Micah Peavy is known for his defense. Can he become a bigger part of TCU’s offense?
Micah Peavy’s top priority is to be the best defender in the country. He’s making a case with the numbers he’s put up so far this season.
But Peavy knows he has to contribute more on the offensive end as well if TCU basketball is going to reach its full potential. Peavy has scored in double figures just once in the last 12 games compared to scoring double figures in three of the first four games.
He’d love to turn it around Tuesday when TCU (13-3, 3-2 Big 12) hosts Texas (14-5, 4-3 Big 12) at 8 p.m. at Schollmaier Arena.
“I’m still working on it,” said Peavy, who is averaging 6.3 points per game. “There’s a lot of stuff I have to work on, but that’s one thing the coaches talk to me about. I get in my head. I need to shoot it, I need to have more confidence in my shot. It’s coming together. It helps when your teammates have confidence in yourself to tell you to shoot it when sometimes you’ll be down on yourself.
“But, yeah, it’s a work in progress.”
The Texas game carries an extra incentive for Peavy, who started his college career at Texas Tech under current UT coach Chris Beard before transferring to TCU.
Peavy considered following Beard to Texas but opted to return to DFW when he entered the transfer portal last offseason. Peavy enjoyed his lone season under Beard, though.
“He’s a really good coach, one of the best in the country,” Peavy said. “That’s why I considered going to Texas, but I just ended up going here. I learned a lot coming from high school and going to Tech, I felt I matured a lot.”
Peavy mentioned how he learned to study and break down film under Beard. And Peavy’s defensive strides can be traced back to his days under Beard and Mark Adams, Tech’s current coach who was an assistant under Beard.
At TCU, Peavy has further established himself as one of the top defenders in the country. Advanced stats rank him in the top percentile nationally in defensive points per possession (.5). In other words, Peavy allows only 50 points per 100 possessions as the primary defender.
“I just take pride in my defense,” Peavy said. “It’s your personal mindset, just to lock in and go your hardest. That’s all defense is — it’s playing hard.”
Peavy takes pride in his offense, too, but it’s been a struggle to find consistency on that end.
Peavy appeared to be getting back on track with an 11-point performance in TCU’s victory over Oklahoma on Jan. 15 but followed up with a two-point game at Oklahoma State and a five-point game at Iowa State.
TCU’s coaching staff would like to see Peavy get more involved offensively. After all, there isn’t a player on the team who works on his shot more than Peavy.
“We tell them, I’ve got a couple of guys, the only way you get better shooting is shooting open shots,” TCU coach Jamie Dixon said. “I’ve been a little surprised by how it’s taken a couple of our guys making the transition playing on the perimeter.”
Dixon pointed out that former TCU standout Desmond Bane wasn’t a great shooter his freshman year but grew into an elite-level shooter by his senior season.
“It doesn’t happen overnight,” Dixon said. “Not everybody is going to turn into Desmond, but it’s a process.”
