Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
COLUMN: On trusting the process and getting rewarded
1/28/2024 5:52:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Men’s Basketball saw the fruits of their labor finally ripen over the weekend in CUSA play
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Elias King and Jestin Porter had been staring at the locker room whiteboard all week leading up to Wednesday night's game against Jacksonville State. More specifically, they were staring at the standings the coaching staff writes on the board, with magnetized cards (easy to move) for each CUSA squad and handwritten conference records alongside them.
And even more specifically, they were staring at the "0" in the win column for the Blue Raiders after four games, with every team in Conference USA ahead of them.
"All week, me and JP, we were looking at the 0-4 that was on our board," King said. "We looked at the 0-4 every day. That's no exaggeration. We knew coming into this one, we literally said it was a must win."
Middle Tennessee men's basketball finally got one in the left-hand column on the whiteboard on Wednesday, never trailing in a 75-67 win over Jacksonville State at home and kept the momentum going in a big way on Saturday, pulling away late in the second half to thrash FIU 79-61. Both games were the first time since the injury to Camryn Weston the Blue Raiders got past 70 points in regulation against a Division I opponent. And Head Coach Nick McDevitt said that milestone was long overdue.
"It's about being process oriented and not (just) the results of what's immediately happening," McDevitt said. "They never hung their heads, they never quit working."
There were signs that the offensive output was very close to exploding like it did over the weekend in the Glass House, particularly as Conference USA play started. McDevitt said after the FIU game that much of the offense had been redesigned midseason to make better use of the personnel that was available, which took a bit for everyone to get comfortable in.
"The biggest thing I think they've done is taking the shots and seeing the openings that come with what we're doing now as opposed to what we were doing then," McDevitt said. "And that's something you want to try to work on in the preseason. Here's where our shots are going to come from in this offense, here are the reads you're going to make and here's the shots that, when you're in the gym on your own, that you should be practicing.
"Now all of sudden, you've got to practice a whole different shot," the head coach continued. "And you're having to learn that in November and December instead of in August, September and October before the games start."
The process has taken time, as a result, with MTSU averaging just 63.8 points per game, nearly six full points behind the next closest team in Conference USA (New Mexico State, 69.4 ppg). But even when MTSU scored under 60 points in three straight games to start CUSA play, it wasn't hard to see the progress being made. More shots were open, more people were being hit in rhythm. Players that were expected to be offensive weapons, like Elias King and Jestin Porter, looked more comfortable in their roles.
For King, that meant taking open threes but also attacking the rim, particularly on the offensive glass. Porter, meanwhile, found success in getting downhill, but also in generating his own shot. His catch and shoot game also showed signs of improvement. But the most important part, McDevitt noted, was Jared Coleman-Jones finding success as a facilitator out of the low block.
In CUSA play, Coleman-Jones ranks sixth out of all CUSA players in assists with 3.33 a game. Only one other forward, Liberty's Zach Cleveland, ranks ahead of him, and Cleveland is 6-foot-7, while Coleman-Jones is 6-foot-10.
"It's just about having patience," Coleman-Jones said. "When I catch the ball on the block, earlier in the season I would just put my head down and try to work and get sped up. Now I just take my time, see the floor. Hold it in a position where I'm comfortable with it. If someone slaps it, it's not going to come loose. And if I see my man open, I'm going to pass it to him."
The results are finally starting to show for the Blue Raiders, who shot over 50 percent from the field and from beyond the arc in the second half against the Panthers. Couple that with a defense that's not giving up many threes nor is it letting teams get to the foul line, often forcing teams to settle for tough contested two-point shots in the paint and the pieces are there for MTSU to go on a run. Even in the four-game losing streak to start CUSA play, MTSU only trailed in one game by 10 or more points with six minutes to play (at UTEP) and were tied or leading at that point against Sam Houston and New Mexico State.
McDevitt said continuing to trust the process, as well as a continued focus on improving the team's ball care on offense, will be key in building off the good weekend in CUSA play the Blue Raiders just capped off. For Porter, who finished the weekend averaging 25 points per game across the two contests, this weekend was a reminder that this team had the ability. But they need to stay focused on the immediate task ahead.
