Before each game, Bunky Harkleroad writes a list of unorthodox goals on Sacramento State’s white board. To the common basketball fan, the list looks surely unattainable.
Hoist 100 shots. Shoot 50 3-pointers. Secure 40 percent of the possible offensive rebounds. Force 30 turnovers.
For a basketball purest, it seems like a playground style filled with less than stellar shot selection, undisciplined defense and a skewed final stat sheet. But for Harkleroad, the mastermind of the second-highest scoring offense in Division I women’s college basketball, executing his unusual list of goals is the key to success for the Hornets.
Sac State coach Bunky Harkleroad
“If we do those four things I write on the board before every game, statistically we have a great chance of winning because we have created a shot differential,” Harkleroad said. “There’s definitely some hard math in there. We can shoot poorly and have teams shoot a high percentage and we can still be successful.”
The key figure when it comes to the math of Sac State’s wild attack is in possible points. If the Hornets shoot 100 shots and 50 of them are 3-pointers, that’s a possible 250 points. If the opponent shoots 80 shots, all two-pointers, even if Sac gives up fast break layup after fast break layup because the opponent breaks its unyielding full-court press, Sac’s opponent still only has the opportunity to score 160 points.
“There are a lot of different ways to play and they are definitely unique,” said Montana 38th-year head coach Robin Selvig, the owner of 24 Big Sky Conference crowns. “(Harkleroad) is good at recruiting personnel that are great at playing how he wants to play. The way they play has been good for them. The thing about preparing for it that makes it so hard is it’s so unorthodox, you see it only a few times a year.”
Last season, Sac State drilled 13.5 3-pointers per game, a Division I record for men or women, as the Hornets advanced to the WNIT, the first post-season appearance in school history. This season, the Hornets are shooting just 28 percent from beyond the arc, a main component in their 7-12 record. Sac State takes a 4-4 Big Sky mark into this weekend’s road swing to play Selvig’s Lady Griz on Thursday and Montana State on Saturday.
Sac State guard Adella Randle-El
“They are the most unique team in the league for sure,” MSU head coach Tricia Binford said before her team’s first matchup with Sac. “They are extremely different. You can’t prepare for them like you do for any other opponent.”
Although the style — which includes full hockey-style line change substitutions every few minutes — has been sporadic this season, the numbers have been striking at times nonetheless. Sac State has topped 120 points three times, including a Big Sky-record 132 in a 41-point win over Portland State. Sac’s 87 points per game are second in Division I to UConn and the Hornets are averaging 91 points per game in conference play.
The Hornets have shot 72 more 3-pointers than anyone in the country and their 11.7 3-pointers per game, while down from the last two record-breaking seasons, still leads Division I. In a 117-99 loss to No. 17 Cal earlier this season, Sac State shot 20-of-80 from beyond the arc and put up 110 shots overall. In a 126-78 win over Portland State two weeks ago, Sac hit a Division I-record 25 3-pointers on 55 attempts.
“Our style fits me well because I like to shoot,” said junior shooting guard Briana Burgos, the Big Sky Player of the Week after a 32-point performance in the record-setting win over PSU two weeks ago. “I wouldn’t like to be a coach who plays against us because it’s hard to prepare. You can’t sit there and set up plays because there is no way. I like how we can really catch people off guard.
Sac State guard Brianna Burgos
“It’s hard when we are having an off shooting night because we rely on our 3s so much. That’s the biggest downfall. That’s why we really emphasize crashing the offensive boards because it gives us another opportunity.”
Sac State leads the country in offensive rebounding with 20 per contest. With its non-stop full-court press and lack of care at defending the rim, the Hornets lead Division I with 16 steals per game. The draining style comes with the need for constant substitutions; 12 players play at least 10 minutes per game and no Hornet plays more than Burgos’ 22.5 minutes per night.
“You have to be able to sell kids on the dirty work,” Harkleroad said. “People know we shoot a lot of threes but our other kids have to rebound. We look for kids who have a good motor who go hard and are skilled and tough and determined and want to be a part of something.
“We do our best to make it a selling point. It’s not just run down and jack it up. We take a lot of chances but we work them pretty hard.”
Harkleroad first devised his unorthodox style during his days coaching Berea College, a tiny NAIA Division II school and his alma mater in Berea, Kentucky. During a struggling time in the program, Harkleroad was desperate for answers. He heard about Dave Arsenault, the Paul Westhead of Division III at Grinnell College.
Long before Grinnell guard Jack Taylor launched the Iowa Division III power on the national scene with his 138 points in one game, Harkleroad went to watch the Pioneers play and pick Arsenault’s brain.
Sac State forward Gretchen Harrigan
Twelve years ago and today, Arsenault’s concepts were to trade threes for twos as much as possible and to force as many turnovers as you could. If the team broke the press, give them the layup. Just make sure you hit a 3-pointer the next trip down the court.
After nine seasons at Berea, some of the most successful in school history, Harkleroad spent four years at Glenville State. His team three seasons ago blew the competition out of the water in terms of shooting numbers. The gap between his team and the second-place team in 3-point field goals made was equal to the difference between second and the 166th team in Division II.
Harkleroad took over for Jamie Craighead before the 2013-2014 season and the numbers have continued to defy logic. This season, Sac State has shot at least 41 3-pointers in a game eight times and hit at least 11 on 11 different occasions. The 25 triples against PSU broke the Hornets’ Big Sky record by four. Sac State has hoisted 100 shots on three occasions, notched at least 15 steals 13 times and at least 20 thefts in five games. Sac has forced at least 25 turnovers 13 times and at least 30 four times, all in succession, including a season-high 38 in a 126-76 win over UC Irvine.
Sac State forward Sydonia Daniels
This week, Sac will try to get back on track with the road swing through Montana, a trip that Harkleroad calls “always brutal”.
“We want to get every ounce of potential out of our players and I think the style is conducive to that,” Harkleroad said. “But with 10 games remaining, we still have not played well.
“It comes down to having the players that can do it regardless of your style. The game of basketball has proven to us that there are a lot of different ways to win. You can play slow, fast, big, small. It’s a matter of the right players in the right spots making plays.”
Photos courtesy of Sacramento State Athletics. All Rights Reserved.
