Denver Nuggets rookie Julian Strawther shares shoe superstition
Nuggets forward Julian Strawther made a splash in Denver's preseason games, and he's hoping to do the same with the regular season starting this week.
The shots were certainly falling for Strawther in against the champs' preseason opponents. But if the same isn't true in the games that count and the threes aren't splashing down for the rookie in his first few games, keep an eye on his shoes.
"Do you have any pregame superstitions?" CBS Colorado Sports anchor Romi Bean asked Strawther on Xfinity Monday Live.
"Nothing too crazy," the forward out of Gonzaga replied. "As long as I tie my right shoe before my left I'm fine."
"Do you switch up your shoes every game?" Bean asked.
"Yeah, I like to switch up my shoes as much as I can. And you'll notice if I'm not having a good half I'll switch them up at halftime for sure. Yeah, I always blame the shoes," he said.
From Gonzaga to the NBA
The shoe superstition is a carryover from Strawther's days at Gonzaga. He entered the NBA Draft following his junior year, after helping the Zags reach the Elite Eight in last season's NCAA Tournament.
Shooting from beyond the arc was one of Strawther's specialties in college, but in the NBA the 3 point line is a little farther from the hoop -- 23 feet, 9 inches at the center vs. 22 feet, 1¾ inches.
"The NBA 3-point line, the college three point line, there's a couple feet difference there, but was there any adjustment for you?" Bean asked Strawther.
"Nah, growing up and throughout workouts I've always shot from way behind the line -- you know, always preparing myself for the show," he said. "That's where I wanted to be at my whole life, so I knew that's a shot I was going to have to make."
"The adjustment's been really easy and just working on even extending my range even more so I can stretch defenses out is the main thing. But the shooting has been real good," he said.
