When Providence first began recruiting Noah Locke in the summer of 2016, I had visions of the next Bryce Cotton running through my head. The 6’3 Locke is bigger and sturdier than Cotton had been coming out of high school, while Cotton was springier getting off of the floor. Just two years removed from seeing Cotton transform from spot up shooter to all-league point guard, I wondered if Locke could follow a similar path in Providence.
We never got the chance to see how Locke’s game would have developed over four years in black and white after he committed to Florida coming out of high school. Over three years at Florida and then last year at Louisville, Locke turned into a highly efficient 3-point shooter, who based almost all of his offensive game beyond the arc.
More than 67% of Locke’s shots over the past four years have come from long range. He did not develop into a creator (0.7 assists per game for his career) or threat to get to the foul line (0.7 attempts per game) like Cotton, but what he is is a player who buries threes at an efficient rate on a high number of attempts (5.9 3PTA per game in his career). Locke has made nearly 300 career 3-pointers (285) while never averaging 30 minutes per game in a season.
The fact that Locke has made that many 3-pointers only tells half the story.
For instance, where has he shot threes well from? How does he shoot with a hand in his face? Can he hit shots off the dribble? What does he rely on in the paint?
Let’s take a look.
2018-19 season:
What a freshman season it was for Locke. His 1.006 points per possession placed him in the 82nd percentile nationally. He was amazing in the halfcourt (86th percentile), particularly in spot up situations (79th percentile) and off of hand-offs (83rd). Locke shot 6-22 as a pick and roll scorer and took just 12 shots in isolation, making four of them.
Over 90% of his attempts were on jump shots (nearly 5% came on runners).
He ranked in the 59th percentile on guarded jump shots, 52nd when left open, and an impressive 81st on jumpers off the dribble.