“I’ve always felt comfortable shooting the ball here,’’ Gatens said. “It’s been a little frustrating so far this season. We shot it a little better in our last game, so maybe things are starting to turn.’’
The Hawkeyes have nowhere to go but up from an offensive standpoint as they prepare for today’s 8:30 p.m. home game against Virginia Tech in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.
Iowa ranks 11th in the Big Ten in nearly every offensive category, problems that extend beyond the Hawkeyes’ total of 76 assists and 87 turnovers through a 2-4 start.
“Things are coming together, probably not as quickly as we’d like, but we are getting open shots and we are moving the ball around well,’’ Gatens said. “It’s tough when you run the offense well and can’t get the shot to drop. It’s something we’re all working on.’’
Gatens and Anthony Tucker, the two sophomores in the Iowa lineup, both topped 40 percent from 3-point range last season, but are shooting 26.7 and 22.7 percent from behind the arc so far this season.
“You just have to stick with it,’’ Gatens said. “We just need to get the confidence back. I shot it well early last year and that confidence helped me later. I need to get that back.’’
Coach Todd Lickliter has watched his team’s top shooters put in the time.
“They’re staying after practice, working on their shots, and that’s what it takes,’’ Lickliter said. “Every shooter goes through tough times. It’s like any sport. When you’re not hitting them as well as you should, you go to the driving range or batting cage. Our guys are staying late and working.’’
Lickliter is encouraging the Hawkeyes to do more than just shoot. He wants those extra shots to be taken at game speed.
He recalls working with former NBA player Derrick Dial, who Lickliter coached while working as an assistant at Eastern Michigan.
“His workouts on game day would exhaust most players,’’ Lickliter said. “He would have spots on the floor that he would go to in transition and shoot, starting with a feed off a rebound with the same surge that he would get during a game.’’
Lickliter sees preparation for a shot as important as the technical act of shooting the ball and he said Iowa coaches and teammates share a responsibility to prepare players to perform at that tempo.
“That’s what it will take for us to work through this,’’ Lickliter said, adding that his team’s slow offensive start “is kind of baffling.’’
“Our guys do not have flawed technique,’’ he said. “They have good technique. They just have to get settled in, continue to work hard, put the time in and get comfortable. Suddenly, they will click back into the groove. I’ve seen it happen.’’
Target practice
How the Iowa basketball team ranks in the Big Ten in early-season statistics:
Ranking Category Pct./Avg.
11 Field goal percentage 39.8
11 3-point FG percentage 26.6
7 Free throw percentage 69.8
11 Field goal defense 45.5
11 3-point FG defense 40.2
11 Assist-to-turnover ratio 0.87
11 Scoring offense 59.7
7 Scoring defense 63.7
11 Scoring margin -4.0
