by Randy Brown, randybrown.coach
It dawned on me recently after watching Iowa State dismantle the University of Mississippi and West Virginia that they excel at something very interesting. They are amazing at creating “Wide Open” threes.
There are forced threes, guarded threes, contested threes, then there are Wide Open Threes.
Led by Steve Prohm and his staff, the Cyclones have their offense clicking recently and scoring seems to come so easy.
How to shoot more open threes:
1. Be a good teammate and share the ball
2. See the floor like a hawk
3. Know where your teammates ARE and where they are going to BE
4. Know where your best shooters are on the floor at all times
5. Create excellent spacing.
“Good spacing makes closing out a chore”
“Great spacing make closing out seem up hill!”
6. Have the skill of passing down to a tenth of an inch
7. Penetration at the right time, and the right place.
but above all……
8. DRIVE TO SCORE
Iowa State’s players are very adept at driving the gap to get EVEN or BY the DEFENDER.
Once this has been accomplished, they LOOK TO SCORE!
It’s getting their eyes on the basket and maintaining the body language of a player who wants to dunk that forces such defensive urgency. Many times they DO get to the basket and score or get fouled. But many times too they make the pass to an open player for a shot or another, or another pass to a guaranteed Wide Open Player.
They have talent, skills to pass, penetrate, and shoot…….and they love their teammates and relish the opportunity to celebrate everyone’s success. They embody something I think college basketball, and certainly basketball in general; they ENJOY playing the game and it shows.
What is really difficult for opponents is that they are very good at making guarded shots from three also, not just the open ones.
So now you’ve read about this part of their game and how it helps them beat up on the counties best teams.
It begs the question……………
So how would you defend Iowa State?
