You are looking live at Nate Adrian’s money-maker, and when you consider the man’s headband and lettuce, that’s really saying something. But after four years and this one season especially, I finally decided to inquire about the Nate Adrian Shot Fake. It’s cripplingly successful.

Honestly, what did Deonte Burton think was happening here? Was Adrian going to windmill a 23-footer? That’s too quixotic for that spot. We need to take a moment to fully appreciate this play. It’s wonderful. We begin with the plan West Virginia likes to use in these spots, which we’ve covered before. Iowa State clearly reads the blog and covers the play up, so Jevon Carter improvises and pushes a pass to his right. Then it’s just shake and bake.

This is Peak Adrian. He checked the clock at the other end of the floor and knew he had time to erase Burton, and while we have fun with Burton’s hot air balloon ride, that’s a tough spot for him because of the clock but also because of the opponent. Adrian has a rep on the perimeter now, and he has a rep for shot fakes — it’s perpetual, in fact. His coach even takes slight umbrage with that. “I think, at times, he shot-fakes too much. At times,” Bob Huggins said. “I think there are times he should just shoot it and not shot-fake.”

He’s not wrong. Adrian said he realizes he fakes as a matter of instinct, and that can effectively take the ball out of his hands. That’s not good news for WVU, because Adrian is in a groove. He started the season 9-for-44 from 3-point range. He’s 13-for-25 in the past seven games, and not coincidentally, he’s gone for a career-high in points twice in those seven games.

“Your shot fake is only as good as your reputation for making shots,” Huggins said. “He’s actually shot the ball really well here of late. If you can shoot it, the more effective your shot fake is.”

So when he gets the ball behind the line, you do have to run out on him now, and that’s when you’re where he wants you. If you’re in the air, you’re out of the play and the Mountaineers are quite content playing 5-on-4 with Adrian as the impromptu point man. He can shoot, he can step in, he can pass. There are times he feels safe enough to dribble. I didn’t get this in the story, but I asked Esa Ahmad how you guard the shot fake.

“You can’t,” he said. “You’ve got to read what he’s going to do. You’ve got to try to stay down, but if you stay down, he’s going to shoot, and he’s shooting the lights out. If he gets you up in the air, he’s going to make a play. You pick your poison.”

This isn’t a new phenomenon — he did it in high school, plus his first three years here — but like so many other things about Adrian and his career, he’s reached a new level as a senior. He’s taken a fundamental and weaponized it, and Huggins can sort of trace it back to the beginning.

“Nate’s a smart guy,” Huggins said. “He figures it out. He could never do that stuff he does off the dribble or in the post until last year. I think he watches other people and learns from other people. We had him play Georges Niang last year, and all of a sudden he’s bouncing it and throwing up that half-hook and stuff like Georges did. He’s a smart.”

Fellow smart folks, feel free to proceed.