In todayโs game, shooting the ball is one of a player’s most valuable skills.
If you can keep the floor spaced, youโll probably see the floor often.
In senior forward Zach Hicksโ case (career 35.6 percent three-point shooter), average conversion on long-range shots still provides value, especially within an offensive ecosystem stressing pace and space.
Zach Hicks, Penn State
NAME: Zach Hicks
HOMETOWN: Camden, N.J.
POSITION: Forward
YEAR: Senior
HEIGHT: 6-foot-8
WEIGHT: 205
CAREER
Hicks began his collegiate career at Temple University, appearing in 60 games for the Owls. During his time in North Central Philadelphia, Hicks averaged nine points, nearly five rebounds and made 141 threes (36.3 percent).
His best game for Temple came during his freshman season against Delaware State. The 6-foot-8 forward drilled 10 threes en route to a career-high 35 points. That record performance tied for the second most threes made in a game by a Division I player in the 2021-22 season.
JUNIOR SEASON
In Hicksโ first year at Penn State, he averaged 8.4 points, 3.9 rebounds and made a team-high 67 threes. Through the first 20 games of the year, though, shooting struggles plagued Hicks as he shot 29.4 percent from deep.
โI mean, Iโve been shooting the ball with confidence the whole year,โ Hicks said in February. โIt’s just that sometimes shooters go in slumps.โ
โBut I’ve never questioned my shot. Coach [Mike Rhoades] never questioned my shot, eitherโฆ I just [kept the] same approach, getting the reps up in practice, 200 shots after practice every time.โ
That confidence in his work set Hicks up for one of the best shooting stretches of his three years in college. Over the last 13 games of the season, Hicks shot 40.2 percent from three while averaging 11.7 points per contest.
โI just always felt like he’s going to make shots for us,โ Rhoades said.
โI think it’s really important that he does a really good job of sticking to the plan, sticking to what’s working and all that.โ
FIT
As Zack Hicks enters his final year of eligibility, itโll be important for him to keep shooting the ball with confidence.
Obviously, threes are worth more than two, but there is inherent gravity with having a guy willing to take 10 threes one night and believe theyโll fall.
In fact, even with Hicks struggling through 20 of his 33 games, teams still reacted to his threat from deep, guarding 109 of his 196 attempts, per Synergy Sports.
Within the context of an offense looking to play faster and maintain spacing around the three-point line, defenses donโt have enough time to process the statistical probability of a shot going in.
This gives Penn State a serious upper hand, as defenses will treat Hicks the same as a 40 percent guy, creating more space for offensive flow regardless of if his shot is falling or not.
