Eisenhower boys basketball coach Mike Curta huddled with his team before the season and informed the group it was time to try something different.
It would be no small change, such as going from a zone to a man-to-man defense.
The Cardinals were coming off a 10-17 season and finished near the bottom of the South Suburban Red Division.
Curta told his team it was going to play an intense, uptempo style — one that relied on 3-point shooting and fullcourt pressure defense.
The Cardinals, not their opponents, were going to dictate the tempo of the game.
After the shocked look wore off the players’ faces, Curta then made a bold prediction: The Cardinals not only were going to play a new system, they were going to break the state record for 3-point field goals made in a season.
The first thing that crossed the mind of forward Cory Evans?
“Curta is crazy,” the senior said.
Now, it’s the Cardinals who are going crazy — from long distance.
The state record is 286 3s in a season. After 21 games, Eisenhower stands just seven treys shy of the mark, set in 2004-05 by Lincoln.
In 36 games.
The Cards, who make 12 3-pointers on average per game, will likely eclipse the record tonight against District 218 rival Shepard.
“I didn’t even know there was a record like this until Curta told us,” senior guard A.J. Bridges said. “We have a chance to make history and it will mean this team will have accomplished something no other team in the state has.”
Eisenhower also is in position to accomplish something no other Cardinals team has in 28 years: win a conference championship. The Cards have won four straight and are 6-3 in conference. If they win out — a mighty task with Shepard, Richards and Reavis remaining on the docket — the South Suburban Red is theirs.
Curta is convinced that never would have been a possibility without shifting to their new system, one that Grinnell College made famous.
“Last year we were picked to do some good things and we finished 10-17 (overall) and 4-9 in conference,” he said. “We fell far short of expectations. It wasn’t a very fun year. By going to the Grinnell system, we wanted to be unique, get some excitement going and create participation.”
Faced with a vertically challenged roster — the Cards’ tallest player is 6-foot-6, the next 6-3 — Curta wanted to play to his team’s strengths.
With kids such as Bridges (11 points per game), Tyrone Terrell (21 ppg), Olajuwon Prude (12.0 ppg) and Dustan Lewis (12 ppg), the Cardinals boast strong perimeter shooters.
Eisenhower has attempted 1,081 3s and just 768 2-point shots so far. The Cards are shooting at a .257 clip from behind the arc and averaging 85.4 points per game (they averaged 55 a year ago) to their opponents’ 84.8.
“We’re trying to make basketball exciting around here again,” said Curta, standing on the Cardinals’ gym floor. “Breaking the record is nice, but it wouldn’t mean as much if we weren’t in a race for the conference championship. That makes it more meaningful. We’re in the hunt to do something special. That’s new around here.”
The Cardinals’ goal each time down the floor is to attempt a shot within 12 seconds. It’s the same goal on defense. The Cards want to apply so much pressure, their opponent is rushed into attempting a shot or turning the ball over within 12 seconds. If it means giving up an uncontested layup at times, fine. Eisenhower wants to get the ball back and push it up the floor.
Curta is more concerned with how many shots the Cardinals take, not necessarily how many they make. During an 88-75 victory over Argo, the Cards attempted 113 shots, the Argonauts 60.
It’s a frenetic pace, to say the least.
“I love playing this style,” Bridges said. “It’s different, but it fits our team better.”
Curta substitutes players in shifts, similar to hockey, rotating five players every 45 seconds or so. Most everyone on the 15-man roster sees the floor.
What’s prevented Eisenhower from producing better results is its tendency to foul, which stops the action and allows opponents to catch their breath.
“We have to do a better job of not fouling,” Curta said. “We want to keep the action going. That benefits us. We don’t try and disguise anything we do. You can play us 50 times and we’re going to do what we do.
“It is what it is.”
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