By Robert Gagliardi
WyoSports 

Adams looks to rebound from slow starts to first halves

 

February 19, 2016



LARAMIE – It has been a tale of two halves for Josh Adams.

Unfortunately for the University of Wyoming senior guard – and his team – the outcomes have been losses.

Adams is leading scorer in the MW, and fifth in the nation, at 24 points per game.

But he was held to two points in the first half of the Cowboys’ last two games – both defeats.

UW fell at Boise State, 94-71, last Saturday and at home to Fresno State 79-75 on Wednesday.

Adams was a combined 2 of 15 from the field in the first halves of those games. He finished with 16 points in both contests.

“It’s more the teams defending him,” UW coach Larry Shyatt said after the Fresno State game. “There are (good) players in this league who are quick and get off ball screens quicker. They don’t want Josh Adams to get to the hole.”

Adams is second on the team behind junior guard Jason McManamen in 3-pointers made with 72. But he ranks sixth in the country in free throws made (175) and eighth in free throw attempts (210).

He went to the line just five times combined in the last two games.

Shyatt said Adams drove to the basket 17 times against Fresno State but got to the line once. Both Shyatt and the players were frustrated that more fouls were not called against the Bulldogs.

But UW didn’t take advantage of the times it did get the call, going 5 of 11.

Shyatt said Adams “has to drive better to get fouled more often.”

Adams was 13 of 32 from the field over the last two games, but he had 12 assists and 11 rebounds.

Against Fresno State, he tied a career high with eight assists, and he had a team-best seven rebounds.

“I’ve got to just stay with it,” Adams said. “There have been nights this season those same exact shots were falling.

“I’m not going to get down on myself. Those are shots I can make, should make and need to make.”

In the zone

McManamen made a career-best eight 3-pointers against Fresno State while scoring career-high 28 points.

“I wasn’t thinking about it too much,” he said. “My teammates were finding me, and I had a lot of good looks.

They just happened to go in.”

McManamen has made 26 3-pointers over the last five games and has 77 for the season.

That leads the MW and is the fifth-most in UW history for a season.

The Torrington product is shooting 45.3 percent behind the arc, which is 14th in the country.

“There’s nothing new with Jason. He’s a shooter. He’s a sniper. The kid doesn’t miss,” Adams said. “If you give him open shots, of course they’re going to go in.

“The kid works on his 3 more than anybody I know. Whether he’s feeling it or not, he’s going to knock down shots regardless.”

When asked if he has seen a better shooter this season, Adams quickly answered “no.”

Jumping James

True freshman guard Justin James recorded his first dunk of the season against Fresno State after he threw down a missed shot in the first half.

The 6-foot-7 James finished with five points in 11 minutes off the bench.

That was the most points he has scored over the last four games, and the most since he had 10 points in 25 minutes against Colorado State on Jan. 30 in Laramie.

UW won that game 83-76, and it plays at CSU (14-12, 6-7) at 2 p.m. Saturday.

Schedule strength

According to rpiforecast.com, UW’s nonconference schedule strength is projected to rank 57th out of 351 Division I schools and second in the MW behind San Diego State.

UW went 7-6 in the nonconference portion of its schedule.

 
X
 

Powered by ROAR Online Publication Software from Lions Light Corporation
© Copyright 2024