Bobcat forward Danny Robison
Photo by: Scott Quintard
Increased Offense for Bobcats May Come from Increased Shot Attempts for Robison
1/16/2015 3:49:00 PM | Men's Basketball
MSU coach Brian Fish continues to encourage MSU forward to get more shots up
It's a dream Brian Fish never got to live.
"A coach would have only had to tell me that once," Montana State's first-year head coach said with a laugh of his mandate that Danny Robison, his team's starting power forward, take a minimum of 10 shots a game. "I'd have gotten up 20."
But Fish's request of Robison, a talented junior from Billings West who is slated to make his first Brawl of the Wild start Saturday at Missoula's Dahlberg Arena, was just that – take more shots. "He has (told me that), a lot," Robison says with a smile. "It's a different role. The last two years I've kind of been a role player and played spotty minutes. It's a little tough to get used to, but I'm trying as hard as I can to fulfill that role."
The role of primary scorer has challenged Robison, but Fish remains adamant. "Danny and I have talked about that, and I've told him that in front of the team," he said. "His (shooting) percentages are good, in the last seven games he's shooting around 60 percent, but he's taken only 42 shots. We need him to get 10 shots a game to score more points."
Robison, the state's top player at Billings West as a senior, feels good about the transition to Fish during his first year as Montana State's head coach. "I love everything that Coach Fish has done for me," Robison said. "I love that he has confidence in me. I just need to get that trust back in him and take more shots and hopefully be a successful player."
A 6-8 junior, Robison averages 9.7 points a game, fourth on the team, but he shoots a team-best 48% from the floor and 44.6% from the arc, second on the squad. He has squeezed off 102 shots this year, which is third on the squad, but his rate of 6.4 shots per game falls short of Fish's expectations.
Robison has found the process of taking more shots, as straightforward as it sounds, to be more difficult than he expected. "Everyone thinks just keep shooting the ball (is simple), but I'm looking for a good shot, I'm not just going to throw up a heat check," he said. "I want a good shot for our team and for that possession. Every possession matters, especially when you're losing by three points, so I think it's very important to look for a good shot."
Fish says that while Robison's evolution as a player continues, the focus falls to the mental side of the equation. "Danny battles confidence issues," Fish said. "He wants to do it. He has the ability. The other night he got 11 (shots) up in the game (at Weber State, and that was one of the big reasons we were able to stay in the game over there. As he gets more consistent about getting his shots, we'll come closer to solving our scoring problems."
Robison and the Bobcats battle Montana on Saturday in Missoula. Tip time is 7 pm, and the game is televised statewide on ABC stations, and in Billings on SWX Montana.
"A coach would have only had to tell me that once," Montana State's first-year head coach said with a laugh of his mandate that Danny Robison, his team's starting power forward, take a minimum of 10 shots a game. "I'd have gotten up 20."
But Fish's request of Robison, a talented junior from Billings West who is slated to make his first Brawl of the Wild start Saturday at Missoula's Dahlberg Arena, was just that – take more shots. "He has (told me that), a lot," Robison says with a smile. "It's a different role. The last two years I've kind of been a role player and played spotty minutes. It's a little tough to get used to, but I'm trying as hard as I can to fulfill that role."
The role of primary scorer has challenged Robison, but Fish remains adamant. "Danny and I have talked about that, and I've told him that in front of the team," he said. "His (shooting) percentages are good, in the last seven games he's shooting around 60 percent, but he's taken only 42 shots. We need him to get 10 shots a game to score more points."
Robison, the state's top player at Billings West as a senior, feels good about the transition to Fish during his first year as Montana State's head coach. "I love everything that Coach Fish has done for me," Robison said. "I love that he has confidence in me. I just need to get that trust back in him and take more shots and hopefully be a successful player."
A 6-8 junior, Robison averages 9.7 points a game, fourth on the team, but he shoots a team-best 48% from the floor and 44.6% from the arc, second on the squad. He has squeezed off 102 shots this year, which is third on the squad, but his rate of 6.4 shots per game falls short of Fish's expectations.
Robison has found the process of taking more shots, as straightforward as it sounds, to be more difficult than he expected. "Everyone thinks just keep shooting the ball (is simple), but I'm looking for a good shot, I'm not just going to throw up a heat check," he said. "I want a good shot for our team and for that possession. Every possession matters, especially when you're losing by three points, so I think it's very important to look for a good shot."
Fish says that while Robison's evolution as a player continues, the focus falls to the mental side of the equation. "Danny battles confidence issues," Fish said. "He wants to do it. He has the ability. The other night he got 11 (shots) up in the game (at Weber State, and that was one of the big reasons we were able to stay in the game over there. As he gets more consistent about getting his shots, we'll come closer to solving our scoring problems."
Robison and the Bobcats battle Montana on Saturday in Missoula. Tip time is 7 pm, and the game is televised statewide on ABC stations, and in Billings on SWX Montana.
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