The inbounds pass was right on the money. Ashton Graham came open and the shot was barely contested.
It went in, then it came out. As the ball deflected off the inside of the hoop back onto the court, Graham jumped, flailed his arms, and yelled, almost in agony.
It was only a Monday afternoon practice, but the miss stung nonetheless. It’s been a rough few weeks for the University of Tampa’s men’s basketball team.
After starting the season 16-0, UT lost to Florida Southern on Jan. 19. The loss spurred more troubles, as they lost three of their next five games. Sitting at 18-4, and third place in the Sunshine State Conference, the Spartans are left trying to figure out what’s wrong and how to fix it as soon as possible.
UT has consistently been held under 70 points a game during the stretch, while shooting 40 percent or worse from the field in each loss. The Spartans shot 13.8 percent in the second half of a loss against Barry University.
Head Coach Richard Schmidt thinks the problem is nothing extraordinary, just a matter of execution.
“We’ve gone through a stretch where we just can’t make a shot,” Schmidt said. “You can’t really do that. You can’t beat anyone shooting in the 30 [percents]. You’ve just gotta be able to make more shots.”
As Schmidt looks into reasons for the dip in shooting accuracy, he noted that the opponents have gotten progressively better over the course of the schedule, and he gave credit to opposing defenses more than he blamed his players.
It’s also important to realize that three of the four losses sustained came against teams that UT had beaten already this season.
This means adjustments on defense, more film to study and much better scouting from opponents for a Tampa team that came into the season very underrated.
As the Spartans lose ground in the SSC standings, many fans look not only to the coaches but to star players for reasons and support.
Rashad Callaway is the team leader in points scored, assists and steals. The losses beg answers from the senior point guard, who also leads the team in turnovers.
“Layups I usually make, I’ve been missing. Jump-shots I usually make, I’ve been missing,” Callaway said. “I’m trying too hard. I think I just need to let the game come to me.”
As for the team’s road to success, he says that it’s a matter of focus, preparation, and a willingness to improve.
“We’ve gotten a little complacent and started lacking in defense,” Callaway said. “People weren’t doing what Coach said. They were listening to him throughout the season, but over the past four or five games, they started thinking they know everything. We gotta listen to coach, he knows what he’s talking about.”
Callaway mentioned the team’s defense, which has been just as statistically troubling as the offense.
Through the first 16 games of the season, Tampa’s defense allowed 78 or more points only twice. In the past six games, it’s occurred three times.
This can be attributed to better scouting from opposing coaches, but also to just plain better shooting.
Coach Schmidt has repeatedly said that the team benefited from unusually bad shooting nights from normally good shooting teams such as Rollins and Eckerd.
This is not to say that Tampa’s defense isn’t slacking or wasn’t playing well to start the season, but it is another variable to think about.
Despite the obstacles, Schmidt doesn’t believe the rough patch merits a change in his team’s effort or his coaching style.
There are still positives on a team that has vastly improved from last year’s squad. Forward Fred Woods lends an inside presence and leads the team with six double-doubles after not playing the first half of the season. Junior guard Anthony Griffis is averaging 16.2 points a game as the team’s second leading scorer.
Schmidt shrugged the losses off as part of the game, and said it’s more productive to move forward and keep working hard. He made comparisons to a celebrated Division I program when describing UT’s season thus far.
“It’s always tough when you go the second time around within your league,” Schmidt said. “Syracuse was 18-0, and now they’re not so hot either.”
The comparison to Syracuse University’s basketball season is a relevant one. The Orange started the season by winning their first 18 games before losing four straight to conference foes. The losses dropped Syracuse from first place in the Big East to tied for fifth.
After the skid though, they’ve bounced back to win two in a row, and make up ground in national rankings. The Spartan men look to do the same in the last four contests of the regular season.
“Every game is a tough game from here on out.” Callaway said. “We have individual players but it comes down to a team effort. It doesn’t say Rashad’s name on the front of the jersey or Fred’s name or Anthony’s name; it says Tampa. So we’ve gotta go out there and take every game as a team or we’ll never win.”
Miles Parks can be reached at mparks@spartans.ut.edu.