HOLT, Mich. — There are a lot of interesting sights each day the Moneyball Pro-Am is held.
Twelve Michigan State players get the freedom to try out some new stuff in front of fans without any serious pressure to figure it all out at once. Freshman Carlos Medlock Jr. and redshirt sophomore Jesse McCulloch have both tried out sky hooks, for example. One of the most common sights, though, has been rising sophomore Cam Ward testing out his three-point shot.
Ward’s Development
The sight of Ward launching threes is the type of thing that makes someone do a double-take. If Tom Izzo were to release his “jump shot power rankings” at the end of last season, Ward would probably be near or at the very bottom.
Ward attempted just two threes during his freshman season, missing both, and he shot just 51.0% at the free-throw line. His range last season was basically just inside the paint. “This is why I’m appreciative of Moneyball,” Ward told Spartan Nation on Thursday.
“You get to do it in live play. You’re not playing against, like, slouches. These guys are college guys; like D-II, D-III, JUCO guys; some overseas pros are back. You’re actually playing against kind of the same level, if not better, competition sometimes, and especially playing against your teammates… It’s just easy to work on it when it’s live.”…