Depending how intently you follow the Patriot League, or if you were just on Twitter long enough last night that you saw the broken backboard, the name “Rapolas Ivanauskas” may mean something to you.
Mr. Ivanauskas is listed as a senior at Colgate (but he’s got another year of eligibility remaining, if my calculations are correct). He won the Patriot League Player of the Year award last year as a fresh transfer from Northwestern in a season in which he shot 43% on threes, and 77 % on free-throws, and he averaged almost eight boards, leading his team to a finish far from the limelight of the NIT, against Tennessee in the first round of some other tournament.
This year is going similarly for Colgate. They lead the Patriot League by two games with three to be played. Barring a surprise, they’re going to have home court advantage in the conference tournament, making losing—and thereby earning admission to their preferred postseason destination (the NIT, of course)—difficult. They’ve been appearing consistently in our NIT Bracketology, but that’s mostly because they’ve had the regular season title effectively wrapped up for long enough that they’ve long been one of the most likely teams to receive an automatic bid (also, Boston U might beat them but you didn’t hear that from me). In other words, while there’s a better chance we’ll see Colgate in the NIT than there is we’ll see most schools in the NIT, it’s not particularly likely we’ll see Colgate in the NIT.
Which is a shame.
Because Rapolas Ivanauskas will not stop missing threes.
The man has attempted at least one three-point field goal in all but one game this year, and at least two in all but three. He’s hoisted 103 long-range attempts. He’s thrown up more shots from deep than Alex Barcello, a starter for BYU who’s a 51% three-point shooter.
He’s made just 27.
Now, I should have led with this, but Ivanauskas is 6’10”. He’s big enough that he was the guy responsible for the aforementioned broken backboard. He’s not extraordinarily effective inside, but he’s a big man. He does not have to be shooting this many threes. It is doubtful that anybody is making him shoot this many threes. It is possible that Matt Langel (that’s Colgate’s coach) doesn’t even want him shooting this many threes (but maybe he does—maybe this is Langel’s fault). Nevertheless, Ivanauskas continues to shoot threes.
It is, of course, understandable. He shot 43% last year on ‘em. That’s really good. But at the same time, 103 attempts is a lot when you’re shooting 26%. It’s a lot for someone shooting 51%, like Barcello.
If the fates are willing, we’ll get to see Mr. Ivanauskas in a first-round game against a Providence or a Georgetown or a Richmond. By then, he may be approaching 150 attempts, or at the very least, 100 misses. If the fates are willing, it will be a glorious display of defiance in the face of repeated discouraging results—something some would call the lifeblood of the NIT (not me, but some).
Shoot on, Rapolas.
Shoot on.
