Bob Huggins isn’t big on compliments when it comes to his players.

He’s an old-school, tough-nosed coach that prefers to consistently demand more as opposed to offering up praise for his players at every opportunity that presents itself. His players know it, too.

That’s exactly why junior point guard Jordan McCabe realizes the extensive amount of work he put in during the off-season is paying off. Because Huggins hasn’t been shy on throwing him a bone when it comes to the improvements that he’s made with his shot.

But it certainly didn’t come easy.

McCabe knew he had to get better when it came to knocking down shots. After shooting only 21-percent from three last season it was rather obvious.

So instead of simply crossing his fingers and wishing for things to improve, he acted toward making that transformation happen.

Traveling back home to Wisconsin during the first part of quarantine, McCabe made the 11-hour trip to Michigan to work with his personal coach Jason Otter. That meant breaking down his shot and working on improving every aspect of it in order to be more consistent.

“I didn’t take a shot outside of five feet for almost an entire two weeks,” he said.

McCabe focused on form and the details that go with it. There was extensive video work and reviewing what he was putting on tape while reworking what was going wrong.

After that was complete, he spent time at the gym of former University of Wisconsin-Green Bay standout Ryan Borowicz on taking it even further. Borowicz owns The Driveway basketball training center in Green Bay and it was there that McCabe did even more work.

“Me and Ryan worked side-by-side for the three months I was home,” he said. “Between those two guys I kind of broke down my shot completely.”

The end results caught Huggins eyes, especially once the team was able to practice.

“I’d talk him through some of the things that I thought would help Jordan but he’s really shooting the ball really well,” Huggins said.

Now, the biggest complaint that Huggins has is that he hasn’t been shooting the ball enough. But that’s part of the process as he continues to mold his game from a flashy high school point guard, in name only, to an efficient college one that is relied upon to distribute the ball and hit open shots.

Along with his shooting, McCabe also wanted to improve his assist to turnover ratio, which again was lacking. He took Huggins advice and increased his practice habits while also immersing himself in the game. Now, he’s noticing not only his shooting on the uptick, but he hasn’t been turning the ball over.

“My biggest thing is going through a practice and not having a single turnover. That’s my goal every day,” McCabe said.

McCabe had found his shot and his confidence and now is finding his role on this basketball team. It’s one that he doesn’t take for granted and is excited to see how things continue to unfold.

Improvement doesn’t come easy and McCabe is a testament to that this off-season.

“Smart guys figure out what can I do to help this team? And certainly, Jordan is a smart guy. He’s trying to figure out how he can help our team the most, which translates into more minutes,” Huggins said.

And perhaps a few more compliments along the way.

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