WSU’s Asia Strong rarely shot three-pointers. Now she’s the best in the conference
The breakout star of this season for the Wichita State women’s basketball team has been junior Asia Strong.
It shouldn’t be a total surprise that Strong, a 6-foot-2 forward from South Bend, Indiana, is leading WSU in scoring at 15.2 points per game. She came to the Shockers as one of the top junior-college recruits in the country after helping lead Trinity Valley Community College to a 32-1 record last spring.
What is a surprise, however, is Strong’s sudden ability to take (and make) three-pointers. She came to WSU as an accomplished post player who rarely shot from the outside (3 for 19 last season), but Strong has blossomed into one of the best sharpshooters in the American Athletic Conference this season for the Shockers (4-7).
Strong is punishing defenses for not guarding her out to the three-point line. In conference play, Strong leads the American in three-point percentage (46.2%) and ranks fourth in the conference in threes made per game (2.0).
“I’ve always wanted to be more versatile and be able to play inside and outside,” Strong said. “I’ve been working on my outside game for a long time now. I’ve always had a mid-range shot, so I just wanted to extend that out to the three-point line. I’ve been working really hard on it and it’s improved and it’s showing and I’m glad it’s getting noticed.”
Despite Strong rarely shooting threes in junior college, WSU coach Keitha Adams said that she wasn’t surprised to see Strong’s game blossom at the Division I level. The Shockers will host Temple at 2 p.m. Saturday at Koch Arena with the game streaming on ESPN+.
“When we recruited her, we talked about her playing some outside for us and being a versatile player,” Adams said. “It’s been great for us. When you’ve got a forward like her who can stretch the floor out for you, then you start doing pick-and-pops and when she’s knocking them down that really helps our offense.”
In a season where the coronavirus pandemic has taken its toll on WSU more than most teams in the country, Strong’s consistency this season has been one of the biggest bright spots.
She has scored at least nine points in every game this season and can score in a variety of ways. Her right hook is a nice go-to shot in the paint and Strong scores a good chunk of her points by using her long strides to out-run everyone in transition.
Strong likes being WSU’s go-to player when it needs a timely basket, including three-pointers now.
“I’ve definitely come a far way,” said Strong, who is shooting 45.9% from the field and averaging 5.5 rebounds. “My problem was when I used to shoot threes, I didn’t have enough arc. It was really flat. Now I’m shooting the ball up and I follow through and it’s helping me drop the ball into the net more. Everything is muscle memory.”
“She’s been practicing that shot for a while now and she’s consistent with it in practice, so in the game it’s the same thing,” WSU point guard Seraphine Bastin said. “She’s improved so much and in such a short period of time. It’s really exciting to see.”
Strong was rarely pulling the trigger on threes at the beginning of this season. But when WSU went into quarantine and went 20 days in between playing games, Strong used that time to get in the gym on her own and start putting in the time on her three-point shot.
Now she is such a good three-pointer shooter that she is starting to develop counters to defenses that try to take away her shot, like a side-step move that gets her more space. WSU is even beginning to run her through elevator screens just to try to get her an open look on the perimeter.
“My confidence comes from my preparation,” Strong said. “I’m always ready now to shoot off the dribble or off the pass. My hands are low and ready to catch and fire it up. My confidence has always been there, it’s just now starting to show more. It’s that work ethic that I put in and I’m very happy that the results are starting to show.”
This story was originally published February 5, 2021 at 6:00 AM.
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