“He preaches that to all of us who can shoot,” sophomore wing Tim Finke said. “When you have a coach on your side that’s telling you to shoot it when you’re open, it makes it a lot easier. You don’t have to think twice about it. You just jump up and shoot it.”
Not having to check with the bench for approval has freed up Finke and the rest of the Raiders.
He’s made a team-high 31 in 75 attempts over 19 games for a nifty 41.3%. He had 34 his entire freshman year at Grand Canyon before transferring, shooting 36.7%.
Grant Basile, a 6-foot-9 sophomore forward, has expanded his repertoire and become a threat from 3. He’s made 14 of 30 (46.7%) after going 3 of 21 last season.
Junior wing Jaylon Hall is also having his best season from the arc, making 25 of 59 (42.4%).
But even freshman Alex Huibregtse is getting the same encouragement from Nagy despite going 16 of 57 (28.1%).
“I’ve always been pretty confident in my shot,” Finke said. “I’ve worked on it a lot — especially this past summer with having a lot of down time and being at home. It was something I thought I could focus on and bring to the team.
“I just try to be confident with it every time I shoot it. That’s the way I’ve been approaching it, and it’s been working.”
With league player of the year Loudon Love and Basile so hard to stop on the blocks, Nagy has made a commitment to an inside-out offense, forcing foes to choose between double-teaming the post or stay connected to shooters. They’ve been choosing the former.
“They’re definitely leaving us, and Lou and Grant make great passes out of the post,” Finke said. “We work all the time to get our feet set and be ready to shoot it when they kick it back out.”
The Raiders are only seventh in the league in 3′s, mostly because they don’t jack a lot of them.
They were 7 of 14 in Saturday’s 20-point win against UIC, which was ideal in Nagy’s eyes.
“That the right amount for what we’ve got going in the post,” he said. “We just have to keep throwing it in and make teams figure out how to stop that first.”
While he’s proficient from 3, the 6-6 Finke has shown from the start he’s more than a catch-and-shoot player. He’s got the physique at 215 pounds to mix it up inside, and he’s had four double-figure rebound games, including 10 in the Raiders’ last outing.
He’s averaging 10.1 points and 6.4 boards.
“He’s a good mix in terms of what we do offensively,” Nagy said “He’s a good rebounder, too. He’s physical. He’s been a really good addition to our team and fits in well with the other guys.”
He also knows his place. Being the newcomer, he lets the veterans lead.
But inside, there’s a smoldering competitor, and that’s had a contagious effect.
“He’s a very quiet guy, but I wouldn’t want to make him mad,” Nagy said with a chuckle. “I’ve seen him at that level, too. He can flip a switch.
“We refer to him as The Robot. He’s kind of like a machine. He just plays hard, rebounds and has such a good motor.”
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