Marshall University Athletics
MCGILL: Williams modifies mechanics, eyes 3-point record
10/27/2018 10:18:00 AM | Men's Basketball, Word on the Herd
Marshall hosts Glenville State in an exhibition game Sunday afternoon
By Chuck McGill
HerdZone.com
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Jannson Williams is listed at 6 feet, 9 inches tall on the Marshall men's basketball roster, so one might think he'd look up to someone other than a guard. Williams, however, wants to follow in the footsteps of the program's greatest 3-pointer shooter in history: Austin Loop.
Loop, 6-3, exited the program after the 2016-17 season as the all-time leader in 3-pointers made – 293 – surpassing a mark set by Tamar Slay (251) in 2002. Williams would someday like to sit atop that list, although it may not be Loop's record by then. Senior guard Jon Elmore has 242 career 3-pointers, 51 behind Loop. Elmore hit 98 from beyond the arc last season, so it seems only something unforeseen could derail him.
But Williams, a redshirt sophomore, adjusted the mechanics on his perimeter shot this offseason. When Marshall hosts Division II Glenville State in a Sunday afternoon (4 p.m.) exhibition game at the Henderson Center, Williams' shooting motion might remind Herd fans of another player, one who flicked 293 long-range shots into the basket during four seasons here.
"It's a much quicker release," Marshall fifth-year coach Dan D'Antoni said of Williams. "He doesn't have as much arm mechanics in it, which means less can go wrong. All he has to do is get it out of his hand right."
Williams played in 35 games (nine starts) last season, coming on strong during the Herd's Conference USA championship and NCAA tournament run. He averaged 5.4 points for the season, but that soared to 11.0 points in the final six games: a road win against nationally ranked Middle Tennessee; three C-USA tournament games; two NCAA tournament games.
He made 27 of 70 from 3-point range for the season, a 38-percent clip. Loop made 11 from 3-point range as a freshman, so Williams is ahead of that pace entering his second season.
"That's who I'm trying for," Williams said. "He's like an idol for a shooter. I'm going to try and break his record."
D'Antoni applauds the ambition and said Williams' effort to remake his shot is one step in the correct direction. He needs to see the Georgia native do more, though.
"If he's going to get there, he's got to learn how to put (the ball) on the floor a little bit and move side to side with it, not just catch it, stand and shoot," D'Antoni said. "He can let it go, though."
Williams hit 3 of 5 from beyond the arc in the first C-USA tournament game, a 95-81 win against UTSA, and finished the three-game event 5 of 8 (62.5 percent). He hit 3 of 4 from 3-point range in two NCAA tournament games, making him a 66.7-percent 3-point shooter in Marshall's five biggest games of the season.
Williams made his only 3-point attempt in eight minutes in the Round of 32 loss to West Virginia before leaving the game with an injury. Williams' 3 from the corner gave Marshall a 9-2 lead with 17:55 left of the first half, and he left with 8:21 remaining of the first half and the Herd trailing by 3 points. The team could feel the absence of the redshirt freshman.
"When he left, we didn't have that spread 4," D'Antoni said. "You have to have that against their press. What happens is, their bigs can't stay at the rim when you have a guy like Jannson."
There is little debate to Williams' value entering the 2018-19 season, which begins Nov. 7 at Eastern Kentucky after a pair of home exhibition games. There is little doubt Williams can climb the all-time 3-point list over time. There is little disagreement that he needs to continue to add to his offensive weapons to get there, as players like Loop and Elmore have done.
The mechanical makeover is an ideal start.
"I tried to make it quicker," Williams said. "I'll start thinking and as soon as I release (the ball) from my fingers, I'll know where it's going to go. I feel like if it's quicker, there's less time for me to think."
Chuck McGill is the Assistant Athletic Director for Fan/Donor Engagement and Communications at Marshall University and a six-time winner of the National Sports Media Association West Virginia Sportswriter of the Year award. In addition to HerdZone.com's Word on the Herd, McGill is the editor of Thundering Herd Illustrated, Marshall's official athletics publication. Follow him on Twitter (@chuckmcgill) and Instagram (wordontheherd).
