FurmAlum wrote: ↑Fri Dec 22, 2023 5:04 pm
I've been thinking about the free throw situation for a while now so here are my thoughts. Surely those guys practice free throws but I'm not sure how much. A sportswriter once asked Magic Johnson "Magic, you weren't a very good free throw shooter at Mich St and now in the NBA you hit about 85%, how did you improve? Magic answered it's simple...100 shots a day!"
It is obvious that JP Pegues has really improved his FT shooting from last year. LY he was O.K, this year almost automatic. Hit 10 in a row against Arkansas. Foster, Smith, Williams, and Hughey are very good. Whitt not bad. VDW, Molnar, and Bowser need improvement. VDW did hit six in a row against PC.
Hien is in league by himself. He hit arguably the two most important free throws in program history so we know he can do it. Assuming he has practiced his FT shooting in the off season ad nauseam, it has to be mental. Sort of like short putts in golf. Many great golfers, including some major champions, have had periods in their careers where they couldn't make a 3 ft putt. But it can be overcome.
I remember Devin Sibley, who most of his career was a good FT shooter, all of a sudden couldn't hit one for multiple games near the end of the 2017-2018 season. Hope Hien can get it fixed. I sure like the way his floor game has been the last few games.
Conditioning / FT Drill - End of every practice…
* 6 baskets in the typical HS gym
* 2 guys @ each basket - scrubs do whatever
* 10 FT shots each in a row - quickly!!! - 1 shooter / 1 shagger/botherer
* Rotate to next basket … every 3 minutes or so … on the hop (sprint)!!!!
* 10 rotations
30 minutes / 100 (pressured) FT’s each - count ‘em - good stuff for over X% / bad stuff for under X%
FUBeAR was not a great basketball player. FUBeAR shot 90% or so from the FT line. No excuse for not making FT’s.