The Golden Age of CSU Point Guard Play
With Hofschild and Stevens, the ball has never been in better hands
Mike Brohard
Collectively, the ball has never been in better hands.
For the men’s basketball team at Colorado State, Isaiah Stevens – poised to become the program’s all-time assists leader in the coming weeks – runs the show, as he has for four seasons. For the women, it’s McKenna Hofschild, who obliterated the single-season assists mark a season ago with 216, and she’s on an even better pace in her third year in command.
They are everything a coach would want in a point guard. Controlled and clutch. Poised and persistent. Scholars of the game and scorers as well.
“They’re both very similar, both very good with the ball in their hands and make people better,” CSU women’s coach Ryun Williams said. “Isaiah has a tremendous poise. He just has that thing on a string. He’s got a moxie to him. He’s not afraid to rip your heart out.
“I see that in Isaiah. I see that in McKenna, too.”
No surprise, they both have very similar approaches to what they’re trying to accomplish on the court and how they pursue their goals. It is clear in the career arc of each to see the work they put in to better themselves. That’s only half of the mission, has both have one primary task in mind when the ball is tipped.
Make those who suit up with them better players. No wonder the Rams’ pair of No. 4s have a mutual admiration for each other’s work.
“For me, it’s the command on the floor. For her to have the ball as much as she does and execute almost every single time, that’s something you can’t really teach,” Stevens said. “Also, with her not being the biggest player on the court, she dominates inside the paint, too. Day in and day out, I’ve sat here and watched games, and can’t nobody stop her, can’t nobody keep her out of the lane. She gets there, shoots a little floater, a little pullup. Then it’s her presence on the floor, it’s really remarkable.”
Hofschild is listed at 5-foot-5, which is a bit of a stretch. No matter because she has the ability to pull apart an opponent’s defense like fresh taffy. Stevens, at 6-foot, isn’t exactly a big man on the floor, either. In fact, both of them knew from the first moment they fell in love with the game where their futures would be rooted.
With the ball in their hand. There’s really no other position they’d rather play.
“I think a lot of people look to you to be out there on the floor in command of everything, controlling the offense and the defense and being that leader,” Hofschild said. “It can come with some pressure, but I think having people look at you and look up to you and respect what you’re saying is huge.”
Stevens was brought to the program to run the show, and head coach Niko Medved gave him control from the jump, starting his first game. Hofschild transferred in from Seton Hall with the same direction from Williams, to push the pace and run the floor for his team.
As one might expect, there were growing pains at the start for each, but a coach lives through those when the player at hand is willing to put in the work, learn from lessons past and slowly start to exceed expectations. That derives from what most people aren’t privy to in the process and what coaches admire greatly.
“I think the things people don’t see on the court, it’s really his personality off the court,” Medved said of Stevens. “He’s a student of the game, he’s unbelievably competitive. He wants to have the ball in his hands in those big moments, in the big games, to have to make the decisions. I think the great ones really want that. They love the competition; they love being in that moment and they thrive in that. I think that’s really the competitive separator with him.
“Obviously, McKenna’s lightning quick. She’s crafty, she passes, all those things, but again, watching her play, it’s the swagger, the confidence. Much like Isaiah, you can tell she loves being in the big moment. She loves having the ball in her hand. She wants to be the player to have to make those decisions when the game’s on the line and things are tough. I see that swagger and competitive fire in her.”
They’re both very similar, both very good with the ball in their hands and make people better. Isaiah has a tremendous poise. He just has that thing on a string. He’s got a moxie to him. He’s not afraid to rip your heart out.Ryun Williams, CSU Women's Basketball Coach
I see that in Isaiah. I see that in McKenna, too.
The art of the assist to the fan is the final product they see. Both will tell you the crucial strokes come in the hours of practice which lead to the tip of a game. The vision both of them display on the court is sharpened in those sessions. It leads to passes their coaches don’t understand in the moment, only to see it is leading a teammate to a place only they foresaw, to a basket nobody expected.
“I think it’s all about finding that timing and having that chemistry with your teammates. When they know how you play, and you know how they play – finding that chemistry together – it allows you to get them in their spots to be successful,” she said. “That’s exactly it. You prepare so much for that moment that when it comes to it, it’s nothing different than any other shot or any other move you’ve made. It’s about connecting.”
Which she’s doing at an amazing rate.
She is second nationally with an average of 7.8 assists per game, third in total assists with 117 on the year. At her current pace, she’ll erase her own season record of 216. And like Stevens, she too holds the single-game record for her program. She set her bar at 17; Stevens is one of three to share the record at 12, but he’s the only one who has done it twice.
