Xavier University Athletics
Xavier Nation Magazine Feature: 300 Shots a Day
12.27.15 | Men's Basketball, Athletic Department
J.P. Macura’s prescription for success
Xavier Nation Magazine debuted in November 2014 as a publication produced by Xavier Athletics, designed specifically for its passionate and supportive fans. Xavier Nation aims to bring the alumni, fans and friends of Xavier content that can't be found anywhere else. The magazine goes beyond the statistics and history of a traditional media guide with stories that bring to life the coaches and athletes who represent Xavier.
Read one of the features from the magazine about guard J.P. Macura's dedication to getting up shots in the practice gym.
Over the course of 35 games in his first season at Xavier, J.P. Macura shot the ball 150 times. As October and the start of practice approached, that marked about a half-day's work of independent practice.
Trying to improve upon his freshman field-goal percentage of .413, Macura spent the early fall firing up 300 shots a day, a program he devised with the help of associate head coach Travis Steele.
Dedication helps. Macura has been known to head to the gym as soon as he wakes up some Saturdays, and sometimes he comes back as late as 9 or 10 at night. One Saturday, wanting to make up for missed sessions, he practiced three separate times.
Technology helps. Macura isn't Jimmy Chitwood from Hoosiers or Ricky Roe from Blue Chips—outside shooters in the most literal sense, chucking up jumpers at outdoor goals and hoping for kind bounces to keep the session moving.
Macura's Xavier key card gets him into the climate-controlled Cintas Center at all hours. A punched-in code gets him into the Kohlhepp Family Auxiliary Gym. Student managers often come along to rebound, but if not, a Shoot-A-Way Gun is available to collect makes and misses and fire the ball back to him.
"The doors aren't really locked to me," Macura says. "If I get in and somebody's using it, I just come back at a different time."
Macura also takes advantage of a new addition to XU's technological arsenal, the Noah—a goal-mounted camera that measures shooting arcs and how far they vary from the optimal 45 degrees.
In many settings, college kids hoisting a lot of shots isn't extraordinary, but it is the way Macura does it.
"Basically I just want to get better," Macura says. "You can't get better without shooting the basketball. If you come into the gym to shoot the basketball, know that you're going to get something out of it."
Read one of the features from the magazine about guard J.P. Macura's dedication to getting up shots in the practice gym.
Over the course of 35 games in his first season at Xavier, J.P. Macura shot the ball 150 times. As October and the start of practice approached, that marked about a half-day's work of independent practice.
Trying to improve upon his freshman field-goal percentage of .413, Macura spent the early fall firing up 300 shots a day, a program he devised with the help of associate head coach Travis Steele.
Dedication helps. Macura has been known to head to the gym as soon as he wakes up some Saturdays, and sometimes he comes back as late as 9 or 10 at night. One Saturday, wanting to make up for missed sessions, he practiced three separate times.
Technology helps. Macura isn't Jimmy Chitwood from Hoosiers or Ricky Roe from Blue Chips—outside shooters in the most literal sense, chucking up jumpers at outdoor goals and hoping for kind bounces to keep the session moving.
Macura's Xavier key card gets him into the climate-controlled Cintas Center at all hours. A punched-in code gets him into the Kohlhepp Family Auxiliary Gym. Student managers often come along to rebound, but if not, a Shoot-A-Way Gun is available to collect makes and misses and fire the ball back to him.
"The doors aren't really locked to me," Macura says. "If I get in and somebody's using it, I just come back at a different time."
Macura also takes advantage of a new addition to XU's technological arsenal, the Noah—a goal-mounted camera that measures shooting arcs and how far they vary from the optimal 45 degrees.
In many settings, college kids hoisting a lot of shots isn't extraordinary, but it is the way Macura does it.
"Basically I just want to get better," Macura says. "You can't get better without shooting the basketball. If you come into the gym to shoot the basketball, know that you're going to get something out of it."
Players Mentioned
Guard
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