Efficiency milestone driving Gonzaga's Nolan Hickman during career shooting season

Mar. 13—Nolan Hickman receives periodic reminders from Stephen Gentry throughout the day and occasionally deep into the night.

The fourth-year assistant who primarily works with Gonzaga's guards has been persistent about helping Hickman reach one of his efficiency goals this season and three numbers in particular have taken on a special meaning for the senior sharpshooter.

Gentry's been known to repeat them aloud during practice or utter them in film sessions. Sometimes they arrive in Hickman's text message inbox. Any time of the day or night is fair game.

"I'll text it to him from time to time, even just like in the middle of the night to keep it on his mind," Gentry said. "I'll just literally text '50-40-90.'"

Basketball connoisseurs understand the series of numbers and what they represent to a shooter. Since the preseason, they've become a focal point for Hickman, who, with Gentry's encouragement and support, set a goal of reaching the elusive 50-40-90 target — 50% from the field, 40% from the 3-point line, 90% from the free throw line — during his final year of eligibility.

"Gentry man, he's always been saying 50-40-90," Hickman said during a media availability prior to the West Coast Conference Tournament. "That's been my goal this whole entire time. Just try to go out there and be as efficient as I can. The rim's been wide open for me these last few games. I've just been real confident in my shooting and when I see one go in, that's just a sign for me to keep shooting and I believe every shot's going to go in every time I shoot it."

Consider Hickman two-thirds of the way there, with a long way still to go, in his season-long pursuit of the 50-40-90 milestone.

The guard is shooting career-high percentages in all three categories, including 43.6% from the 3-point line — the second-highest total in the WCC among players with more than 100 attempts — and 92.3% from the free throw line. Those top his previous career highs from the 3-point line (41.3%) and free throw line (88.3%), both of which were set as a junior.

With time winding down, Hickman still needs a bump in his overall field goal percentage, which took a hit in the WCC Tournament and now sits at 47.5%. He was up to 48.6% before making 2 of 7 against San Francisco in the semifinals and 1 of 6 versus Saint Mary's during a WCC title game where the lid seemed closed to both teams, who combined to go 46 of 115 (40%) from the field and 1 of 31 (3%) from the 3-poine line.

Hickman will get at least one more chance next week when Gonzaga (25-8) opens the NCAA Tournament against an opponent still to be determined.

"He was so close last year and so I just wanted to make it kind of a carrot out there," Gentry said. "Just to get his extra reps in and value the work behind it. He was so close last year. I think he would've been one of three guys in the country. So that's some pretty special company."

Hickman hasn't necessarily ramped up the volume of the shots he's taking in practice, but he's spent more time trying to replicate the nature of shots he most likely to get in games.

The guard's demonstrated an ability to score at all three levels during his career with the Zags — and has been forced to at various points of his career with multiple role changes — but 58.5% of his attempts this season have come from the 3-point line. Hickman's also dialed in his floater, making that another one of Gonzaga's most effective shots this season.

"Honestly just working on game-like shots in practice," Hickman said. "Making sure my free throws are tight, trying not to miss any free throws. I think I missed one this whole season, but it happens. Honestly Gentry's been huge part of it, making sure I'm in the gym constantly working with him and it's been helping a lot, especially since summer and the offseason. So it's just started to show."

Gentry and Hickman haven't overhauled the guard's shooting technique, but they've made small tweaks to his mechanics to change the ball's trajectory once it leaves his hands.

"I think he's just been way more purposeful with his shots," Gentry said. "Not to get too technical here, but just really adding arc to his shot, get that ball more on his fingertips. He's doing such a way better job of knowing where his shots are coming from as a senior, that when we're doing our workouts, it's so purposeful. It's game specific reps and all that. I think that's really helped him. We don't shoot as much, even as the other guys, it's just way more purposeful in terms of his game shots."

In terms of both volume and efficiency, Hickman's season from the 3-point line stacks up with many of Gonzaga's best over the last decade. Including players with at least 100 attempts, only Rasir Bolton (46.0% in 2022-23), Corey Kispert (44.0% in 2020-21, 43.8% in 2019-20) and Kyle Wiltjer (46.6% in 2014-15, 43.7% in 2015-16) have posted better 3-point percenages during that stretch. Hickman's also tied for ninth all-time at Gonzaga with 219 career 3-point attempts, matching Gary Bell Jr.

"He's just a natural hooper. He shoots it like I've never seen," senior forward Ben Gregg said. "This year it's been unbelievable. The work before the season, during the season, in the summertime, he's put a lot of work into it. You can tell that was his goal and wanted to reach that mark. I'm happy his shots are going in and I think it's going to keep on going here in March."

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