More than he had been for four previous games, Zeke Nnaji was harassed and double teamed against South Dakota State on Thursday night, his perfect field-goal shooting limited to 0 for 0 in the first half.
But after the Wildcats hung on for a 71-64 win over the Jackrabbits, UA coach Sean Miller kept discussing a different issue.
He wanted to talk about how, instead of trying to get Nnaji the ball through that SDSU defense, the Wildcats instead settled for what he called “circus shots,” lofting up bad 3-point shot after bad 3-point shot.
UA threw up 14 3-pointers in the first half – and made only three of them.
While crediting South Dakota State, Miller said the Jackrabbits “played against a team tonight that wasn't very smart and that's our team. You know, everybody gets kicks out of quick shots and it's fun. It’s like we’re at a carnival. It doesn't work that way. It doesn't work the way.”
Miller went back to this topic several times, clearly frustrated that the shots were often being taken by the wrong guy in the wrong place.
Some samples:
“We have a player on our team who leads the nation (in field goal percentage). If you lead the nation in anything, you are outstanding. Zeke Nnaji has proven that when he gets the ball, especially around the rim, great things happen. We play 20 minutes and he was in foul trouble, but it really started in the second half of the last game (against New Mexico State), where he didn't take one shot. He didn't take one shot. You have the nation's leading field goal shooter on your team and he doesn't take one jump hook? Not one? That's a problem.
“And we had 13 3-point shots at the half. We had 10 twos. We were eight for 10 from two. We were 4 for 13 from three. (In that situation) you don't get fouled, you don't go to the foul line. And then the fact we had 12 turnovers, plus 13 threes. That's as poor and inefficient, ineffective, not playing to win, not playing smart, 20 minutes as we've had in a long, long time, especially considering the way that our team is constructed.”
Nnaji entered the game with a D1-leading 84.6% from the field, with Texas Tech's TJ Holyfield next at 82.8. (Nnaji slipped to 84.1 percent with his 4-5 effort Thursday; updated UA stats are attached to this post).
Later, Miller touched on the topic again:
“Tonight we ran into a solid team, and we just, it's like, `My turn. You shoot a 3? Well, let me shoot a 3.' And we took 13 3s in 20 minutes, so those 3s better be going in. I think that it's a lesson for all of us. It's a lesson for our staff, and we have to take advantage of the gifts that we have.
“Zeke doesn't take bad shots. He doesn't. And when we can get him the ball, good things happen. That doesn't mean he's going to shoot it every time or all these other players we have aren't allowed to shoot it. But you can't let 20 minutes go by where he doesn't get one good shot.
"That started in the last game, and it led to this game, and it clearly is a lesson that we needed to learn, and I'm glad we were able to win. I really am because tonight, we played with fire. If a couple (SDSU) 3s go in in the second half, there could have been a different outcome for sure.”
And, when asked about how SDSU’s packed-in defense dared UA to shoot 3s – sort of like how the Wildcats play defensively – Miller also turned that answer into another get-Zeke-the-ball plea.
“There's a lot of things you have to learn; tonight we almost learned the hard way,” Miller said. “We have to play smarter and when you're the coach, and you have a guy on your team, I mean, he's leading America from the field. By the way he went four for five tonight. So, he's 19 of his last 20. Is that right? OK, so over the last three games he's 19 for 20 from the field. Maybe let's get him up to 27, right?”
Nnaji broke his field-goal streak at 17 while trying to throw up an off-balance shot after grabbing an offensive rebound, but he finished by making his final four field goals. That means he’s actually 21 for his last 22.
Miller also noted that Nnaji kicked a couple of potential shots back out in the first half, and that his constant foul trouble limited him.
He had “a couple tough calls and obviously we have to protect him and take a look at the fouls that he committed,” Miller said. “The reason he only played 20 minutes tonight is he was kind of forever in foul trouble. But keep in mind he's a freshman, and those guys have to learn through trial and error.”
Aside from the poor first-half shooting, as Miller noted, UA also had 12 turnovers in the first half that led to 14 South Dakota State points.
Not only does Miller aim to keep turnovers in single-digits – over an entire game – but he also noted that, like his own team, the Jackrabbits don’t even emphasize forcing turnovers.
“They’re a very fundamentally sound team,” Miller said of SDSU. “They're not really in the passing lanes. So, I think you can see kind of where our mind was in the way we were playing. We have to have to do a better job.”
In the first half, Stone Gettings had three turnovers, while Nnaji, Josh Green and Chase Jeter had two each. However, UA had just three turnovers in the second half.
While Jeter said that the Wildcats didn’t get Nnaji the ball enough, he also acknowledged the sort of defense Nnaji was facing.
“They were sending the double-team, especially when he started getting the ball in the second half,” Jeter said. “They were throwing that double team at him, but he actually played smart at it. I think one play (late in the second half), he actually threw a good pass to Josh. Josh missed it, (Nnaji) got his rebound and put it back in and was fouled. He got into the free-throw line so he did a good job operating out of the double team.”
Earlier in the half, Nnaji rebounded a miss from Devonaire Doutrive, drew a foul and went to the line. But he missed the second shot, also snapping his free-throw streak at 14.
Still, Nnaji finished with 12 points on 4 for 5 shooting from the field and 4-for-6 shooting from the line.
