Miami's Nijel Pack: More Than A 3-Point Shooter
There have been many ways that college points guards have helped their teams win, Miami’s Nijel Pack included.
He’s been a good teammate that will hit someone on the move to get them an easy dunk. Pack has also given up some good looks this season in an effort to pass the ball to another Hurricane that was even more open than himself.
All of that stated, his 3-point shooting has been what most have discussed, with the last game being a prime example. No one player was supposed to be able to score 26 points against the revered Houston Cougars defense.
After ripping the nets to the tune of 7 of 10 from deep, Pack received a lot of attentionl for his shooting. Well deserved. One of his triples came from the edge of the logo near center court, plus three of his triples happening between the 14:22 and 12:12 marks of the second half, Pack was on fire versus Houston.
One word to describe Nijel Pack last night?
— Canes Men’s Basketball (@CanesHoops) March 25, 2023
Ridiculous. pic.twitter.com/XZO2A1ublu
After the game, Pack, his teammates, and Jim Larrañaga took to the media room to answer questions. Here’s what Pack said about getting the opportunities to make the shots.
“My teammates found me early and got me going. They instilled confidence in me from the jump ball. They kept feeding me and telling me to shoot the ball, and I shot it with a lot of confidence. They were able to go in.”
Texas will be Miami’s next opponent and will undoubtedly attempt to make Pack’s evening more difficult than Houston did. Can the Longhorns slow Pack down?
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Possibly.
What’s more important will be how Pack – as well as each player that comes into the Miami lineup – reacts to the defense from Texas. He might need to look for his teammates a bit more so that they take up more of the scoring against the Longhorns.
Pack has been a good point guard this season; he passed the basketball quite well while running the offense. For the year, Pack has averaged 2.4 assists and led one of the nation's most explosive scoring teams.
With that in mind, here’s a look at Miami’s last 10 games, with Pack's statistics for points scored, 3-point shot attempts and makes, plus his assists. The following helps to show how balanced a player Pack has become.
(a = ACC Tournament, n = NCAA Tournament)
@ North Carolina - 23 points, 4 of 6, and 1 assist
Wake Forest - 24 points, 4 of 8, and 4 assists
@ Virginia Tech - 16 points, 2 of 8, and 1 assist
Florida State - Did not play
Pittsburgh - 9 points, 1 of 4, and 3 assists
Wake Forest (a) - 9 points, 1 of 4, and 2 assists
Duke (a) - 11 points, 1 of 6, and 1 assist
Drake (n) - 21 points, 3 of 7, and no assist
Indiana (n) - 12 points, 2 of 8, and 2 assists
Houston (n) - 26 points, 7 of 10, and 2 assists
Pack was banged up towards the end of the season, and even when he was back through the first couple of games he was not quite himself. Now that Pack looks comfortable again, the ball has gone through the hoop much more often.
He’s also moved better with and without the basketball. Guarding the talented guard from Indianapolis will be a challenge for Texas, and that includes keeping Pack from making heat checks near the logo as well as finding a teammate cutting to the hoop.
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Fan Nation High school football recruiting analyst covering the state of Florida, as well as across the Southeastern United States and the state of Texas.