Wichita State needs to turn UD Arena into a shooter’s gym

For the scouting report on UD Arena, the 12,800-seat home of the First Four, Wichita State’s source is an assistant coach’s sister-in-law.

“Good shooter’s gym” is Shauna Green’s report, and that’s good because the Shockers need to find a place with soft rims and nurturing background after their last performance. Green, now a women’s basketball assistant coach at Northwestern, spent three seasons as an assistant at Dayton. She is WSU assistant coach Greg Heiar’s sister-in-law and her optimism is a good place to start for the Shockers.

Wichita State (24-8) will take any encouragement to rediscover its offensive groove against Vanderbilt (19-13) in Tuesday’s First Four game. The winner of the battle of No. 11 seeds advances to play No. 6 Arizona on Thursday night in Providence, R.I. WSU will be on a plane back to Kansas if it can’t improve on a 2-of-24 performance from three-point range in a 57-52 loss to Northern Iowa in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.

The Shockers exited St. Louis in a funk and spent the last 10 days trying to regain shooting form and shooting confidence.

“Just get in the gym,” WSU guard Fred VanVleet said. “That’s always a first step, get shots up, start to where you can trust your routine, trust your confidence.”

If UD Arena is blessed with generous rims, so much the better.

“She’s always telling me what a shooter’s gym this is,” Heiar said. “It’s the rims and the backdrop. I don’t really know, but she said people shoot the ball well in here.”

Two of the Shockers’ best shooters differ on their theory about the existence of shooter’s gyms.

Senior Ron Baker believes some gyms are more welcoming than others, largely because of the rims and how the space behind the basket affects depth perception. He regards Evansville’s Ford Center as the best shooting environment in the Valley.

Sophomore guard Conner Frankamp declines to play that game. He wants every gym to be a shooter’s gym, so there is no sense elevating one or dreading another.

“I think it’s very important to have confidence in every gym you step in that you can make shots,” he said. “There’s different stuff in every gym. The most important thing is trusting your shot.”

If the existence of a shooter’s gym is a somewhat mystical basketball pursuit, the Shockers spent their off-time working on fundamentals of the shot. The slump against Northern Iowa — which included 31.7-percent shooting overall — isn’t entirely out of character. WSU is shooting 43.4 percent from the field and 33 percent from behind the arc this season, both of which would be lows dating to coach Gregg Marshall first two seasons at WSU.

The Shockers are an efficient offensive team, but not much more than average on two-point accuracy and below average from behind the arc. Their offense thrives off easy shots created by turnovers and bad shots. As Northern Iowa proved twice and Illinois State underlined, Shocker shooters can be limited if the offense is forced to work against an organized, half-court defense often.

In the Koch Arena video room, coaches showed the players all 24 three-pointers.

“We had so many nice looks,” Marshall said. “Two of them went in. We showed each wide-open shot and said, ‘What are you doing about this?’ ”

Several Shockers worked on their shooting stroke outside of practices over the past week. Over and over again in Koch Arena or in the practice gym, Shockers and managers worked before and after practice to hone something they’ve been doing all their basketball lives.

“Shooting is one of those things that is built off rhythm, muscle memory,” Baker said. “Defense is just kind of a want-to. Shooting is more of a skill, a craft you’ve got work on. Anytime you can leave the gym feeling good about your shot, your rhythm, it definitely helps with your confidence the next time you step back in there.”

In practice, coaches are directing players to get their feet and hands ready to shoot and helping passers by moving into their line of sight.

“We want to install confidence in the reps,” Heiar said. “Trusting your shot, believing it. The more time in the gym, the more shots you take, the better chance you’ve got to make them in a game.”

Coaches also upped the number of shots taken while moving to simulate game conditions. Video revealed that some Shockers are catching the ball with their feet behind the play, not quite in good shooting form.

“A lot more shooting on the move, trying to get their legs tired before we do our shooting,” Heiar said. “By the time you catch the ball, your feet are square to the basket, you’re shot-ready when you catch the ball.”

The Commodores represent a defensive challenge that the Shockers rarely face.

They start 7-footers Luke Kornet, who averages 3.04 blocks, and Damian Jones. WSU can’t win Tuesday’s game if it’s about size. It will need to spread the floor, open driving lanes and make Vanderbilt’s big men move away from rim-protecting postures in the lane. Jones, who has fouled out of seven games, will likely be a target in the pick-and-roll game, which can both draw big men away from the basket and get them in foul trouble.

With Cornet and James in the lane, the Commodores can defend aggressively on the perimeter. They hold teams to 29.2-percent shooting from three-point range, third nationally and 38.6 percent, seventh, from the field. They turn the ball over on 16.8 percent of their possessions, No. 84 nationally. The Shockers can help their shooting woes by increasing that turnover frequency and taking the pressure off their half-court offense.

This story was originally published March 14, 2016 at 9:55 PM with the headline "Wichita State needs to turn UD Arena into a shooter’s gym."