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The junior guard connected on nine of his 13 shots from 3-point range on the trip, drawing raves from coaches, teammates and others upon the Badgers’ return to Madison.
“It was good for him from a standpoint of developing a lot of confidence,” UW assistant coach Greg Gard said. “That was one area of his game that really needed to improve at that point. He had shown during that trip that he had put a lot of time in on it. And now it’s paying off.”
Heading into today’s Big Ten Conference game against Penn State at the Kohl Center, Flowers’ 3-point shooting has similarly come alive. He’s made 53.3 percent of his 3s in the third-ranked Badgers’ past four games — wins over Northwestern (2-for-3), Penn State (3-for-4), Iowa (1-for-4) and Minnesota (2-for-4).
By comparison, Flowers was 13-for-47 on 3-pointers in the first 23 games this season, and he was 0-for-10 during the first eight Big Ten games.
“The ball’s just going in,” Flowers said. “I really haven’t changed anything with my shot or anything like that.”
The perspective of others, however, reveals some differences of late.
“He went through a drought, and he learned from it, and he’s trying to get better,” UW senior forward Alando Tucker said. “And that’s what you have to do. As a player, you have to recognize what teams are going to do. ... and you have to try to increase your chances of helping the ball go in.
“That’s one of the things Michael’s learned. I can see it. He’s moving away from the ball more, he’s hunting down his shot more, and I think that’s why he’s suddenly now starting to increase his 3-point game.”
Said Gard: “I think anytime shots go in, your confidence goes up and you have a tendency to attempt more.”
Flowers, who said he considers a bad shot the same as a turnover, admitted to previously being reluctant to shoot 3s early in the shot clock, even if he was open, and passing on 3s at other points of games unless it was a wide-open look. But in the practices leading up to the game at Penn State on Feb. 7, Flowers said UW coach Bo Ryan urged him to let the 3s fly.
“He was just like, ‘Shoot the ball,’ ” Flowers said. “And he’s right. In order for us to be where we want to be, everybody has to become a better, complete player. You can’t be afraid to play, you can’t be afraid to shoot, and that’s what I’m starting to realize.”
Flowers’ 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions in the second half against Penn State energized UW and helped propel the Badgers to a 71-58 victory. Afterward, Penn State’s Jamelle Cornley indicated the Nittany Lions’ scouting report didn’t include Flowers as a 3-point threat.
It’s no coincidence, though, that Flowers’ 3-point proclivity of late has helped significantly enhance UW’s outside game.
In the first eight Big Ten games the Badgers were shooting just 26.3 percent from beyond the arc. Over the last four games, UW is converting at a 43.3-percent clip. Flowers and senior guard Kammron Taylor are even better during that span, connecting at a combined 47.2 percent (17-for-36).
That improved ratio of success has forced opponents to extend the defense, leaving more room on the interior for the likes of Tucker, who has topped 20 points in each of the past six games. And when defenses elect to collapse on Tucker or another Badger on the interior, Flowers is waiting on the perimeter, just as he was on the second of those back-to-back 3s against Penn State.
“He’s not hesitating to shoot it anymore. Now he’s letting it fly, it feels good, he’s back in his rhythm,” Tucker said. “I’ve seen him knock down those shots time after time, and that’s what he’s doing. Right now with his confidence that high, it helps us do so much as a team, we’re that much more deadlier.
“He’s one of those guys that we know can do that for us. And that’s what we need from him, we ask that from him. Right now, whatever he’s doing to help his confidence, he needs to keep doing.”
