It's deep enough into the season now that it's pretty evident that Ronnie Johnson 's improved three-point shooting is no fluke.

With the season beyond its midway point, the Boilermakers' sophomore point guard is shooting 41.4 percent from long range.

He's made a dozen threes on 29 attempts - he's not tried enough to rank among Big Ten leaders, but as is, his percentage would be top 10 in the league - after making just six last season on 36 attempts.

And as recent games have shown, he can be relied on.

His three-pointer in the final six minutes at Illinois was a crucial bucket in that win; at Northwestern, he was 2-of-3, the lone miss being his last-second try that was blocked. Johnson's made five threes in 11 tries during Big Ten play thus far.

"I've been a little more selective with it," Johnson said. "I shot a lot of bad shots last year, 'cause I was still in my high school mode and thought I should take those. I have a better understanding of the game. I just take my open ones when they're open, don't force anything and things care take of itself."

Johnson said long-range shooting opportunities are not something he'll necessarily seek out - "I'm not just going to come off a ball screen and shoot it" - but will take when chances present themselves.

Matt Painter said penetration, among other things, should still be considered the phase of Johnson's game opponents should worry most about.

But while he won't soon aim to shoot threes in bulk, the sophomore believes his increased proficiency can make him a more well-rounded offensive player.

"It's just poor decisions. You can't give a blanket answer to that. It's just not making a simple play or a simple pass, then not finishing at the rim," Painter said, particularly sensitive to the issue after Purdue scored no points in transition in its 50-minute, double-overtime loss at Northwestern, despite multiple opportunities. "We spend a lot of time in practice, whether it's with pads or having somebody at the rim, or mid-court, and having to finish off one foot or two feet, just going to score the basketball. It just seems to me like we have too many guys driving to get fouled and then they pull the chair out from under us or cut in front of us or just get big and stay in legal guarding position and we're not going to score it.

"We work all year on trying to have the right mind set when you drive and we have to do a better job of concentrating and finishing."

By squandering fast-break chances, Painter said, Purdue has cost itself crucial points.

"It's really frustrating, because they're opportunities you work for," he said. "In the game of basketball, if you're going to win, you have to be able to steal points somewhere. Whether it's the free throw line, in transition or off the glass, those are the in-betweens and if you can knock down your free throws and make your layups on putbacks or run-outs, you're going to have a lot more success."