IU must tackle this problem and a bit odd winning close games with this problem. Going forward if not those close games may be an L. Hate to name a player, but our best player is 3rd in the Big getting to the line, but shoots poorly. This is troubling because he was an 80% shooter in High School. His game means he will go to the line a lot this season because of his drives...hope this cures soon.
Free Throws
- Thread starter hoosier48
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Total mystery to me. And I'd not let our senior Captain off the hook either. 48% and he has NBA aspirations? How many NBA players shoot 48% from the FT line? Yes, if we're going to get to where we all want to go, you can't give away points and honestly that should be recognized internally by our team's leaders and fixed by them, imo.
I have never shot free throws in a big stadium under pressure. It is easy for all of us to say we should be shooting 70-90%. I expect it is much different on the court.
A few years back, my son was picked to shoot 2 free throws at halftime for a prize at SSAH. He was a good shooter. He missed both. It isn't as easy as you think.
I don't believe shooting 1,000 free throws in an empty gym is enough to prepare you for game day. It obviously doesn't hurt, but you need people in the stands behind the basket.
A few years back, my son was picked to shoot 2 free throws at halftime for a prize at SSAH. He was a good shooter. He missed both. It isn't as easy as you think.
I don't believe shooting 1,000 free throws in an empty gym is enough to prepare you for game day. It obviously doesn't hurt, but you need people in the stands behind the basket.
Ethan Happ, an All American is shooting .417 percent from the free throw line this year.
As well as that guy does everything else on the basketball court, and given the touch and dexterity he displays around the basket, the fact that he is such a horrible FT shooter is a huge oddity.
I have not doubt whatsoever that it is "much different on the court." However, Indiana basketball teams (and players from the state of Indiana) have a long tradition of doing two things really well - jump shooting and foul shooting. We expect to see our team shooting 70%-80% as a team because that's what we've been used to seeing in the past. It's what makes watching them regularly miss foul shots so damn frustrating! I don't care how nerve wracking it might be. That's why you come to Indiana!
Oh, so our players are being picked out of the crowd unannounced to shoot free throws? Well, that explains it then!
Romeo has been playing in front of packed houses, thousands of fans, etc... since he was a soph in HS, and Juwan is a senior. I'm not going to go back and look, but I bet he's been to the foul line in each of his previous 3 years, so no, I don't think it's expecting too much to think those two should be north of 70%, as should our team. I'll forgive your son's misses.
I gained strength and size between my freshman and sophomore seasons in college and i was a high 60 percent shooter that season. Was is the high 80s before that, and that added strength i think was a big reason. I finished my final two seasons in the low 80s. Romeo has added alot of muscle since last year, which could be an explanation for him.
My point was, it isn't as easy as it looks. My guess is beyond muscle memory through the repetition of practice, focus and concentration plays a major part. Maybe we need to bring in a coach to work individually with the players in the summer.
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I suspect the off-season weight lifting and additional muscle mass could affect FT shooting in the short term, until new muscle memory is attained for the coordination of the increased sized muscles that are repeatedly used for FT shooting.
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Honestly, I think it's pretty simple, just by looking at this thread: if you make excuses, then you'll shoot a crappier percentage. It's really not that much harder.... same distance, same shot and the "big atmosphere" thing is going to be a factor for your first few games. But, think of all the new technology (I was at a coaching seminar 10+ years ago and they had a machine that told you your degree of arc and how far off the "perfect" FT you were), training and techniques that exist... FT percentages should be increasing, not staying the same or decreasing! There's no excuse for a senior leader who has decent touch and takes 3s to be shooting 49%! But, if you supply them, I'll guarantee he'll never get to the percentage he should. You think focus and concentration play a major part.... of course, and coaches have been trying to think of ways to practice and deal with that for 50+ years. Happ shoots 41%? OK, that's called an outlier... they exist. But as a team through a season, we should definitely be at 70-75% or better. We have a team of good players and decent shooters. If they are practicing as they should and go to the line confident of making their shots and expecting to do so, we'll be fine.
Free throw shooting percentage, heck shooting in general is not not emphasized any longer. It's all about size, athleticism and getting a recruiting ranking by running up and down the floor and dunking in AAU ball.
I can't count the times I crushed a bucket of golf balls before a round and hit a crappy tee shot on the first hole. I use a mental checklist a coach gave me for drives and I rarely hit a good first drive. The second and third drives are much better. It is either mental or the effect of adrenaline for me. When I practice, I'm calm and the shot means nothing.
The best computer analysis in the world in Cook Hall doesn't guarantee a free throw will be shot correctly with your adrenaline rushing and the lights and crowd moving behind the basket. Why do players make shot after shot in warm up or practice and then can't make it in a game?
The correct form, motion and rhythm should be practiced, but I am convinced you need to learn how to shoot when the game is going on. The only practice for that is to shoot free throws in the game with the adrenaline rushing, sweat, and possibly a tired body.
Last night a friend posted a clipping from an old paper showing him taking a shot in a game 35 years ago. Someone posted that instead of worrying with getting hip replacements he should have spent more worrying about his elbows!
Romeo has his at almost 70%, his has gotten a lot better in recent games. I suspect he will pass 70% in the next game or 2.
snowling
Hall of Famer
Really! That might be a good excuse on the road but at home in front of your own fans. Give me a break.