"It just boosts our confidence as a team overall," Porter said. "Just taking it game by game, one at a time."
And even more specifically, they were staring at the "0" in the win column for the Blue Raiders after four games, with every team in Conference USA ahead of them.
"All week, me and JP, we were looking at the 0-4 that was on our board," King said. "We looked at the 0-4 every day. That's no exaggeration. We knew coming into this one, we literally said it was a must win."
Middle Tennessee men's basketball finally got one in the left-hand column on the whiteboard on Wednesday, never trailing in a 75-67 win over Jacksonville State at home and kept the momentum going in a big way on Saturday, pulling away late in the second half to thrash FIU 79-61. Both games were the first time since the injury to Camryn Weston the Blue Raiders got past 70 points in regulation against a Division I opponent. And Head Coach Nick McDevitt said that milestone was long overdue.
"It's about being process oriented and not (just) the results of what's immediately happening," McDevitt said. "They never hung their heads, they never quit working."
There were signs that the offensive output was very close to exploding like it did over the weekend in the Glass House, particularly as Conference USA play started. McDevitt said after the FIU game that much of the offense had been redesigned midseason to make better use of the personnel that was available, which took a bit for everyone to get comfortable in.
"The biggest thing I think they've done is taking the shots and seeing the openings that come with what we're doing now as opposed to what we were doing then," McDevitt said. "And that's something you want to try to work on in the preseason. Here's where our shots are going to come from in this offense, here are the reads you're going to make and here's the shots that, when you're in the gym on your own, that you should be practicing.
"Now all of sudden, you've got to practice a whole different shot," the head coach continued. "And you're having to learn that in November and December instead of in August, September and October before the games start."
The process has taken time, as a result, with MTSU averaging just 63.8 points per game, nearly six full points behind the next closest team in Conference USA (New Mexico State, 69.4 ppg). But even when MTSU scored under 60 points in three straight games to start CUSA play, it wasn't hard to see the progress being made. More shots were open, more people were being hit in rhythm. Players that were expected to be offensive weapons, like Elias King and Jestin Porter, looked more comfortable in their roles.
For King, that meant taking open threes but also attacking the rim, particularly on the offensive glass. Porter, meanwhile, found success in getting downhill, but also in generating his own shot. His catch and shoot game also showed signs of improvement. But the most important part, McDevitt noted, was Jared Coleman-Jones finding success as a facilitator out of the low block.
In CUSA play, Coleman-Jones ranks sixth out of all CUSA players in assists with 3.33 a game. Only one other forward, Liberty's Zach Cleveland, ranks ahead of him, and Cleveland is 6-foot-7, while Coleman-Jones is 6-foot-10.
"It's just about having patience," Coleman-Jones said. "When I catch the ball on the block, earlier in the season I would just put my head down and try to work and get sped up. Now I just take my time, see the floor. Hold it in a position where I'm comfortable with it. If someone slaps it, it's not going to come loose. And if I see my man open, I'm going to pass it to him."
The results are finally starting to show for the Blue Raiders, who shot over 50 percent from the field and from beyond the arc in the second half against the Panthers. Couple that with a defense that's not giving up many threes nor is it letting teams get to the foul line, often forcing teams to settle for tough contested two-point shots in the paint and the pieces are there for MTSU to go on a run. Even in the four-game losing streak to start CUSA play, MTSU only trailed in one game by 10 or more points with six minutes to play (at UTEP) and were tied or leading at that point against Sam Houston and New Mexico State.
McDevitt said continuing to trust the process, as well as a continued focus on improving the team's ball care on offense, will be key in building off the good weekend in CUSA play the Blue Raiders just capped off. For Porter, who finished the weekend averaging 25 points per game across the two contests, this weekend was a reminder that this team had the ability. But they need to stay focused on the immediate task ahead.
"It just boosts our confidence as a team overall," Porter said. "Just taking it game by game, one at a time."
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