Warriors' Eric Paschall explains how he learned to pass at Villanova

Warriors rookie Eric Paschall averaged 0.6 assists in 21.7 minutes per game as a sophomore at Villanova.

He dished out 2.2 assists as a junior and 2.1 assists as a senior.

What led to the improvement?

"In college, my first two or three years I wasn't that good of a passer," Paschall explained to reporters after Tuesday's shootaround. "But as I got more of a role, coach (Jay) Wright literally would make me practice passing in practice. He would say, 'You can drive the ball, but you can't score here. You got to make a play for your teammates.'

"So having that mindset now in the NBA, I just try to use that now."

On Sunday against the Memphis Grizzlies, the 23-year-old dished out five assists, his most since Dec. 2.

And how about this beauty from last week against the Milwaukee Bucks:

"Teams are gonna scout you. NBA teams are smart. You're not going to always go off for that 30-point game," he explained. "They're going to make it tough for you, especially if they know you're very good."

Paschall was a revelation through the Warriors' first 24 games, averaging 17.1 points while shooting nearly 51 percent overall. A nagging hip injury, a minutes restriction and increased attention from opposing defenses cooled him off. 

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But all of that is allowing him to show that he's more than a scorer.

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"I feel like because I drive the ball so well, me facilitating can be positive in terms of being aggressive with knowing that if the defense comes, I got to hit my teammate for an open shot," Paschall said. "Get the ball moving.

"Keep making the right play, not trying to force anything (and) let the game come to you."

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