Hadley expanding game in a hurry
He’s been able to spread the floor with more frequency
SEATTLE >> The evolution of J’vonne Hadley hasn’t simply been about adven- turing more frequently beyond the paint. Although that certainly has played a big part in his recent surge.
For Hadley, his transformation has been as much about adopting a mindset that he is much more than a blue collar, crafty post player who gets things done inside despite taking a 6-foot-6 frame into the interior.
That newfound versatility was on display yet again on Wednesday. Returning from a one-game absence due to a knee injury, Hadley scored a CU careerhigh 24 points as the Colorado men’s basketball team picked up its first win in a true road game this season by topping Washington 98-81.
Winners of four games in a row, the Buffaloes will seek a road sweep in their final Pac-12 Conference trip through Washington when they visit Washington State on Saturday afternoon (3 p.m. MT, Pac-12 Network).
“J’vonne is really concentrating on his perimeter game,” CU head coach Tad Boyle said. “He’s really worked on his 3-point shooting. He’s really worked on his ball-handling. We want that. When we say the guards down at this end (at practice), the bigs down here, he doesn’t go with the bigs anymore. He doesn’t want to. And I get that. But the one thing he can’t forget is that he’s pretty darn good down there. That’s part of his game, too. He’s a true inside-outside guy.”
Hadley scored 14 of his 24 points after halftime at UW despite taking a shot to his nose late in the first half that was set for further testing following Wednesday’s victory. Hadley finished 8-for-10 from the floor, tying his CU career high for made field goals, and 7-for-8 at the free throw line. His lone turnover was his first in three games and just his fourth in the past eight games.
Hadley also knocked down his only 3-point attempt, continuing a sudden long-range surge that began at the start of Pac-12 play. After attempting just one 3-pointer in 22 games last year in his first season at CU, Hadley was 0-for-5 this season on 3-pointers before knocking down his first shot from long range at the Division I level since he made one during his freshman season at Northeastern.
Since then, Hadley has been money from the arc, with his 3-pointer during Wednesday’s win giving him an 8-for-13 mark (.615) in his past eight games. His effort at the free throw line at UW improved Hadley’s season percentage to .832.
“Everybody is healthy, everybody is feeling good, so hopefully we can all just stay healthy and be the team we’re meant to be,” Hadley said. “You get that first (road win), it feels good and stuff but you can’t be satisfied. We’re going to rest and go on to Washington State right away.”
With the win at UW, the Buffs became the first Pac12 team to reach six conference victories going into league play on Thursday night. CU did a commendable job of guarding the 3-point line against a UW squad that has struggled from long range, holding the Huskies to a 5-for19 mark. But UW finished at .541 overall with a .667 mark on 2-pointers. That inside vulnerability will be put to the test at Washington State.
“I thought we guarded the 3-point line but we didn’t guard the ball well, and our ball-screen defense wasn’t good enough,” Boyle said. “We gave up 54%, 81 points. But that goes to
A few minutes after Colorado Avalanche coach Jared Bednar addressed the media Wednesday night, a couple of Washington Capitals were shuffling toward the team bus. They were unknowingly helping to prove a point Bednar had just made.
The Capitals were filing out of Ball Arena not long after Nathan Mackinnon authored a virtuoso performance against them. They were a desperate team, but Mackinnon eviscerated them with his second fourgoal, five-point game in 34 days.
Washington’s players were getting on a bus, which would take them to Denver International Airport and then onto a plane headed for Dallas. Bednar had just spoken for nearly 12 minutes, much of it about Mackinnon’s brilliance.
He spoke four words that might sum up Mackinnon and his influence on the Avalanche better than anyone has at any point in his decorated career: We get in late.
“Most teams are on the road and you’re moving cities,” Bednar said. “We get done with a game, and most teams are on the bus in 20 minutes, on the plane in an hour and they’re flying to wherever they’re going. And they get in early. “We get in late.” Mackinnon has earned a reputation throughout his career as one of the hardest-working players in professional sports. Beast, animal, maniac — those are all terms of endearment others have used to describe Mackinnon’s work ethic away from the ice.
He has been one of the best players in the world for the past six seasons, with four top-five finishes in the Hart Trophy voting. This season, Mackinnon has found another level.
Mackinnon has credited his off-ice work, but he’s also typically reluctant to speak about it in much detail. Bednar did not get into the specifics about what Mackinnon does, but he did pull the figurative curtain back a little Wednesday night.
“Nate has a routine after the game that he does at home, on the road — it doesn’t matter, because that’s what makes him ready for the next game,” Bednar said. “As his teammates, some guys have followed suit and they’re doing it. He’s pushing other guys to do it, which makes us better.
“As a coach, you just go along with it. I sit at my computer and work for an hour after the game before we get on the bus. Instead of getting in at 1 (a.m.), we get in at 2. It works for him, and he’s leading us. So whatever works for him.”
Mackinnon has 30 goals and 82 points through 48 games. He, his idol-turnedpal Sidney Crosby and Connor Mcdavid are the only players to produce 82 points in the first 48 games of a season this century.
One of Mackinnon’s greatest strengths is his engine.
He leads all forwards in time on ice this season. He has reached 20 miles per hour on the ice 437 times, according to NHL Edge data. The next-closest player, Brayden Point, has 286.
He has reached 22 miles per hour 69 times. Connor Mcdavid is second, with 38.
“What he’s doing this year, he’s really consistent with it,” Bednar said, noting that Mackinnon has always been the hardest-working player since the coach arrived in Denver. “I’m talking about going from great to elite habits, or from elite to super-elite habits off the ice. He’s found something with his desire to get better and just his drive and his education of his off-ice training. He’s always looking for an edge. What he’s found is clearly working for him.
“It starts with all of his off-ice stuff. It’s relentless.
It’s in.”
Mackinnon has found a way to match Mcdavid’s speed, but he also combines that with prime-era Alex Ovechkin power. Players bounce off him while he’s carrying the puck like the largest-sized guy in the Nintendo “Ice Hockey” game from the late 1980s.
Tom Wilson, one of the NHL’S most physical players, stands at 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds. He collided with Mackinnon in the slot Wednesday night — while Mackinnon was attempting a one-timer — and the end result was Wilson flat on his back in the Washington crease.
“He’s in the discussion for the best player on the planet. He’s a linchpin piece for us,” Avalanche general manager Chris Macfarland said recently on Frank Seravalli’s podcast “Frankly Speaking.” “I think this year he’s just been on one of those benders, which I think the players of his ilk — and there are a number of them in whatever sport — when they get on one, you just kind of ride that wave. I think it’s a credit to Nathan. It’s not a surprise.
“He’s dialed in, in terms of his preparation, unlike any other player that I’ve had the good fortune to be around, with how he takes care of himself off the ice. Not just during the season, it’s a 12-month thing for him.”
Bednar noted that Mackinnon’s performance in the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs, when he did not win the Conn Smythe Trophy but did accept whatever assignments the club needed from him — including focusing on checking Mcdavid instead of scoring in a fourgame sweep of Edmonton — is tough to beat in his appreciation for the franchise center.
consistent.
It’s dialed