Mason Plumlee working on his all-around game

Mason Plumlee experienced life in the NBA limelight last March during a month of starts at center for the injured Kevin Garnett.

After shooting 62.3 percent and averaging 7.6 points per game in helping the Nets win 12 of 16 games last March, Plumlee earned a spot on the FIBA World Cup gold medal-winning U.S. national team. As he enters his second season, he wants to do more than makelayups and dunks.

“They leave me open from 15 feet and in, I’m taking the shot,” Plumlee said. “Preseason, I didn’t get many, but they’ll be there. A lot of that, too, is figuring out the offense, and when to find guys, what guys are looking for. They’ll be there.”

Making open jumpers may be on the 6-foot-11 Plumlee’s mind, but that’s not on the list of priorities for head coach Lionel Hollins — at least not yet.

“I’d rather for him never to shoot a jump shot,” Hollins said. “I want him to be more comfortable in the post making moves. He has good footwork and he’s quick. He jumps well and has a nice jump hook with his left and right hand. I’d like to just see him more confident in going to that, and making them basically his go-to move.”

For Hollins, the higher percentage shot comes to down to using size as an advantage, a point he passionately made Sunday.

“If you’re 6-11 and we can’t throw the ball to you in the post, what’s the point of being on the court?” Hollins said. “I think as a basketball player you should want to improve your skill level. I think, this is just my theory, the game has changed so much to where there’s nobody that plays in the post anymore. Everybody wants to play on the perimeter. Everybody wants to run and get an alley-oop. There’s nothing wrong with throwing the ball in the post and scoring.”

Follow Nets beat writer Larry Fleisher on Twitter @LarryFleisher.