LORMAN, Miss. – Having made more three-pointers than anyone in the history of the Alcorn State University men's basketball program,
Maurice Howard will have to launch from a few steps further in 2019-20 – and so will the rest of NCAA Division I.
The NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel approved a rule change this summer that moves the three-point line back to the international distance of 22 feet 1.75 inches. The collegiate line was previously at 20 feet 9 inches.
"I practice shooting deep threes anyways," Howard said. "It won't affect my shooting much, but the new line will change the spacing on the court. It will be easier to drive and attack more."
Howard is coming off a year where he, again, broke the school record for three-pointers made in a season. He drilled 91 threes in 2018-19, which topped his own mark of 74 made in 2017-18. Howard holds the Alcorn career record with 212 threes made, and still has a year to go.
Not only is Howard firing away, but he's also making them at a high rate. He was the SWAC's top three-point shooter last year with a .406 percentage. Howard also had the third-longest active streak in the country by making at least one three-pointer in 39 consecutive games.
"When I'm practicing, I make sure that I make at least 250 threes per day," Howard said. "I've been doing that since eighth grade. I just want to work as hard as I can in preparation for games and put my time in."
The Quincy, Florida native won the team's Most Valuable award at the 2019 Alcorn Awards Banquet. He averaged a team-high 13.7 points per game and shot .896 (43-48) from the free throw line.
Additionally, Howard led the SWAC in minutes per game with a 36.4 average. He played 40 minutes 11 times last year.
"Maurice has been a huge part of our program the last three seasons. The amount of minutes he's played shows his value to the team," said Alcorn head coach
Montez Robinson. "Maurice sets a great example with his work ethic. He gets in the gym every day and concentrates on making shots. He's been a great leader for the younger guys and the expectation is for him to continue leading this program."
Howard is up to 973 career points after three years at Alcorn is shooting 212-551 (.385) in his career from long-range.
"Coach Robinson has helped my game tremendously. Not only with my skillset, but also expanding my knowledge of the game and my maturation off the court," Howard said.
However, heading into his senior season in 2019-20, Howard is less concerned about his individual play as he focuses on getting the Braves back up to the top of the standings.
"The goal is to make it to the NCAA Tournament. We want to win the conference, and whatever individual awards come along with that will be secondary," Howard said.
Howard is majoring in sports management and said he plans to continue playing professionally upon graduation. Down the road, he'd like to open his own training facility and start his own business.
Other NCAA rule changes for 2019-20 include:
- Resetting the shot clock to 20 seconds after an offensive rebound
- Players being assessed technical fouls for using derogatory language about an opponent's race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation or disability
- Allowing coaches to call live-ball timeouts in the last two minutes of the second half and overtime
- Conducting instant replay review for goaltending or basket interference calls in the final two minutes of the second half and overtime
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