‘Stay in the shot’: How Dexter Dennis delivered in the clutch for WSU Shockers
All it took was four simple words for Dexter Dennis to rediscover his three-point stroke for the Wichita State men’s basketball team.
“Stay in the shot,” teammate Tyson Etienne explained after the Shockers’ 73-69 win over South Florida on Saturday when Dennis made 4-of-7 three-pointers.
Before his last two games, Dennis was mired in the worst shooting season of his career with his three-point shooting percentage at an ice-cold 27%. But after going 3-for-3 beyond the arc at UCF, Dennis has now made 7-of-10 triples in his last two games.
So what exactly does it mean to “stay in the shot” for Dennis?
“When I shoot and I land, stay there,” Dennis said. “Keep my follow through and my feet there. Don’t fall back.”
Dennis admitted he has the tendency of drifting backwards after he lands from a jumper. Even on wide-open looks, he would elevate, land a foot forward from where he jumped, then backpedal a few steps upon landing.
So on Saturday when Dennis caught the ball wide open in transition and began his motion to launch the go-ahead shot to break a 59-all tie with less than three minutes remaining, Etienne said he was shouting those four words — “Stay in the shot!” — at Dennis before he released.
Sure enough, Dennis jumped with the perfect balance that allowed him to stick the landing like a gymnast, with neither of his feet moving an inch after landing a foot forward, and held his follow through with his hand in the cookie jar to watch his shot swish through the net.
The Shockers wouldn’t trail again after Dennis put them ahead 62-59 with 2:39 remaining.
“When he has great shot discipline, his shots go in,” Etienne said. “He has a beautiful release. As long as he stays disciplined with his mechanics, his shots go in.”
For whatever reason, February has annually brought out the best shooting from Dennis and been the month when he has busted out of his shooting slump. In his career, Dennis has made just 28% of the 261 three-point attempts before February and 45.8% of the 120 three-point attempts during February.
This season has been no exception, as Dennis has connected on 10-of-21 three-pointers for 47.6% accuracy in the four games he’s played so far in February. He had shot just 27% beyond the arc in the first three months of the season.
“Don’t jinx it,” Dennis said jokingly when asked about the trend.
WSU’s offense is in desperate need of shooting gravity outside of Etienne and if Dennis can begin to consistently knock down three-pointers, then the floor could begin to open up more for WSU. Defenders won’t be as willing to leave Dennis on the perimeter and take a step closer to defending him on the three-point line, which in turn opens up another foot of space for potential driving lanes for the Shockers.
It also helped that Dennis was able to deliver twice in clutch situations, most notably the go-ahead shot in the final three minutes but also a critical three-pointer to halt a 7-0 USF rally and turn the momentum back in WSU’s favor.
“So excited for Dexter,” WSU coach Isaac Brown said. “He’s had these moments before and he made that wide-open shot (late) and that will probably give him a lot of confidence the rest of the way.
“I think he was asking for the basketball in transition. In order to be a guy that makes shots, you’ve got to have confidence in yourself. He stepped up tonight and made some big ones.”
And in true Dennis fashion, he still found a way for his best play of the game to come on the defensive end.
Just seconds after his run-busting triple, Dennis made the hustle play of the game when he deflected a pass and saved what looked like a ball headed out of bounds with a quick swipe and dive that sent him tumbling over the scorer’s table.
The ball went straight to Ricky Council IV and ignited a fast break that Council finished for what became a 6-0 run that trimmed USF’s seven-point lead down to a single point in 43 seconds.
“Actually when I did that, I’ll be honest with you, I didn’t know where the ball went,” Dennis said. “I was so glad Ricky had it. I was like, ‘Oh my God, that actually happened.’”
There comes a price for the hustle that is building a case for American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year.
“I’m kind of tired of hitting the scoreboard,” Dennis deadpanned. “It hurts.”
This story was originally published February 13, 2022 at 7:00 AM.
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