Iowa State men’s basketball: Happy birthday, Naz Long!
By Brian Spaen
Clones Confidential wishes Naz Long a happy birthday, and we do so by remembering his clutch 3-pointers from the 2013-14 season.
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Long dominated our Iowa State top 15 men’s basketball moments countdown earlier this summer, coming in at 3rd, 4th, and 5th on the countdown. The sophomore started out with a bang last season, hitting 8 3-pointers to open up the season against UNC-Wilmington. He averaged 40 percent beyond the arc last season, and only 39 of his 199 total field goal attempts were inside the perimeter.
Long is another Canadian on this team from Mississauga, Ontario. His hometown is approximately 30 minutes away from Toronto, where former Cyclone Melvin Ejim is from.
This Canadian improved dramatically in his second season, boosting his points per game average from 1.4 to 7.1 and playing 20.3 minutes per game compared to 6.9 minutes per game in his freshman season. Long was famous for making 3-point daggers, including two of them against Oklahoma State in different games and against North Carolina in the NCAA tournament.
What’s next for Long? To become a consistent 3-point specialist. The only knock on his game was going through droughts in long range shooting. He suffered his first cold streak going 1-for-7 in the Diamond Head Classic tournament in Hawai’i before storming back with 4 3-pointers against Northern Illinois. He went 0-for-9 in four regulation games before hitting a dagger in the second overtime against the Cowboys and extended it into a third period.
Long sandwiched a cold streak during a four game winning streak between February 15-26. He went 0-for-3 and clocked just 28 minutes of total playing time against Texas and TCU, but went 10-for-17 against Texas Tech and West Virginia in 51 total minutes of playing time.
The Canadian perimeter shooter will have some competition, notably Clayton Custer who will try to become the next Cyclone 3-point specialist. But for now, we wish Nazzy J. Long a great birthday, and we can’t wait to see him on the court later this fall.