\u201dI don\u2019t have a lot to say about that right now, but that is really amazing and I\u2019m excited to see what the future holds,\u201d Betts told reporters following the win against Southern. \u201cBut I just love being a Bruin as of right now, so I\u2019m gonna focus on that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Betts is one of the top prospects on WNBA teams\u2019 radars. But as good as she is, there are still parts of her game she can fine-tune<\/a> to prepare herself for the next level.<\/p>\n One aspect of her game that she\u2019s looked more comfortable with this season is her midrange shot. Betts is arguably the most dominant low-post college player in the country. But with the shifting game and bigs becoming more well-rounded, a consistent 12- to 15-foot jump shot will help Betts be more effective in the WNBA.<\/p>\n Betts credits UCLA assistant coach James Clark for helping her work on her shot.<\/p>\n \u201dI\u2019m very comfortable shooting shots like that. Honestly, it gives me a little bit of a break sometimes of posting up all the time and getting beat up on, so it\u2019s kind of nice,\u201d Betts said. \u201cAny way that I can get better, that\u2019s what I\u2019m going to do. JC\u2019s done a really good job this season just working on different skill sets that I haven\u2019t usually done the past three years, so I\u2019m just really thankful for him. But I\u2019m going to continue to grow in that for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n The IX Basketball, a 24\/7\/365 women\u2019s basketball newsroom powered by The Next During Betts\u2019 freshman season at Stanford, she took eight shots outside the paint<\/a> and made two (25%), per Synergy Sports. During her sophomore season at UCLA, she took 11 shots from the same range, connecting on five (45%). Last season, she took 14 shots outside the paint, making four (29%).<\/p>\n This season, Betts has taken 10 shots<\/a> outside the paint, knocking down four (40%). Through her first seven games, around 15% of her total shot attempts<\/a>, as per Sports Reference, are coming from outside of the paint. When compared with her first three seasons combined, less than 4% of her shot attempts came from outside the paint.<\/p>\n For UCLA head coach Cori Close, Betts\u2019 desire to improve her game has really shown this season in particular.<\/p>\n \u201dThere\u2019s just no substitute to hard, intentional work,\u201d Close told reporters after the Southern win. \u201cAnd she\u2019s just been really good about saying, \u2018OK, I want to add this to my toolbox this year. This is my next progression.\u2019 And she actually had the perimeter shot last year; she just wasn\u2019t confident enough to take it all the time. And then she put an incredible amount of work [in] this summer on her perimeter jump shot.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201dShe used to never do this, but now she\u2019s showing up early. She\u2019s there at 8 a.m. getting extra pregame work,\u201d Close continued. \u201cHer work ethic and doing things outside of practice has really increased. And we always say, the work done in the dark always eventually gets revealed in the light, and I think you\u2019re seeing that in Lauren\u2019s game.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The IX Basketball<\/a>: A basketball newsroom brought to you by The IX Sports<\/a>. 24\/7\/365 women\u2019s basketball coverage, written, edited and photographed by our young, diverse staff and dedicated to breaking news, analysis, historical deep dives and projections about the game we love.<\/p>\n