The Iowa basketball team already was on a roll. The Hawkeyes already were a tough team to prepare for, a team comprised mostly of juniors and seniors seemingly starting to play with more consistency as the end of the regular season approached. <\/p>\n
And now Aaron White is throwing in 3-point field goals. <\/p>\n
Upcoming opponents have to be scratching their heads and wondering What do we do now?\" <\/p>\n
Hes just shooting it with confidence,\" Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said of White as he prepared his team for a 5:05 p.m. road test today at Penn State. If he keeps doing that, it changes everything in terms of how people need to guard us.\" <\/p>\n
White fired in a career-best 29 points in a victory over Illinois on Wednesday night and mingled in with the usual assortment of dunks, free throws and headlong drives to the hoop were three 3-pointers. He also had two threes in the previous game against Nebraska and went 5 for 6 from long range in those two games. <\/p>\n
White insists he has always had confidence in his 3-point shooting and McCaffery said his 6-foot-9 senior forward always has had the green light. But the fact remains that he was just 9 for 39 (23.1 percent) in the first 26 games of the season and 49-197 (24.9) in his career until this past week. <\/p>\n
Its kind of frustrating that at the end of my career theyre finally going in,\" White said. Im sure the fans are like Where did this come from? Shoot, I made two (Wednesday night) and the Illinois coach is still yelling He cant shoot. I thought OK, Ill pull another one.\" <\/p>\n
White, like McCaffery, figures that if he can continue do this, its going to radically alter the way upcoming opponents defend the Hawkeyes. <\/p>\n
Its way easier to play when my shot is falling,\" said White, who moved up to No. 4 on Iowas career scoring list Wednesday. It opens up my drive and I can make plays for others. Its not easy to drive when they know Im driving.\" <\/p>\n
The Hawkeyes (18-10 overall, 9-6 Big Ten) have won five of their past seven games but they also face a fairly formidable defensive task today. <\/p>\n
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Red-hot White gives Hawks added dimension<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Iowa basketball team already was on a roll. The Hawkeyes already were a tough team to prepare for, a team comprised mostly of juniors and seniors seemingly starting to play with more consistency as the end of the regular season approached. And now Aaron White is throwing in 3-point field goals. Continue reading