Id love to get as many shots as Buddy: Matt Roe, Syracuses first 3-point shooter, marvel -

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Syracuse’s first true 3-point ace was Matt Roe, a Manlius native who played from 1986 to ’89. In his junior season, he shot 47.4 percent from deep, an exceptional figure that to this day is the single-best shooting season in Orange history.

When Roe envisions himself in this Syracuse offense, his eyes widen. The other day, seated at the Starbucks in Armory Square, he leaned back in his chair. He raised his eyebrows at the idea he’d have a perpetual green light in a system that loves the deep ball. He didn’t flinch.

“It’s laughable,” he says of imagining himself with the Orange today. “It’s opened up the floor, spaced everything out, and it’s fun to see.”

Syracuse hasn’t been shooting particularly well of late, but the value college basketball teams place on 3-pointers has guys like Roe, 51, salivating. Roe, now an insurance agent in Syracuse, forged his own path as a shooter before shooters were in vogue. His career began the same year (1986) college basketball introduced the 3-point line, which has since ushered in a new style of basketball and changed the collegiate landscape.

Since Roe transferred to Maryland for his senior season, and in the 30 years since he played for the Orange, the college game has undergone radical changes. One critical thought emerges: Teams have become so dependent on 3s. It took longer at Syracuse, with few exceptions over years in Gerry McNamara, Andry Rautins and Brandon Triche, to name a few. But Syracuse has now fully joined the trend, relying on a perimeter offense to score in bunches.

Consider this: Roe took 182 3-pointers in 35 games as a sophomore, and nobody else took more than 63. Through 22 games this season, Buddy Boeheim has attempted 193 3-pointers, Elijah Hughes has 166 and Joe Girard 146.

SU ranks 16th in the country in offensive efficiency, per KenPom.com. Credits 3s, as the Orange are making 34.7 percent of their 3s and score 36.3 percent of their points from deep. SU is on pace to be more reliant on the 3-ball for offense than ever before, and 31 teams rely on the 3 more than the Orange do.

It’s accepted that every team needs at least one, ideally two or three, sharpshooters on its roster. The Orange believe they signed the best shooters in the 2018 (Boeheim) and 2019 (Girard) high school classes. Jim Boeheim and McNamara, now an assistant coach, say the threat of 3s adds a new dimension the offense once lacked. Buddy Boeheim is making 39.9 percent of his 3s, with Hughes (36.1) and Girard (33.6) right behind.

But first there was Roe, who starred in the glory days of the old Big East. As we consider the 3-point prowess residing on the roster this season, it is worthwhile to revisit the program’s first bona fide sharpshooter. Roe, still lanky and trim, has done some reflecting lately.

“In high school, I didn’t play with the 3-point shot. I wish I did,” Roe says. “If there were 3s, my career points would be a lot different.”

Boeheim was initially indifferent to the 3-point shot because there was enough talent elsewhere on his roster in players such as Derrick Coleman. Roe remembers the offense “just being a constant motion,” where the 5 and the 4 would screen to open up the 2 and the 3. Players would screen away from the ball until someone found an open look.

Despite his clean shot and range, Roe was lightly recruited. St. Bonaventure showed interest, but it wasn’t until assistant coach Bernie Fine watched Roe go 7-of-8 on jump shots during a high school game that Syracuse began recruiting him. He barely played as a freshman on the 1987 team that was within two points of winning the national title. As a sophomore, though, Boeheim came to realize the value in a 3-point shooter.

“I don’t think anybody at the time knew the importance of the 3-point line,” Roe says. “There weren’t the analytics saying, 3s or dunks. We had horses down low. Then I was lucky my sophomore year, I hit four 3s against Steve Kerr’s Arizona team in the Alaska shootout. When we got back to Syracuse, Boeheim sat me down and said, ‘All right, you’re going to start.’ Me being out there gave us the ability to space the floor.”

While he was growing up, Roe and his father spent hours at the downtown YMCA in Syracuse, where he lofted shot after shot, around 500 in a workout. His father added a hoop to their Manlius garage. Roe learned not to hoist shots but to keep his form “through the middle of my body,” with a bit of a dip.

At Syracuse, about 60 percent of his shots came from the right wing. If opponents played zone to minimize the Orange’s inside power, Roe spotted up on the left wing. He loved the wings because of the 45-degree angle. The corner 3? Not so much. “The corner at the Carrier Dome is tough because it looks like the rim is floating,” he says.

Another luxury today’s shooters enjoy is film study. Roe transferred to Maryland for his senior season because he believed he’d play more on a less-talented team, which would draw him closer to his NBA dream. Yet his percentage dipped from nearly 47.4 percent in 1988-89 to just 30.8 percent with the Terps. In his opinion, the decline happened because he was lifting weights, and he started shooting over his head. With film, in today’s age, he says he would’ve pinpointed the issue and course-corrected.

These days, Roe has two kids playing high school basketball. They want to play in college. At tournaments, he sees big men and guards do the same thing: launch 3s. If there is one characteristic that any young player wants to master to earn a scholarship, if there is any way in which an ordinary athlete can chase a dream, it’s become in the ability to shoot the long ball. “Kids realize if you don’t have the talent, you can at least shoot your way to win,” says Roe, who tells his kids after a streaky shooting day, “Listen, 33 percent from 3 is 50 percent from 2. It’s that simple. You get that extra point.”

As Roe considers his potential place on the current Syracuse roster, he punctuates the joyous evolution of the shooter. He doesn’t speak with bitterness. When he looks at the Orange, he becomes just a little jealous. He wonders, naturally, what could have been.

“I’d love to get as many shots as Buddy,” Roe says. “We all do. You’d love to run the wing and just let it fly. The feeling is euphoric.”

(Photo: Courtesy of Syracuse)

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