Due to injury, Stevens missed the first seven games of the season, but he’s been on a run, averaging 6.2 assists per game, a better margin than at any of his previous three seasons. His 505 career assists leave him 25 shy of matching the program record of 530, set by Ryan Yoder from 1990-94.
For him, it’s all about the buildup. The meshing of minds in practice, the trust of the coaches and the foot on the gas. It’s knowing when to floor it, when to ease up. Containing the power is priceless, as is making the play in the moment of truth.
“I think it’s about anticipation. It’s knowing your teammates, building that chemistry and then being able to deliver it where it makes their job easier,” he said. “All they have to do is catch and go up, catch, take a dribble and score the basket. I think that’s the most important part of it.”
Through the years, they’ve both come to appreciate it’s not all about what they create for their team, but what they don’t create for others. Pushing the pace, especially early in a career, can come with a price. Namely turnovers. Both had some issues their first year running their respective offenses.
Since then, as the assists have continued to mount, the turnovers have dropped dramatically. Coincidently, the teams they guide both lead the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio – the men at 1.76, the women at 1.86. On her own, Hofschild leads the nation at 4.86, 1.11 ahead of anybody else.
“For me, right when I got here, they got on me from the jump about taking care of the ball. It’s something I’ve grown into and take pride in now,” she said. “I want to get my team a great look every time down the floor, so it’s my job to take care of the ball and get them in the right spots. If we have a turnover, we can’t get into those things.”
Stevens’ journey had a little more of a hiccup. While he distributed the ball much better as a sophomore, his turnovers were still rising, too. As a junior, he had them more in check and both sides of the ledger are in a positive place again this season.
It takes time, and for Stevens, watching film whenever he can, even immediately after practice. Every lesson is a step forward. Part of it was the realization with the ball in your hand constantly, opponents target the engine which fuels the machine. Accepting it leads to knowing the necessary escape routes.
“The main thing became when you’re at the top of the scouting report and defenses are designed to stop you and take you out of what you want to do,” he said. “How do you slow down and make the right decision and know you don’t have to force all the time? After my sophomore year, going through those ups and downs of the covid year, being called upon to make more plays last year and this year, they’ve been solid as far as turnovers go. You’re not perfect, and I don’t go out there trying to be. I also want to be aggressive. With all of that tied into one, we’ve been able to get those numbers right over time.”
What matters most is trust. It’s important they have it in themselves. Part of the reason they both love the position is the control they have over what happens.
More so, it’s the trust they’ve earned among their teammates, that they’ll find them in the right spot, that they’ll make the right decisions. Team over self.
“What makes her a special point guard is the fact she likes to get people involved. Her assists, she really wants to make other people succeed and puts the team first,” Kendyll Kinzer said. “That makes her special, and also her hustle and her heart. She tries to get rebounds, brings the defensive energy. It’s that type of stuff you don’t always see from point guards. She’s a big fire for us. We all want to play and compete as hard as she does.”
Nobody has experienced Stevens’ journey as much as John Tonje, who entered the program in the same recruiting class. He knows his teammate is not the same player he was as a freshman, when he was impressed with the way Stevens’ handled the initial expectations, carrying them not like a burden but a vote of confidence.
What he did then was pretty good. What’s he’s doing these days is the strongest part of the fabric tying the team together through a rash of injuries and lineup changes.
“He never takes a play off. He’s an everyday guy,” Tonje said. “He’s always, always encouraging, always looking to do the best thing for the team. He’s always someone to look at, as a younger guy or an older guy, to set the standard. He’s always trying to make us better. As a freshman he got thrown into that role pretty early, so he has a lot of experience in it, so we all trust him with and we’re very happy he’s in that role.”
They love the competition; they love being in that moment and they thrive in that. I think that’s really the competitive separator with him.Niko Medved, CSU Men's Basketball Coach
Obviously, McKenna’s lightning quick. She’s crafty, she passes, all those things, but again, watching her play, it’s the swagger, the confidence. Much like Isaiah, you can tell she loves being in the big moment. She loves having the ball in her hand. She wants to be the player to have to make those decisions when the game’s on the line and things are tough. I see that swagger and competitive fire in her.
If those contributions were the extent of their games, both coaches would be pleased with the players they coach. Creating for their teammates is only part of their skillset, as they both understand creating for themselves makes the sharing part easier.
Hofschild leads her team – and is 10th in the country – at 21.5 points per game. Stevens is better than ever this season, leading the Rams at a 17.6 per game clip. When either team needs a basket, there is only one person on the floor who they want to have the ball. Sometimes, it just happens to be the best shot on the floor is the one they need to take.
