As a freshman in 2013-14, Marlon Beck, a guard on the Binghamton men’s basketball team, struggled from 3-point range, shooting just 27.5 percent for the season. The following year, he raised his percentage to 37.5 from behind the arc. Now a junior, Beck has again improved his shooting numbers. So far, in 2015-16, he is ranked fifth in the America East (AE) in 3-point shooting percentage, knocking down a scorching 44.4 percent of his shots.
“Marlon is shooting the ball really well,” BU head coach Tommy Dempsey said. “I think Marlon’s ability to stretch the floor right now has opened up the court for us. He’s drawing a lot of attention and we’re getting better shots.”
Beck is BU’s most experienced player, having started 40 games as a Bearcat entering the season. In his first two years, due to a lack of depth on Binghamton’s roster, Beck was forced to play almost exclusively at point guard. On most possessions, Beck initiated the offense, either taking shots off the dribble or distributing the ball to his teammates.
But, this season, with the addition of freshman guard Everson Davis, Beck has been able to play more at the shooting guard position. This has allowed him to receive more off-ball screens, freeing Beck up for open catch-and-shoot jump shots.
“It’s hard to run plays for guys coming off screens away from the ball when they’re playing point,” Dempsey said. “He was doing a bulk of the running of the offense and now he’s a little bit more involved in running offense for him.”
However, Beck got off to a slow start in his new role to open the year. He recorded just two points in the Bearcats’ season-opening loss at St. Bonaventure and followed that up two days later by scoring just one point in BU’s home opener against Army, a 75-60 loss. But, since then, Beck has had a stretch of seven games where he’s played some of the best basketball of his collegiate career.
“I wasn’t really expecting that [a slow start] but once I dug myself in that hole, all I could do was dig myself back out,” Beck said. “I just went back to watching film with the coaches, getting more workouts in, working on getting my shot right.”
In the seven games since Binghamton’s loss to Army, Beck has averaged 14.9 points per game — eclipsing double figures in six of them — while draining at least three 3-point shots in each of those contests. The lone exception was BU’s game against top-ranked Michigan State, when the Bearcats managed to score just 33 points.
Beck has not only helped to lead BU to both of its wins this season, but also has kept the Bearcats competitive in their losses.
“I’ve definitely noticed myself that I’ve been playing pretty well lately,” Beck said. “Just going from freshman year to sophomore to this year — just gaining the experience, getting better, understanding the game — has allowed me to just understand how to get better shots on offense.”
Opponents have now begun to make preventing Beck from shooting open 3-pointers a main focus of their game plan. Oftentimes, he is attempting shots that are tightly contested. However, that hasn’t hindered his ability to make them. Beck knocked down four of the seven 3-pointers he attempted in the Bearcats victory over Central Connecticut State and hit three of four in BU’s win against Colgate.
Beck also drained five 3-pointers in losses against Cornell, Boston University and Oakland, and hit six in the Bearcats most recent contest — an 80-64 loss at Buffalo on Saturday. Beck scored a season high 24 points in that game.
Last season, Beck hit 50 3-pointers in 32 games. In nine games so far in 2015-16, Beck has already knocked down 28.
“It’s a huge confidence and mental thing,” Beck said. “Coach always says, ‘good shots are shots that your teammates and your coaches think you can make.’ And my teammates and my coaches feel like I can make those [3-pointers].”