While others shy away, Wichita State’s Craig Porter sees opportunity in the mid-range
The mid-range jump shot is slowly becoming extinct in the modern way basketball is played.
More and more teams are instructing their players to either step back a few feet to try to score one more point behind the 3-point line or to continue probing to see if a closer-range, higher-percentage shot becomes available.
Where others see mid-range jumpers as an inefficiency, Wichita State senior point guard Craig Porter sees opportunity.
“I had a coach tell me one time that basketball is about picking your spots and doing what you’re good at,” Porter said. “So I’ve just been trying to stick to what I’m good at, not forcing anything and picking my spots.”
Porter has become effective in the mid-range for the Shockers (15-13, 8-8 AAC) in his senior season, as he’s averaging 12.9 points 6.4 rebounds and 4.6 assists entering Thursday’s road showdown against No. 1 Houston (27-2, 15-1 AAC) in American Athletic Conference play.
According to Synergy’s tracking data, which begins with the 2011-12 season, Porter has converted 26 mid-range jumpers — sixth-most by a Wichita State player during that span — and his 45% accuracy is tied with Jamarius Burton from the 2019-20 season for the best shooting mark.
“He’s a big guard who can score around the rim,” WSU head coach Isaac Brown said. “He gets in the paint and makes that spin move and just jumps over those little guards. He’s really comfortable doing that and he’s great at scoring with his back to the basket and in the mid-range. We’ve got to continue to get him shots like that.”
The increase in mid-range shots this season has been a result of Porter taking advantage of defenses that are so concerned about preventing him from reaching the rim. For good reason: Porter is finishing 65.9% on shots within four feet of the rim, according to cbbanalytics.com.
It has been easy for him to launch uncontested jumpers between 10 and 15 feet with a quick release and against back-pedaling defenders who are bracing to wall off the drive.
Porter also enjoys using his 6-foot-3 frame when WSU runs a set play to feed him the ball in the short post area, where he can use his size advantage against smaller defenders to play bully ball.
“If I see a smaller guy on me, then I know I can attack them and use my strength to get separation and then I can jump over the top of them,” Porter said.
They are shots that WSU’s coaching staff doesn’t want every player taking, but Porter has proven capable in practice and backed it up with shooting percentages in games that make those shots worthwhile.
“He really stands out with that mid-range game,” WSU sophomore guard Jaron Pierre said. “He tells us all the time to start looking for those mid-range jumpers because those are the shots that are open. People don’t think you’ll shoot them. Watching him do that every day in practice is pretty impressive. He just gets off the floor quick and every time it goes in.”
The threat of the mid-range shot has also made Porter more dangerous in the pick-and-roll game with center Kenny Pohto.
He’ll settle for step-back 3-pointers on occasion, but Porter prefers to probe the defense coming off the ball screen to see if he can turn the corner and penetrate to somewhere around the foul line. That’s the sweet spot where he likes to operate in the mid-range.
It gives defenders just another thing to worry about when Porter has the ball coming off a screen.
“I’ve been specifically working on those kinds of shots,” Porter said. “I come off a screen and I get into that mid-range. If I starting hitting those, then that makes the big man have to help up and then I can dump it off to Kenny (Pohto) or find the shooter. It all goes hand in hand.”
In Sunday’s win at Tulane, Porter became just the sixth player in program history to register a triple-double and the first to finish with at least six assists in six straight games.
Porter’s mid-range success inspired teammate Jaykwon Walton to work on that aspect of his game. Walton became WSU’s leading scorer this season by sticking to the two most valuable shots in the game — 3-pointers and layups — which has helped him achieve impressive efficiency (team-best 116.4 offensive rating).
But Walton has started taking more 15-footers as of late, a shot he is capable of knocking down and also one that he believes can help open up those other shots in his package.
“Craig was such a good mid-range shooter that I had to start taking some notes,” Walton said. “I started to try to get in that mid-range area and knock those shots down.”
This story was originally published February 28, 2023 at 8:26 AM.
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