Building a reputation for delivering in key moments leads to teammates being able to do the same.
“You also work on your game so much to do whatever’s asked of you. We’re not going in going, OK, coach is only looking for me to pass,” Stevens said. “Be aggressive. For me, what I’ve learned over my career, the more aggressive you are scoring, the passes open up themselves. If you’re going in looking to only pass, people can start to gauge that, and jump passing lanes and take stuff away.”
A year ago, Hofschild was taking things away from herself, but an offseason of due diligence has helped her turn a corner.
Her ability to drive the lane was never in question, and despite her size, she was always more of a threat in the paint. The coaches watched her pass up shots outside, and she understood for her team to thrive, her game had to add range.
Literally.
This season, she’s not only shooting 53.9 percent from the floor, but she’s nailing 60.5 percent of her 3-point attempts. She doesn’t shoot them a lot (26-of-43) , but enough to help her create even more space.
To Stevens, who ranks eighth all-time at CSU for 3-pointers made, the percentage is astounding.
“That’s crazy, by the way,” he said.
“I think for me it was becoming more confident with it. I remember last year, even years before that, I would get a kickout 3 and just second guess and hesitate,” Hofschild said. “This offseason, what was big for me was I was on this arc, and I was just catch-and-shoot 3s, just getting that confidence up. Now, I’m getting the same shots and looks, but I’m able to knock them down because there’s not that hesitancy.”
Nobody appreciates the way they play more than their own teammates, except maybe the two guards. They don’t just like watching the other play, but how they play. There’s an appreciation for the style only a true point guard can appreciate.
In describing Stevens, Hofschild didn’t know where to start. Or finish.
“Oh man. How long do I have?” she said. “Honestly, it’s just the way he controls the whole entire pace of the game on both ends. He gets to his spots so effortlessly, at his own pace, at his own time and makes the right read damn-near every time. As a point guard, that’s your job, but it’s hard to find point guards who can do that, and he’s just so consistent in the way he gets his stuff done.”
When Stevens watches her play, it’s very much the same patterns he holds dear, the overall control.
However, he loves the guts she shows when going where a point guard isn’t supposed to thrive.
“For me, it’s the command on the floor. For her to have the ball as much as she does and execute almost every single time, that’s something you can’t really teach,” he said. “Also, with her not being the biggest player on the curt, she dominates inside the paint, too. Day in and day out, I’ve sat here and watched games, and can’t nobody stop her, can’t nobody keep her out of the lane. She gets there, shoots a little floater, a little pullup. Then it’s her presence on the floor, it’s really remarkable.”
Having seen enough of each other there are parts of each other’s game they know they’d like to possess for themselves.
If Stevens could steal a page from her book, he’d start with the way she goes to the basket.
“It’s gotta be the touch around the rim. I feel like I’m an OK finisher, but she’s spinning it all kinds of way off the glass,” he said. “I need to take some pages out of her book.”
For Hofschild, the choice is easy – his ability to hit in the clutch.
Not just finding the open lane at the end but being left open on the perimeter and dropping a dagger.
“Shoot, if the shot clock is winding down, if there’s a big shot he’s got to make, he makes it almost every time it seems,” she said. “It’s like wow, because that’s so hard to come by, that clutch factor. When I watch him and I see him doing his thing, a little step-back 3 at the end of the shot clock, I’m like, woah, that’s tough. He just makes it look effortless.”
Still, nothing beats the moment when they create something special by being the puppet master. When they take it into the lane, draw the defense just right and hit the teammate for an easy basket.
Well, unless the basket is missed.
They are in unison on how they react on those occasions. They, too, have missed shots, even bunnies. At the core of their job, they are to uplift, a point on which they both agree. They’re also to set up their team for victory.
“You also know they’re beating themselves up more. If it’s a couple of times, shoot it happens to the best of us,” Hofschild said. “If it’s consistent, it’s let’s find something different.”
To which Stevens added: “You’re open, I’m going to find you and I’m going to keep coming to you, but let’s go ahead and knock it down. To be able to have high points and assist numbers, that’s the best feeling.”
One they’ve both shared often at the end of the game. Stevens has two double-doubles this season, seven in his career, and he missed another this campaign being shy one assist. Hofschild has six in her career, two this season, but she’s also had a trio of nine-assist games.
As both roam the Mountain West, they do so as the representatives of the Golden Era of point-guard play at Colorado State. Just about every night, they are special. On a given night, spectacular. They provide a comfort level Medved and Williams share.
On game day, the ball is not just in good hands, it’s in the right ones.