Iowa's Fran McCaffery wants Josh Oglesby to keep on shooting

IOWA CITY - Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery said he did a “disservice” to freshman guard Josh Oglesby by not playing him in the second half Monday against North Carolina A&T.

“That won't happen again,” McCaffery said.

Oglesby was the state's top 3-point shooter as a prep last year for Cedar Rapids Washington. He led all classes in 3-pointers (87) and 3-point shooting percentage (39.9 percent) and averaged 21.2 points a game. Just last week, Oglesby said he was excited about getting open looks on the perimeter, unlike high school where he constantly shot against multiple defenders.

“My shot is way more open than in high school where they could double team me or face guard me the whole time,” Oglesby said.

In two games this year, Oglesby has struggled from 3-point range, hitting just 1-of-9. He missed both attempts in seven minutes against North Carolina A&T. For McCaffery those statistics don't matter. He just wants Oglesby to keep shooting.

"When he's open, he got the green light,” McCaffery said. “I don't even want him thinking about it. I don't care if he's misses 10 in a row. Shoot the 11th because over the course of time, he's going to have a great shooting percentage. He's that good.”

Oglesby has produced solid numbers despite the 3-point misses. He has six assists to only one turnover. He's a team player, something McCaffery admires, but the coach wants him to become a bit more selfish.

“I screamed at him Monday night for not shooting two or three times when he should have shot. My stance has always been, when I've got a guy who shoots the ball like Josh Oglesby, I'm just going to say, ‘Just keep shooting. You've got to have amnesia. Forget the one you missed and make the next 3. If you miss three, then make the next four.' I think for him, that's not easy because he's never been that kind of player.

“I told him after the game, I said, ‘Josh, you happen to be a great shooter, but I didn't recruit you as a shooter. I recruited you as a player, so go make plays. At some level he's thinking, ‘I'll go make plays as opposed to taking this many shots.' But I want him to make plays and also fire.”