How Colby Rogers stuck to his routine to snap slump for career-best game in UAB win
The workouts begin at 7 a.m. sharp inside an otherwise empty Koch Arena.
Colby Rogers has kept the same routine for the past year now, only altered when the Wichita State men’s basketball team is on the road.
When the Shocker sharpshooter was recently mired in a four-game shooting slump, Rogers didn’t look at change for an answer. Instead, he stuck with the same routine that has translated to one of the best outside-shooting seasons in program history entering Saturday’s final home game in the Roundhouse against Rice.
Rogers was rewarded for his patience and trust with a career-best outing on Wednesday, scoring a career-high 29 points on 10-of-14 shooting, including five 3-pointers, to lead the Shockers to a 74-66 win at UAB — their first road win in American Athletic Conference play.
“I use that morning routine to keep my mind right and recalibrate,” Rogers said. “I’m not really a spur-of-the-moment kind of person. The routine is what keeps me focused and keeps me in a rhythm.”
The impulsive move would have been to switch something up after Rogers shot just 26.9% (14-of-52) in four straight games before Wednesday’s road trip to Birmingham.
Instead, Rogers called for the same 7 a.m. workout with WSU special assistant Xavier Holland, who has been a mainstay for Rogers since being hired by first-year WSU head coach Paul Mills last spring.
“Colby wants to be a professional and he carries himself that way every single day,” Holland said. “He comes in every day and works hard. He’s never late. He never complains. That’s what I like about him: he’s a professional.”
Rogers leads the conference in 3-pointers made (76) and 3-point percentage (39.2%) this season, as he has already secured a top-five 3-point shooting season in WSU history. He had a streak of 25 straight games with a 3-pointer, which tied for the fourth-longest in school history, while his streak of 28 straight made free throws was tied for seventh-longest in school history.
Shooting slumps come with the territory of being a shooter, and it’s vital to maintain confidence, Rogers said. It’s a mindset he has heard NBA all-time 3-point leader Stephen Curry talk about extensively.
“You’re going to have ups and downs, so you can’t get caught up in the last four games,” Rogers said. “You can’t shy away from it. Last game is the last game. Now it’s a whole new game in a different arena on a different day. You can’t bring it with you to the next day. You just have to realize these things happen and you have to keep pushing and keep fighting and trust that things will turn your way.”
After so many of his shots had swirled in and out recently, Rogers finally started seeing them drop. It’s always a confidence boost to a shooter to see the first one go in, which Rogers experienced when he crossed over a defender and pulled up from his sweet spot in the mid-range.
Rogers soon followed with another mid-range jumper, then a step-back 3 over a defender, then another triple over a tough contest. He had 12 points on 5-of-5 shooting within the first seven minutes on the road against UAB.
“Watching Colby work is phenomenal because we see it all the time in practice,” WSU junior guard Xavier Bell said. “It’s nothing new to us. We see the hard work he puts in and he works on the same shots he shoots in a game in practice.”
Once it became evident Rogers had it going from outside, UAB’s defenders started crowding him even more on the perimeter. It’s the type of defense Rogers has commonly seen this season with WSU’s lack of shooting options around him and Rogers’ still-developing ability to win battles off the dribble.
Rogers still has work to do improving his handles, evident by four turnovers against UAB, but it is clear he has leveled up in his off-the-bounce game this season with the Shockers. It’s a focus of his during practice and then even more in the one-hour early-morning sessions with Holland.
“Most of the players just do whatever the coaches tell them to do, but Colby goes above and beyond,” Holland said. “He does a lot of work on the heavy ball. We always start every workout, even on game day, we start with the heavy ball. And then he’ll do a lot of two-ball stuff. There’s still more work to do, but hopefully we can continue to develop him and continue to get him better.”
Rogers’ work was seen early in the first half during his scoring barrage when he took a high ball screen from Kenny Pohto, dribbled around the hard hedge going to his left, felt his defender had over-committed, then spun back to his right and used his inside leverage to finish a one-handed floater in the paint.
Another example came in the second half when Rogers rejected a ball screen at the top of the key, beating his defender off the dribble and finishing at the rim with his right hand.
Rogers topped off a perfect 7-for-7 performance in the first half with his signature move: a pump fake, side dribble and high release over the contest for a swish and another 3-pointer.
“When you’re on like that, it feels amazing and it makes you want to shoot everything,” Rogers said. “But I always play to win. I took those shots early with the intention of doing this to win, not to pad my stats. I saw the team was struggling a little, so I had to step up and meet the demands of the game. And in the first half, that’s what the game demanded.”
Mills couldn’t hide a grin after the game when relayed his star player had mentioned meeting the demands of the game, a phrase the coaching staff has hammered home this season.
Given Rogers’ heater in the first half, no one would have blamed him if Rogers launched 25 shots in the game.
But Rogers never once attempted a “heat-check” shot, always staying within the flow of the team’s offense. Rogers attempted just 14 shots but registered a career-high 29 points on an 89.3% effective field-goal percentage — a byproduct of his dedication to good looks only.
“It’s necessary, right?” Mills said. “You can sometimes get carried away and not realize it takes a team in order to get this done. I thought Colby stayed within that framework the entire game.”
Rice at Wichita State basketball preview
Records: Rice 11-17, 5-10 AAC; WSU 12-17, 4-12 AAC
When: 6 p.m. Saturday
Where: Koch Arena
How to watch: ESPN+
Radio: KEYN, 103.7-FM (Mike Kennedy with Dave Dahl)
KenPom says: WSU 74, Rice 68
Series history: WSU leads 1-0
This story was originally published March 1, 2024 at 1:05 PM.
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