Jack or Jimmy?

Most of you have probably heard the news by now about the kid from Grinnell College who made history yesterday. His name is Jack Taylor, he is a 5'10" guard on their basketball team, and the 138 points he scored in yesterday's game against Faith Baptist Bible College set an NCAA record. Needless to say, it was an unprecedented performance, but is this really something that should be so celebrated?

The numbers are ridiculous. They read like the total offensive stats for most high school players' whole season. Taylor made 52 of 108 shots from the field, 71 of which were three-pointers, of which he made 27. Let me point something out. His shooting percentages were normal. He shot 48% from the field and 38% from three-point range. The only reason he scored 138 points in the game was that he got to shoot 108 times! Most college players could score over 100 points if they were allowed to shoot that many times in a game. The more impressive part of this game was the leading scorer for Faith Baptist. David Larson scored 70 points on 34-44 shooting from the field. He shot 77%! If he had put up 108 shots with that percentage he would have scored 166 points, and that's with no three-pointers or free throws.

The point is that this is not the way that basketball should be played. If Norman Dale were Taylor's head coach, he would have been on the bench after one shot for not waiting until the team had passed it at least four times. Jack Taylor ain't no Jimmy Chitwood. And now, for your viewing pleasure, here is Jimmy Chitwood's game-winning shot in the state championship.

That gets me every time. This is how basketball should be played.