Three-guard system ignites high-scoring Hoosier offense

Mike Davis' three-point philosophy has one point: If you're open, shoot it. \nLeft corner, right wing, top of the key. Wherever. \nHeck, the second-year coach whose signature is sticky defense said he doesn't even mind when junior guard Tom Coverdale fires a three-pointer from 24 feet. \nHis approach -- backed by a three-guard lineup that has helped break the school record for three pointers in a game twice this season -- is working. \nIU has hit 10 or more three-pointers in six games -- something it did only three times last season -- and is shooting 41 percent from beyond the arc and a Big Ten-best 46 percent during its blazing conference start. Four different Hoosiers -- Coverdale, junior Kyle Hornsby, sophomore Jared Jeffries and senior Dane Fife -- are shooting the three at better than 40 percent. \nIU has hit 145 three pointers this season after hitting 181 last season. The Hoosiers are on pace to shoot 558 and sink 228 three-pointers and break the school record for three pointers made and attempted in a season. The 1992-1993 squad hit a school-best 197, and the 1998-1999 team attempted a school-high 534. \nThe culmination and coronation came Saturday, when IU broke the school record of 16 three-pointers (set against Alaska-Anchorage Nov. 21) with 17 in the 88-57 squashing of then-No. 9 Illinois. \nThe normally-placid Davis admitted he had a hard time controlling his sideline demeanor at times as IU dropped in one shot after another. But he also confessed he wasn't all that surprised. \n"To me, a good three-point shot is any time they're open," Davis said. "(The guards) can really shoot the basketball. What people witnessed on Saturday is what I witness every day in practice."\nAnd it's happened during games, too. \nIU hit 14-of-26 three pointers in an 18-point win over Michigan State Jan. 8. The Hoosiers drained 11 of 21 in a Nov. 24 victory against Texas. They hit 10 of 16 against Eastern Washington and 10 of 20 at Iowa, both victories. \nIU's offense feeds off Jeffries, who is averaging 17.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and countless double-teams per game. While opposing defenses swarm toward Jeffries, the Hoosiers' guards have set up shop around the three-point arc. Jeffries, meanwhile, is averaging 2.6 assists per game in Big Ten play. \n"Basically, our offense is to get it into (Jeffries) inside, because we know they can't guard him with one guy," Coverdale said. "All three of our guards can shoot the basketball really well."\nAlready early this week, Minnesota coach Dan Monson pondered how to slow down the Hoosier offense. \n"They don't give you a lot of ways to cheat," said Monson, whose Golden Gophers meet IU Saturday. "Their guards spread you out so much."\nThere's a season's worth of evidence.\nFife, Coverdale and Hornsby started all seven of IU's Big Ten games and are averaging more than seven three pointers among them in the conference. That trio is shooting 52 percent from the three-point line in league play. \nThe most glaring contribution has come from Fife, who is shooting 51 percent from the three-point line and hit 6 of 7 against Illinois. The senior guard visited a sports psychiatrist this summer after sputtering through his first three seasons in Bloomington, where he averaged no more than 5.3 points per game and hit a combined 33 three pointers. Already this season, he's knocked down 38, second only to Coverdale for team-high honors. \nFife said before the season started he planned to shoot more, and fellow senior Jarrad Odle predicted Fife would have a break-out year. \n"In practice, he knocks down shots all the time," Davis said of Fife. "It's just a thing with him, taking shots. He only attempted seven shots (Saturday), and that's not a whole lot of shots when you're shooting (51) percent from the three-point line." \nFife brushed off his performance, offering only this: "This is our home floor. We better be able to hit on these rims or we're in trouble."\nHornsby has also taken a while to heat up. His soft shooting touch had been a topic of IU basketball discussion since his freshman season, but he struggled to begin this season. The junior entered the year shooting 41 percent from the three-point line, but was shooting only 34 percent before igniting IU's first Big Ten victory with three second-half three-pointers. \nCoverdale has hit 10-of-16 three-pointers over the last three games and is shooting 56 percent in Big Ten play, good for third in the conference. The two in front of him have attempted only 14 and 15 three pointers. Coverdale has fired up 41. \nAs for those shots from 24 feet with the shot clock evaporating? \n"Coverdale, when the shot clock is going down, he always hits from three or four feet behind the line," Davis joked Monday. \nSo, if Coverdale can get away with that, is there such thing as a bad three-pointer? "I thought any time (sophomore A.J.) Moye takes a three-point shot, it's bad," Davis said with a laugh.\nMoye drained a three-pointer with a hand in his face and the shot clock nearing a buzz Saturday and responded with a smirk and a shrug of his shoulders. \nThe body language is symbolic of IU's explosion, both from beyond the arc and in the standings, where IU sits tied for the league lead. \nThe offense still focuses on Jeffries, but Davis doesn't mind the constant barrage of threes. \n"If you miss two or three in a row," Davis said, "you should try to get the ball inside before you take another (three-point) shot."\nAnd then another. And another…