The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/106890
ing on the block and posting up and people passing me the ball," Sheffer said. "With Coach's offense, it gives all of us a way to see the floor and have the court spread out more. I don't have to sit on the block; I get to set screens and use the whole court. I think that helps us get our offense going, and on any given night, any‑ one can score the ball. "I am not just focused on [being] a post player. I can step out and hit a three-pointer — I need to be able to score on any part of the floor, not just the block. This year, that's really been an emphasis." Her scoring (12.4 points per game) is slightly down from last year 's pace, but she has already tallied 33 assists through 17 games — just 17 fewer than she did all last season (50). She is also a better rebounder, upping her per-game average from 4.59 in 2011-12 to 5.82 in 2012-13. The Kate Thompson Effect In the early weeks of the season, teams tried to overcompensate in‑ side, testing the Wolverines' other scoring options. That turned out to be a bad idea. Thompson has exploded as a threepoint sharpshooter this season. As of Jan. 20, Thompson ranked No. 1 nationally in three-pointers made per game (3.88) and third nationally in three-point shooting (48.9 percent), behind Penn State's Maggie Lucas (53.1) and Connecticut's Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis (49.0). After shooting 33.0 percent from beyond the arc last year (making just 38 shots), Thompson drained 66 of 135 attempts in the Wolverines' first 17 games. Her goal this summer was to make 500 a day in the gym — and that de‑ termination has certainly paid off. "Kate is a self-made player," Barnes Arico said. "She's a joy to be around and a joy to coach, because she loves the game so much. "Her role has changed. Sometimes, when you're a player that comes off the bench, you don't really get the opportunity to make as many mis‑ takes or get into the flow of the game. Now she knows she is our go-to kid. She knows we're running stuff for her. She knows it's OK if she misses a couple shots." Sheffer 's work on screens and movement has definitely helped Thompson find open looks, too, es‑ pecially now that opponents have seen what she can do. And as defenses have started to cheat over to deny Thompson oppor‑ tunities, it has reopened some scor‑ ing lanes for Sheffer, who suddenly has more and more space inside with which to work. "There is a lot more face guarding and help from the other players on the floor now," Thompson said. "But it opens a lot of other opportunities for the screeners and my other team‑ mates on the floor. When the screener hits my man, then I'm open. And if their player helps up, the screener is going to be wide open on the slip." At this point, it's a give-and-take situation; if defenses are overly con‑ cerned with Thompson, Sheffer is going to wreak havoc inside. When opponents crash inside, Thompson's