Jordan McCabe comfortable shooting his shots for UNLV

There have been times this season — extended periods — when it seemed like UNLV was playing 4-on-5 on offense. The most striking example may have come Jan. 20, when starting point guard Jordan McCabe went scoreless in 21 minutes in a 69-62 loss at Air Force.

It was the most frustrating defeat of the season for the Scarlet and Gray, but it appears they have learned from it. That goes especially for McCabe.

Over the past three weeks the senior has gone from offensive afterthought to key component in UNLV’s scoring attack, taking and making 3-pointers at a regular rate and forcing defenses to respect him as a threat.

Through the first 17 games of the season, McCabe attempted 5.7 shots; in the last six, he has upped that to 7.8 attempts. His scoring average during that time has jumped from 5.7 points to 10.0 points.

Simply put, since recording his only zero-point outing of the year McCabe has been on the hunt for his own shot, and it’s working.

“It’s taking what the defense gives you,” McCabe said. “If you’re not a threat, they’ll find somebody who is. You have to be hungry and hunting open shots and good shots. But at the same time, whatever the defense is giving you, take it.”

What defenses have been giving McCabe – no doubt in part because of his earlier reluctance to shoot – is open looks from beyond the 3-point arc. And now he’s making them pay.

In the six games following the Air Force loss, McCabe has taken 34 3-pointers and made 14, good for 41.2%. UNLV has gone 4-2 during that span.

As a floor-stretching point guard in his playing days, head coach Kevin Kruger knows a thing or two about the balance between distributing and scoring. And he likes what he’s seeing from McCabe right now.

“We want him to be aggressive,” Kruger said. “That’s just what we’ve been preaching from Day 1. I think sometimes Jordan gets a little too caught up in trying to get everybody involved or trying to make the ball move instead of taking a good open shot when he has one.”

Kruger and McCabe said there was no specific instruction given to McCabe after the Air Force loss, no directive to shoot the ball more. It has been a case of McCabe being presented with open shots and being more willing to pull the trigger.

According to McCabe, that was the plan all along, even if he didn’t exactly let it fly through the first half of the season.

“I talked to coach Kruger about what he wanted me to do when I signed up to come play here, and he said, ‘I think you can make shots for us,’” McCabe said. “Having a coach that has that amount of confidence in you through entire season no matter what, it helps. It helps a lot.”

Kruger’s confidence is important because McCabe has never been known as an ace outside shooter. In three years at West Virginia he made just 28.3% from beyond the arc (65-of-230).

McCabe knows he can make open shots, however. He is usually the last UNLV player to leave the court after practice, as he stays late to work on his jumper with assistant coach Tim Buckley.

McCabe credits Buckley with helping him put in the time to hone his mechanics, and it’s paying off.

“I’m a creature of habit and he noticed that,” McCabe said. “We’ve got our system down now.”

McCabe is now up to 34.7% from 3-point range on the season, and UNLV’s offense is better for it. Not only is McCabe popping in timely 3’s, he’s making defenses respect him and it’s opening up more space for his teammates.

In the rematch against Air Force on Tuesday McCabe made 1-of-3 from deep while racking up 10 assists in a 78-44 victory.

With his role in the offense more defined and his shot locked in, McCabe plans to continue being a scoring threat as UNLV tries to make a late-season run.

“It feels good,” he said of his jumper. “You’re starting to hit a rhythm, especially around this point. It might have taken a little bit longer than I would have liked it to, but once again [I’m] just continuing to prepare the same way no matter what’s going on.”

Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.