Houston Basketball: 3 things that Marcus Sasser should focus on in 2021-22

Not being so predictable at times

Yes, I was telling the truth when I said that Sasser likes to get into the lane and attempt to finish at the rim, but I would say that he likes to shoot the three-ball just as much, as there were multiple contests last season when he put up 10+ three-pointers.

Now, launching that many threes would not have been an issue if Sasser had been able to shoot a higher percentage from deep (he shot just 30.8% from beyond the arc in 2020-21), but unfortunately, the 6’1″ guard struggled with consistency in this area. You see, Sasser loves to take off toward his right, stop hard when he thinks that one of his defenders’ momentum will take him in the direction of the basket, and quickly pull the ball back before setting his feet and firing a three near the top of the key.

It’s certainly a killer move that should be utilized in 2021-22, but because he has a tendency to make this move several times throughout the course of any given game, some defenders are able to sit on his violent pullback crossover and force him to be a consistent knockdown long-range shooter with a hand in his face.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s great that Sasser has developed a go-to-move that can get defenders off-balance, but switching things up will help make it tougher for defenders to contain him off the dribble. It may be beneficial for him to start driving to his right, taking one hard pound dribble/or hesitating near the top of the key (to fool his defenders into thinking he is quickly going to come back to his left and shoot a triple), and continuing toward his right (perhaps by transitioning into a crisp in-an-out dribble) while he figures out what’s next, so that his defenders won’t be able to easily predict when he is preparing to make his signature move.

At the end of the day, Sasser should strive to become a more unpredictable ball-handler in 2021-22 and keep defenders on their toes all season long.