After an impressive non-conference season, point guard Otis Livingston II encountered a shooting slump in the first five games of the Atlantic 10 season. The sophomore went 16-for-59 (27.1%) from the floor and was 6-for-26(23.1%) from three-point range.
In the last two games, an 87-68 loss to GW and a 76-74 win at UMass, Livingston's shooting has been on target. He's 14-for-28 (50%) on field goals overall and 1-for-5 (20%) on threes as the Patriots prepare for Wednesday's game at St. Louis.
"My three ball is still missing a bit," Livingston said. "So I'm trying to get to the rim and midrange. If I do that, I can either get a shot for myself or create for my teammates. I don't want to settle for threes. I want to be aggressive getting to the rim."
For a 5-foot-11,168-pounder, the under-sized Livingston has made some spectacular drives. His 22 points and three assists were critical last Saturday in Amherst, Mass.
"Otis played really well," Mason coach Dave Paulsen said. "He got in a rhythm; he took good shots. That was a big thing. He's probably been pressing a little bit. That's kind of normal. As many minutes as he's playing and as much as he's doing for us a sophomore, that's a lot on his plate.
"So he's going to have a bit of rut offensively from time to time. I like the way he attacked. He did a great job leading."
During the shooting slump, Livingston kept working at his routine of taking extra shots and studying film – of both opponents and himself. He noticed some technical flaws.
"When I shoot, sometimes my body turns a little bit and that makes my shot inaccurate," Livingston said. "I'm just trying to stay square to the rim and hold my follow-through and my guide hand. Sometimes I drop my guide hand and that makes me inaccurate.
"And I'm trying to the same thing over and over and over again (in shooting sessions). I'm not a natural shooter. I have to constantly keep working at it and making sure my habits are good."
Those habits include shot selection and running the team, which can be a difficult juggle.
"It's a fine line between being real aggressive and facilitating offense," Paulsen said. "Point guard is the hardest positon to play. If you're too passive, you're not doing anyone any good. If you're too aggressive and not involving your teammates, then you're not doing anyone any good either.
"That's the hardest balance."
The Patriots will need that balance against St. Louis, which won the Jan. 14 matchup 63-56 at EagleBank Arena after a poor first half by Mason. Paulsen sees similarities in the defenses used by St. Louis and GW.
"We've got to be patient; they're going to sag," Paulsen said of the SLU defense. "We've got to move the ball more, cut, screen a few more times to get the type opportunities we want. We have to be able to impose our will."
SIDE TRIP: While Paulsen went recruiting during the trip to UMass, the team visited the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass.
"We've played basketball our entire lives so to go there and see all the pictures and memorabilia was really cool," said Livingston, who also toured the museum in high school.
The trip also was special for assistant coach Duane Simpkins, whose high school and college coaches are in the hall. Simpkins played for Morgan Wooten at DeMatha and Gary Williams at Maryland.
A PLAY TO REMEMBER: During a mini-scrimmage Monday, Freshman A.J. Wilson showed his potential when he hit multiple three-pointers.
Then with the score tied, he delivered a highlight that should have made ESPN's Top Plays. Crashing the boards from the left baseline after Kameron Murrell's miss, the 6-6 forward soared high, cuffed the ball with his left (non-dominant) hand and slammed home an emphatic tip-dunk that nearly took the rim off.
Wilson then gave a primal scream as teammates and coaches were awestruck. Though there was under a minute left in the scrimmage, Paulsen ended it right there with Wilson's dunk giving the White reserves a victory over Green.
"He's got a chance to be good," Simpkins said. "He keeps growing (as a player) every day."