Great response, if you have ever played you realize what it takes and some just can't do it. Others like those mentioned have played in front of huge crowds with the game on the line. Most players have tunnel vision/hearing and see nothing, but the basket when shooting so it is in the head.....And yes to the poster, HACKA-HAPP
I agree, I'm not so much worried about Romeo, although with his skillset, he should really be targeting being 80% or better, it's Morgan that worries me. He's going to get lots of FT opps, and he should be 70% or better. Phinisee, also with as much as he's handling the ball needs to be confident when he goes to the line.
You keep talking about individual instances... your son taking 2 FTs, you on the first tee. I'm talking about percentages over time, over a range of instances. Coaches pipe in crowd noise and apply pressure by saying "Juwan, go to the line, you make 2, practice is over... you miss either and we run more and do it all over again..." Can you recreate the EXACT environment for every shot? No. But you can equip players with the correct form, experience and confidence that they'll make their FTs and they'll make them often enough to be a weapon, or at least not be a detriment. Right now, I'm concerned that our FT shooting can be a detriment and for this team, that shouldn't be the case.
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Probably, but with the lack of success we've had against him, I'd certainly put him at the line a few times and make him make them. If he goes 5-6, you stop, if he goes 2-6, hackahappaway!
Morgan should be hitting at least 2/3 of his FTs. He is perfectly capable of doing that. His sophomore year he was shooting them at about the same rate as this season and hit over 70%. Then last season his FT rate almost doubled and his percentage dropped to 63%. It's really odd to me that his FT shooting has gotten worse each season.
https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/juwan-morgan-1.html
Romeo should be hitting at least 75%, I'd think. He is a great scorer but not a great shooter right now so I think that would be a realistic number for him. He does seem to be shooting them better recently.
Those two are going to shoot the bulk of the team's FT (almost 8/game between them) so it's very important they hit them.
https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/juwan-morgan-1.html
Romeo should be hitting at least 75%, I'd think. He is a great scorer but not a great shooter right now so I think that would be a realistic number for him. He does seem to be shooting them better recently.
Those two are going to shoot the bulk of the team's FT (almost 8/game between them) so it's very important they hit them.
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Thanks, I know as meticulous as CAM seems, the FT shooting has to be driving him crazy. I really think it's just a lack of confidence. Morgan and Smith and Davis when he's struggled go to the line and don't look confident. They are all good enough to be at least passable FT shooters and have been at various times in their careers for the most part. Langford to me seems to be locking in, especially at the end of games now. I think it'll get better.... but then I thought that last year too!
I give examples so other people can possibly relate to their own experience. Maybe you didn't have those experiences. You can't believe I was using those data points to prove anything.
If you played in any game of any sport, you understand the adrenaline that can come over you at times. Maybe it was only me, but game time was different regardless of how you have prepared. Managing that is a possibly what we are missing.
Managing it is a possibility YOU are missing. It's exactly what I'm saying... they will/should begin to manage it. Just as I used to be paranoid on the first tee in front of other golfers and hit a shitty drive most times... but I began to manage it and now don't have that problem. These are high level D1 athletes... they will or should begin to manage it. My point is, the anxiety I felt on the first tee isn't really relevant to a PGA touring pro, just as your son's experience at a halftime contest or your's on a golf tee aren't really relevant to our team when shooting FTs. I understand performance anxiety exists and is an understandable excuse the first time or two, but it's not a valid excuse for our senior captain, or for a poor shooting percentage over the course of a season.
I expect players would shoot better in practice than on game day. I watched Kyle Kuric make a very high percentage of 3 point shots in a workout at a local basketball academy. I'm positive he didn't shoot that well when he played at UL or prior to that at Evansville Memorial.
A veteran like Morgan should be shooting better than 50%, but he isn't. I am willing to bet he shoots better in practice. They should have data to know what percentage he shoots in practice. I would be interested in what the difference is between practice and game for each player. It is possible some needs to make 90-95% in practice to make 75% in a game situation. I'm sure Archie is trying everything he knows to narrow the gap.
You pick weird analogies. Of course he shot better 3 pters in practice; doubtful he was being defended as aggressively in a practice drill as he was during games. FT's are FREE, undefended shots. You might shoot 5% or maybe 10% better in practice, but the real goal for FT shooting is to block out the environment of the game and make the same stroke/shot as in practice, because it literally is the same. Do you think Steve Alford made 110% of his FT's in practice? A 95% FT shooter in practice should be way better than a 75% shooter in games or he's not managing his emotions and the environment.
Should is the key word. We have seen experience doesn't matter. Freshman Davis shot better than the sophomore version. Morgan as a junior was better than as a senior so far. Morgan should shoot as well or better than last year, but he isn't.
When you figure it out, let Archie and the rest of us know.
I'm not an athlete and never played organized basketball. I did play on the playground with my friends. I was considered the best pure shooter. Had no foot speed except my first step. Then I was in trouble if you caught up with me after that. One time I hit 50 ft's in a row. I hit the next one and thought I might go for a hundred. I missed the next one, got bored and quit. I say all this to enhance your point. Shooting without game pressure is a lot easier than shooting in a gym or a playground.
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