Getting to know new Cincinnati Bearcats basketball ‘Shot Doctor’ Tim Buckley

He didn’t enter the Richard E. Lindner Center conference room in a lab jacket with a medical bag. He has no vanity plate on his car, nor a parking spot with his nickname earned through years of NCAA Division I basketball.

But, make no mistake, “The Shot Doctor” is on the clock at the University of Cincinnati.

Hired by Bearcats basketball head coach Wes Miller to fill the spot vacated when Josh Loeffler took a head coaching job at Loyola (Maryland), Tim Buckley has a resumé that is well-traveled and well-earned. Somewhere along the way, he was credited with improving outside shooting so much he became known as “The Shot Doctor”.

“I was fortunate enough to work with some good players that improved with their shooting,” Buckley said. “I happened to be the one that worked with them and they kind of nicknamed me that.”

Tim Buckley brings a wealth of college coaching experience to Cincinnati Bearcats basketball as a new assistant for Wes Miller.

‘Shot Doctor’ better than being ‘Dr. Airball’

Had Buckley’s students become bricklayers, it’s doubtful he’d have any notoriety. The client list is impressive: All-Americans Cody Zeller, Victor Oladipo and Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell at Indiana, Jerel McNeal at Marquette and Donovan Williams at UNLV. All made it to the NBA.

At South Carolina, who returned to the NCAA tournament for the first time since former UC assistant Frank Martin took them to the Final Four, Buckley had the Gamecocks shooting .339 from the arc averaging 8.1 treys per game. Ta’Lon Cooper shot nearly 46% and Myles Stute was at 38.5%.

By comparison, UC shot 33% as a team, averaging 7.6 triples per contest. C.J. Fredrick led shooting .426 from the long distance in 15 games, while Simas Lukošius in 35 games was at .385.

It’s early, but there’s promise from the perimeter

Buckley’s goal obviously will be to up the Bearcat numbers from downtown. While they all had their moments last year, Jizzle James, Dan Skillings Jr. and Day Day Thomas were all clumped in the 29-29% range. Newcomer…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/getting-know-cincinnati-bearcats-basketball-195405084.html

Author : Cincinnati.com | The Enquirer

Publish date : 2024-07-03 19:54:05

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