After Friday’s Terrapins men’s basketball practice, coach Mark Turgeon pulled guard Jared Nickens aside. Turgeon asked him if he knew of Atlanta Hawks forward Kyle Korver, who shot 49.2 percent from long range last season.

“Did you know he missed 17 straight threes this year?'” Turgeon recalled asking Nickens. “‘He’s a pretty good shooter, right?'”

Nickens, a sharpshooter from beyond the arc, was in the midst of a 3-for-25 slump.

“I said, ‘It happens. So you just need to relax. The good thing is we are 4-1 [in conference play] and we are playing well and you are becoming a more complete player,'” Turgeon told Nickens.

The day after their conversation, Nickens drilled two of his three attempts from three-point range. It marked the first time he shot better than 33 percent from deep in a game since Dec. 19.

During his shooting slump, Nickens found other ways to help the Terps. The 6-foot-7 wingman hauled in a career-high 10 rebounds against Rutgers and showed progress on the defensive end. He’ll look to carry those improvements into the No. 7 Terps’ bout with Northwestern (15-4, 3-3 Big Ten) on Tuesday at Xfinity Center.

It’s something guard Rasheed Sulaimon has noticed Nickens and forward Jake Layman have done when their shot isn’t falling.

“As with any shooter, if you’re not making shots, it can kind of take away from your confidence,” Sulaimon said. “But one thing I love about both of them is that they’ve found other ways to impact the game even if their shot is not going in.”

Nickens was a valuable weapon for the No. 7 Terps (16-2, 5-1) off the bench last year in his rookie campaign. The New Jersey native finished second on the team with 57 made 3-pointers and shot 39 percent from beyond the arc.

After finding his stroke during nonconference play, Nickens lost his touch through the first five Big Ten contests. But Turgeon noticed the sophomore show strides in other parts of his game.

“There’s a lot of things that he’s doing on top of being a scorer,” Turgeon said. “If you watch film from last year to this year, he’s come a long way.”

Along with finding the range from deep Saturday in the Terps’ dominating 100-65 win over the Buckeyes, Nickens swatted away a shot and added a pair of rebounds.

“When you go through and slump and you start hitting shots again, I think your confidence just gets back to where it was,” Layman said. “For Jared, it definitely helps him on both ends of the floor.”

With guard Dion Wiley out for the season with a torn meniscus, Turgeon has limited backcourt options to turn to off the bench. He’s tested Jaylen Brantley and Varun Ram as backup point guards, while Nickens has averaged 21.4 minutes with action at shooting guard and small forward.

His offensive production is an important asset when his 3-pointer is falling. And even if Nickens’ confidence has wavered at times over the past month, the Terps have maintained high expectations for him.

“I think he is going to make it every time,” Turgeon said. “Not every other time. Every time he shoots, I think it’s going in. And I think the team feels the same way.”