LAWRENCE
Perry Ellis cultivated the new weapon slowly, year by year, layer by layer, the confidence building over time. When Ellis was a freshman, he attempted just three three-pointers on the season. He was a reserve power forward then, a 6-foot-8 freshman, and while he made two of those three shots, to gun from deep would have been an audacious play for a young big man.
The next season, as a sophomore, the process continued. Ellis hoisted 17 three-pointers, hitting eight of them. He used the three sparingly, and he used it efficiently. But an Ellis three-pointer was more novelty than true offensive weapon.