Years ago, while growing up in Denmark, Frida Formann was playing basketball with her older brother when the topic of shooting fundamentals came up.
“He showed me this video of these people saying, ‘Oh you have to jump and land in the same place,’ and all this stuff thatap like the classical things – and then showing all these great NBA shooters who don’t shoot like that at all,” Formann, a senior guard for the Colorado women’s basketball team, said. “If it feels comfortable for you to shoot the way you do and it goes in, then do that.”
Formann’s always had her own style – her feet scissor while she’s in the air, with the right foot landing in front of the left – because itap comfortable. And itap worked to the point that Formann is on the verge of becoming CU’s all-time leader in 3-pointers made, while also being one of the most accurate shooters in program history.
Heading in CU’s matchup at No. 12 UCLA on Monday (7 p.m., ESPN2), Formann is third on the Buffs’ all-time list with 242 made 3s, just 15 behind Bianca Smith (257 from 2006-10) and 10 behind current assistant coach Shelley Sheetz (252 from 1991-95).
By the time the 11th-ranked Buffaloes are done this season, Formann could very well be on top of that list, although itap never been a record she has pursued.
“Once it started getting talked about and I was like top five I was like, ‘Oh, I can probably break that,’” said Formann, who is fifth in program history in 3-point percentage (.375), just behind Sheetz (.381), who is fourth. “But I just always thought that would come naturally and not like a thing that I’m chasing. Thatap my job is to make 3s so I would think that if I keep doing that, it would come naturally.”
It has come naturally because she doesn’t cut corners in the pursuit of individual and team excellence.
“Itap really cool to have a front row seat watching Frida,” Sheetz said. “I see her work ethic. I see her getting extra shots up. I see her being a student of the game.
“I think something thatap taken for granted in Frida is Frida’s basketball IQ. The kid’s phenomenal in her basketball IQ, but her work ethic is at that same level. … She is reaping the benefits of her work.”
Formann’s sophomore year played a key role in that development.
As a freshman, she averaged 12.4 points and 3.0 rebounds and posted the 10th-best single-season 3-point percentage in CU history (.408). As a sophomore, however, she dipped to 7.5 points per game and didn’t shoot well (.272 beyond the arc).
In two seasons since, Formann has not only regained her scoring touch, but developed into a much better all-around player.
CU’s third-leading scorer (12.8 points per game) this season, Formann is also third in assists (2.4), averages 1.2 steals per game and has developed into a good defender. She also has the second-best career free throw percentage in CU history, at .851, behind Fagan (.861) and just ahead of Sheetz (.848).
“She does a lot of other things that are also very impactful that have nothing to do with shooting or making 3s,” CU head coach JR Payne said. “I think it takes a lot of maturity, especially when you’ve been a scorer and you’re a great shooter. Your identity can be tied up in that pretty quickly if you’re not very smart, but she’s very smart, so she was able to work through that.”
Getting past the sophomore slump was a process that included engaging with people through struggles rather than internalizing them, and Formann said that season has fueled her success the past two years.
“Itap made me mature a lot just in my approach and has kind of, I think, molded me into what type of leader I am, too, and what I emphasize,” she said. “I also think it just taught me that you can have bad games and people can say you’re in a slump or whatever, but you still got to show up every day. Every game is a new opportunity.”
A new opportunity awaits Formann and the Buffs on Monday as they try to snap a three-game losing streak when they visit UCLA. Odds are that Formann will inch closer to the 3-point record, but itap hardly her focus.
Nearly 30 years after her CU career came to a close, Sheetz said she remembers the team success far more than her individual numbers. Formann has the same perspective as she strives not to be the all-time leader in 3-pointers, but to be the best leader possible for a squad heading for a third straight NCAA Tournament.
“(Breaking the 3-point record) is something thatap like, ‘That would be cool to do,’” she said. “I’ve always wanted to have a legacy more of just in terms of who I am and how people remember interacting with me as a teammate and as a player. So hopefully that comes before any numbers.”
