ISU Freshman Spent Years on Shot

AMES, Iowa (AP) â€” One of the biggest breaks in Jake Sullivan's basketball career came long before he showed up at Iowa State. <br><br>It was the day his parents gave him a membership to a recreation

Thursday, January 11th 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

AMES, Iowa (AP) â€” One of the biggest breaks in Jake Sullivan's basketball career came long before he showed up at Iowa State.

It was the day his parents gave him a membership to a recreation center near their home in Oakdale, Minn.

From then on, Sullivan no longer had to shovel snow from the driveway so he could shoot. He could work on his jumper on a frigid day without wearing gloves and a parka.

``That's where I'd spend the winter, basically,'' said Sullivan, who as a fifth grader began taking 1,000 jump shots a day. ``After practice was over, I was there for a couple of hours every day.''

He's still shooting, only on a bigger stage and against stiffer competition. A 6-foot-1 freshman, Sullivan starts for the 18th-ranked Cyclones and is their best outside shooter.

The shooting touch was there from the beginning. The starting came later, after Brandon Hawkins, who started the first seven games, quit the team. His departure gave someone else an opportunity, and Sullivan seized it.

``I think he's taken a tremendous amount of pride in that spot,'' coach Larry Eustachy said. ``He doesn't want to lose it. I downplay starting, but starting is important to the player. When I played it was. It shouldn't be, but it just is. He's earned it.''

Sullivan's 3-point shot is the most interesting thing about his game because it's a throwback â€” a one-handed set shot, usually taken from well beyond the 3-point line. Such shots take longer to get off than, say, a jumper off the dribble, but for Sullivan, it's worth the wait.

``I have this theory that I'd be better off making five out of seven than shooting 12 and only making four of them,'' Sullivan said. ``So there's no reason to hurry the shot, even if I don't get as many off.

``Obviously, I need to quicken up my shot because people will start scouting me. That's what I'm working on when I'm on my own in the gym.''

Sullivan already has broken Iowa State's record for 3-pointers by a freshman. He's shooting 51 percent from 3-point range, 32-of-63, and 54.5 percent overall. His 11.7 scoring average is the fourth best on the team.

He also has been effective with his midrange jump shot, which he often gets by faking a 3-point attempt, taking a couple of dribbles and pulling up.

``That's all I did in high school,'' Sullivan said. ``A lot of people don't know that. I didn't shoot 3s nearly as much as I do here. Maybe I shot 50 3s all last year.

``The midrange was my game because people took away the 3. Now I have to start doing that here because they're starting to take away the 3.''

Whatever kind of shot Sullivan took in high school, he made a lot of them. Sullivan started on his high school team when he was in eighth grade, led his conference in scoring five times and finished his prep career with 3,009 points. As a seventh grader, he scored 70 points in a junior high game.

So Eustachy knew what he was getting when he signed Sullivan, who got offers from North Carolina, Utah, UNLV and Minnesota after committing to Iowa State. But Eustachy likes the rest of Sullivan's game, too.

Twice this season, Sullivan has grabbed six rebounds in a game. He even has learned to play a little defense.

``I think he's more of a well-rounded player than people think,'' Eustachy said. ``When he's right and really moving and thinking, he can defend. He's had some monster games rebounding for his spot.''