching players like Larry Bird take more shots from mid-range. But Augustus said the game today is played so much differently, especially because of the 3-point line.
“I think it’s the way people cop out and just want to shoot,” Augustus said. “Everybody wants to shoot the three. You see Paul Pierce and all those NBA players — Baron Davis — they shoot the three easy. So everybody wants to really copy off what they’re doing.”
Augustus said the best way to complete a 3-point play is the old school way — going to the basket and drawing the foul. She said it is different for women, because they are not as good from 3-point range as the men.
Johnson said players try to concentrate on shooting 40 to 50 percent from 3-point range and forget about some of the other important shots on the court.
“I think a lot of people forget about the in-between game,” Johnson said. “Not that I don’t want to shoot a great percentage behind the 3-point line, but it’s less effort.”
But Augustus said it does not bother her that women are not as efficient from beyond the 3-point line as men. In fact, Augustus and Johnson agree that women may be more complete players than men.
“It can get to that point,” Johnson said. “I think sometimes the guys forget about the little things that it takes to win. They look for the big shot.”
Johnson called herself and Augustus old school players. She said the game has changed because of the new street ball movements, spurred by companies like And1, and the recent popularity of free-style play.
“It’s exciting to the crowd, but the game is too fast for it,” Johnson said.
Johnson said she thinks fans and players today forget about the fundamental things it takes to win games, but that she and Augustus are doing their best to keep the old school traditions alive in their own way.
“I think she and I are both old school, trying to bring it back,” Johnson said. “I don’t know if we are bringing it back, just adding it to our new school.”
LSU women’s coach Sue Gunter said the disappearance of the mid-range jumper is not a good one for the game of basketball.
“I think there’s always a place,” Gunter said. “I think there is an in-between. It can’t be all threes or all penetration.”
Gunter said players love the slam dunk or the 3-point shot so much because it is flashy and pleases the crowd.
She said the biggest difference between the men’s game and the women’s is the fact that men are built bigger — in terms of strength and size — than women. But even with the difference in size and style of play, Gunter said fans do not shy away from the old school women’s game.
“I think a lot of people have bought into the women’s game … because there is probably a little more finesse in the women’s game,” Gunter said. “We still play the game below the rim.”
But she said she is not opposed to the women’s players being able to step back and take a 3-pointer. She said she wants Johnson to be capable of taking a 3-pointer and wants Augustus to extend her range.
But even if Johnson and Augustus do take more 3-pointers in the future, Gunter said LSU women’s basketball will continue to be old school.
“Here at LSU you will continue to see the mid-range jumper,” Gunter said.