Villanova’s shooting display is lesson for all
Wildcats taking foes to school with threes
SAN ANTONIO – Do you dream about dominating in your YMCA league? Imagine topping your pops in a driveway pickup? Fantasize about hitting a buzzer-beating fadeaway?
Well, the Villanova Wildcats have some shooting tips for you.
“Work on good technique — follow through, off your (index) finger,” said Donte DiVencenzo (15 points, three three-pointers). “You don’t want anything coming off your thumb or your pinkie.”
“Have confidence in your shot, always,” added Phil Booth (10 points, two threes).
And then this from Mikal Bridges (15 points, three threes), who had to tweak his semi-wonky form when he got to Villanova’s campus four years ago: Keep that elbow in, or else everything can go awry.
Villanova (35-4) put on a shooting clinic Saturday night in its 95-79 national semifinal win against Kansas, advancing to the title game for the second time in three years. On Monday the Wildcats will meet Michigan, a 69-57 winner against Loyola-Chicago.
Surely the Wolverines are hoping Villanova has cooled off by then. There are no guarantees that will, in fact, happen.
“This is our best offensive team,” mused Villanova coach Jay Wright afterward in a statement that likely made Michigan coach John Beilein nauseous. “We’ve had some good ones. This is definitely our best.”
Perhaps someone should remind the Wildcats that they’re shooting in a dome and that’s supposed to mess up their depth perception. Clearly no one sent that memo to Villanova (though Michigan and Loyola-Chicago got duplicate copies, evidently).
In three Final Four games in domes and on elevated courts, two Villanova rosters have combined to shoot 61.1%
(99-for-162) from the field and 51.3%
(37-for-72) from three. That is simply staggering.
More words of wisdom now from the super shooters, who on Saturday set a Final Four record for three-pointers made (18), breaking the record of 13, which had been set back in 1987 — the first year the three-pointer was available in college basketball.
“It all starts with your feet,” said freshman Collin Gillespie (three points, one three). “You gotta meet the pass, put your eyes on the rim. Make sure you’re square to the basket. High release, point and wave goodbye. Think of making the L shape with your elbow.”
If you throw up bricks every time you ball, USA TODAY national player of the year Jalen Brunson (18 points, three threes) has some thoughts.
“Be a gym rat,” he advised. Maybe you’re airballing most your attempts from beyond the arc and can’t quite figure out why. Omari Spellman (15 points, three threes) is here to help.
“Be open to coaching and critiques of your own shot,” he said, as Wright smiled knowingly.
It’s clear, based on the barrage of triples and the final score, that the Wildcats are good at taking their own counsel.
Kansas led for 64 seconds Saturday. That’s when the Jayhawks (31-8) were up 2-0. Then Eric Paschall, Bridges and Spellman answered with threes on consecutive possessions, and Kansas needed a timeout, down 9-2.
Kansas answered with a bucket from Devonte’ Graham, and Villanova responded with three more threes, plus a thunderous put-back dunk from Paschall. Suddenly, Villanova was up 22-4.
About that time, Kansas coach Bill Self looked like he needed a 60-ounce margarita, available for $23.99 at Cafe Olé on the San Antonio River Walk. A new defensive strategy would have been good, too.
“When they got up 9-2, we’d called timeout, I thought we’re OK, but we need a couple of good possessions, fast,” Self said. “But then it gets to 22-4 and it’s like, oh, my gosh, we’re seven minutes in and this thing is — we’re going to have to play just about perfect to get back.”
That didn’t happen. Kansas went zone for a stretch, and Villanova had its share of empty possessions. But then it got hot again from the outside, taking a
47-32 lead into the locker room.
It got so lopsided so quickly that Wright felt bad for Self. Wright has been on the other side of things, of course, because he’s coached college basketball for more than three decades.
Then again, it’s not like he felt bad enough to call off the ’Cats. And who could blame him?
This was the type of shooting performance you see in pickup games, where defense is optional.
Fans started groaning when Villanova missed shots, because everyone wanted to see just how hot the Wildcats could get.
It didn’t actually get worse in the second half for Kansas, but the damage was done.
In an example of the type of night the Wildcats were having, Paschall threw up a prayer in front of the Villanova bench as the shot clock expired on the Wildcats’ second possession of the half. Swish.
That was the record-breaker. Villanova did slow in the second half — the Wildcats went an underwhelming
5-for-14 from three after the break — but shot 55.4% from the field overall. They also notched 20 assists on 36 made field goals and attempted only seven free throws.
There was no need to get to the foul line, evidently, because Villanova was so busy raining threes. And with their advice, you can, too. The secret to a sensational shooting night is actually pretty simple.
“It’s nothing magical,” said Brunson, who is on the verge of another fairy-tale ending. “It’s all in the work.”
And that applies whether you’re playing for a national title or a church league championship.