Last season Nick Zeisloft shot 17 free throws in 34 games. One free throw for every two games isn’t going to be good enough in the guard’s senior season, IU Coach Tom Crean said.
Crean is placing a heightened importance on getting to the free throw line for all his guards this season, but for Zeisloft, a player who can potentially be so good from the line he rarely visits, it’s especially important.
“We don’t want it to take away from him being a great shooter, but he has to get fouled,” Crean said. “He’s got the chance to be an 85-90 percent free throw shooter.”
Zeisloft has been trying. This summer, he said his ball handling and ability to attack the rim was what he worked most at. He said he’s trying to be more than the catch and shoot player he was when he arrived in Bloomington last season.
An ability to attack the rim can create more opportunities for Zeisloft at the line and from the three-point range for both himself and his teammates.
“I’m able to do so many different things with the ball now whereas I was pretty much only a catch and shoot guy when I came in here,” Zeisloft said. “You learn every day guarding these guys.”
Zeisloft has also improved in other parts of his game, nearly all parts, he said. That’s what being on a team like IU can do.
Crean said since the end of last season the 6-foot-4 guard has gotten stronger. This should help when Crean tries moving Zeisloft in the post to create more opportunities. Zeisloft isn’t alone in that.
Crean said he’s emphasizing his entire guard core to move into the post where they can either make a move or cut to the basket, something else Zeisloft has improved at, Crean said.
Another area where Zeisloft said he knew he needed to improve was defensively. That’s where playing at a place like IU helps too. Going against preseason All-Big Ten guards Yogi Ferrell and James Blackmon Jr. forces you to improve.
One thing remains unchanged for him though. Even with the heightened expectations, not only for himself but for the entire team, Zeisloft and the Hoosiers are still keeping things small.
They aren’t worrying about being ranked nationally to start the season. If Zeisloft is in practice, he’s only worried about that practice. If he’s in the middle of a drill, he’s only worried about that drill.
While the national attention might be different for Zeisloft, who played at Illinois State before transferring to IU last year, he’s still worried about one goal and one goal only.
“It’s very different,” Zeisloft said. “It’s great for us but it doesn’t really change anything because we’re in the same boat. We still want to win the Big Ten and we still want to win the whole thing and get the sixth banner.”
