UNC and Oklahoma are locked in a heated battle over a Warriors shooting drill
North Carolina and Oklahoma are each one win away from squaring off in the national title game in Houston next Monday. They're two of the highest-scoring teams in the country, both averaging more than 80 points per game.
For the Sooners, the 3-point shot is a huge part of their offense, making 10.4 per game this season. Buddy Hield has played a huge role in that number being sixth in the nation, but North Carolina's Joel Berry II holds a record he has yet to beat.
As reported by Dana O'Neil of ESPN, the two schools have gone back and forth in a 3-point shooting competition inspired by Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors. It's gone on all year long, too. The challenge is to make as many threes possible before missing two in a row.
The record started at 142 from Hield. That was promptly eclipsed by Marcus Paige of UNC, who made 156. Hield responded with 197 of his own. And then came Berry -- the Tar Heels' best 3-point sharpshooter.
Berry made 251 before missing two in a row. Yeah, that's a lot.
"Two-fifty-one? That's crazy," Hield told O'Neil. "I need to get back in the gym."
Even Thompson, the originator of the drill-turned-contest, is impressed with Berry's total, but he's not so sure it'll be easy to do -- and it won't be.
"Oh my god, 251? That's a lot," Thompson said. "College 3? Still, that's pretty good. That's really good. Sheesh. ... I'm not gonna try and break 251. That's a lot of jump shots. He's got me there."
Berry said he lost count after a while. His goal was to beat Hield, one of the nation's best shooters.
"It got to the point where I wasn't in the groove like I was in the beginning because my arms were so heavy," Berry II said. "I felt like I was shooting forever. I was shooting against myself, but I also wanted to see if I could beat Buddy."
Needless to say, he shattered the record, and is still atop the "standings" between the two schools. Maybe playing in Houston will inspire Hield to top Berry.
