Shooting practice has Advance boys basketball team thriving

Editor's note: A sentence in this story was updated to clarify that Lane Below is not a paid coach but does occasionally work with Advance players.

In the final hour of an Advance boys basketball team's practice, there isn't much noise coming from the gym.

The sounds of basketballs hitting the hardwood floor and flying through the net are about the only thing you'll hear, but the players remain silent.

Instead, the Hornets, who will face Meadville in a state semifinal Thursday, are focused on a mandatory shooting regimen to round out a long day of practice.

It's a system Advance coach Bubba Wheetley first implemented when he took the job two years ago, and one that he believes has helped his team get to the Class 1 final four.

"We started it last year, and back in early August we got it going again with this group," Wheetley said. "Four days a week doing so many shots a day. There are a lot of free throws, a lot of 3's and a lot of dribble drives. They bought into that last year. And it was hard to get those kids to get in here. We'd come in the mornings before school if we had to at 6 a.m. because there were days when we couldn't practice after school. To get in the gym as much as you want to doesn't always work out. But those kids last year, and even the kids that didn't see the floor as much but are starting for us now, were committed. They all committed. No matter what, they put that time in."

Wheetley, an Advance graduate, who got the idea to make shooting mandatory from former Advance coach and good friend Carrol Cookson, said the Hornets practice for at least three hours on average and spend the final hour working on those various shots.

While the numbers for each shot vary from practice to practice, Wheetley said the idea behind his strategy is designed to make shooting "muscle memory" for his players in games.

The Advance High School basketball team practices, Monday, March 9, 2015. (Laura Simon)

"I don't really make them make so many; we just shoot so many," Wheetley said. "We'll shoot 100 to 120 free throws. Some days you might do 150 shots, and there are also days that we'll back it up some. If you play hard and shoot a certain percentage, we'll take it back a little bit. But I don't believe you can shoot too much. It's just that sometimes there just isn't always enough time to get it all in, in a practice. As long as they're shooting over 100 shots from wherever, they're going to get in a game and make things look easy from different spots on the floor because it's been drilled in their head in practice."

Advance graduate and former Hornets' standout Lane Below was one of the first to really excel with Wheetley's program as a senior last season.

Below and the Hornets went all the way to the Class 2 quarterfinals before losing on a buzzer-beater to Thayer.

Below, who just completed his freshman season at Three Rivers College and works with some of the Hornets when he has time, said Wheetley's ways have provided a confidence boost to a team that relies on an all-around effort from each player.

"I just think when you prepare constantly it gives you confidence, and that's a big part of the success we had and what they're seeing too," Below said. "When guys are in here shooting 100 shots, or however many they're shooting, and then getting into a game, it's like nothing to them. Not a lot of other teams do it, not a lot of other coaches do it. I mean, Bubba's really the only guy I've seen make the extra shooting mandatory. Other coaches might think it burns you out, but when people are seeing results out of it and you know you've got guys shooting above 40 percent from the 3-point line or whatever, it's going to pay dividends at the end of the year and it's paid off for these guys."

One could argue that it's paid off the most for Preston Wuebker this season.

In Saturday's Class 1 quarterfinal against South Iron, the sophomore shot-faked his defender from behind the arc before pulling up and hitting a game-winning jump shot to send the Hornets to their first state final four since 2006.

But Wuebker said that probably wouldn't have happened without some extra work in the gym and a little help from Below.

"The day before, Lane Below was in here working with me on that same move," Wuebker said. "We worked on that same play for a whole hour. Pump-fake, one dribble and pull up. I did that for a whole hour and then I just so happened to do it in the game and made it."

Wuebker said he was never hesitant to buy into Wheetley's regiment and has even taken it a step further by extending his shooting to an extra few hours after practice.

"I usually spend about three to four hours on my own just shooting after practice or wherever," he said. "I feel that if I take a day off, that's a day that I'm losing a chance to get better. If I'm not in the gym shooting, I feel like I'm going to let my team down when it's needed most."

Throughout the season, other players began to do the same, including Brian Whitson, who hit a 3-pointer in the final minute of the quarterfinal, which gave Advance its first lead of the game.

"We've got kids that will stay extra and do some of this on their own," Wheetley said. "Whitson and Wuebker are in here after just about every day. They lead the way. They stayed extra the day before we played South Iron, and they shot a bunch. Obviously that helps because they hit some big shots for us in the quarterfinal. Now the trick is to get everybody to do that."

Besides shooting free throws, jump shots and 3's, the Hornets also work on their drives to the rim, but with a twist.

"Two guys have these big football blocking pads and whenever a guy drives through the lane and tries to score, the guys with pads just hit the guy with the ball as hard as they can to try and throw his shot off," Wheetley said. "We did that when I played, with the pads and without them. I call that a two-on-two cut the lane. It's just getting used to driving to the basket and getting pushed and shoved. A lot of times they may not call all that down there, so this just gets them used to feeling that contact so that way it won't bother them so bad."

Sophomore and center Dawson Mayo said the pad workout has made him more aggressive in the lane and helps him finish his shots.

"Last year I was pretty bad at shooting down low," Mayo said. "Just getting the crap beaten out of me down there made it hard for me to really focus on making sure my shots were going through. It's fun, but it can hurt a lot of the time. I would say that Lane probably hits me the hardest, but the whole thing has only made me a better shooter and post player."

Below said he doesn't mind inflicting a little pain on the Hornets as long as it's making everyone's drive to the basket more effective.

"I enjoy hitting those guys with pads. It's important not only for Dawson and Austin down low, but for everybody," Below said. "When you can finish around the basket you're going to be better off. I think Dawson has gotten better at it over time, but it's just a good drill to get everybody involved and not necessarily just post players."

Wheetley admitted that Advance's long practices, which can sometimes total three hours, can be taxing on his players.

However, Wheetley said he believes in an open dialogue with his players and has told them to let him know if they're being pushed too hard. Their response every time, according to Wheetley, is always the same.

"We talked about the long hours and they always say, 'We're fine,' They're really not bothered by it," Wheetley said. "Now I don't know of they're just going along with what I say or what, but those extra hours have really paid off. I know they don't always want to be here because this shooting takes a lot. I mean it takes a lot to get all these shots off. You take that out and you can get out of here pretty quick. By the time you get all that in and scrimmage four or five quarters, and work the pads you're worn down. Like I said, I may overwork them some, but they're here and they've worked hard to get here."

Despite the tough practices the Hornets have to endure, they're all in.

"I think just the commitment aspect of this is what's key for this team," Wheetley said. "If you're going to succeed and do good in life, you've got to commit to stuff. It's just like a job. You've got to have that whether you want to go or not. Like I said, they bought in and I do think that everything we do in practice, the extra time we take to work on shooting and other things, is what's makes us a final four team."