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Free Throw Woes


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55 minutes ago, Schasz said:

Pretty sure I read somewhere on the board that Travis Ford claims French makes 80 of a 100 FT's in practice. If that is even close to being true then he should be doing much better in actual games. It seems like JG has been shooting better from the line lately.

in his 3rd college season, Goodwin is shooting free throws worse than he did in high school.  Meanwhile, his jump shooting from 15 feet has improved.  It's baffling.

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1 hour ago, Schasz said:

Pretty sure I read somewhere on the board that Travis Ford claims French makes 80 of a 100 FT's in practice. If that is even close to being true then he should be doing much better in actual games. It seems like JG has been shooting better from the line lately.

First 12 games Goodwin was 22/47 for 47%.  Last 4 games, 16/25 for 64%.

French swished his first two FT's v GW.  They were 30 seconds in.  Perhaps working up a sweat isn't a good thing for French and his FT's.

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6 hours ago, NH said:

My latest theory on French is that he should be shooting right-handed, not left-handed. There is some precedent for this happening to lefty big men before (Tristan Thompson). Hasahn finishes and handles very well with high right hand as well. Probably sounds ridiculous but I think I've talked myself into actually believing it.

Norm had Greg Cavender at Mizzou years ago switch arms and had Mark Dressler under sports hypnotism. 

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18 hours ago, slu72 said:

I mentioned this in the GW GDT, I paid close attention to French shoot his FTs. I'm no shooting coach, but it appears he pushes the ball at the basket with his arm fully extended after the ball leaves his hand. To me that's forcing the ball. Good FT shooters shoot them like a flat footed jump shot. Arm cocked at the elbow and let the wrists take over with very little forward movement of the forearm. Now, I can't believe Travis is teaching him to shoot it using his arm only. His shot form looks more like a pass than a shot. I also think he's got a serious mental block when it comes to FT's. When you're so bad it, you actually become afraid to shoot it. It's like those infielders that suddenly can't make the throw from second to first. I remember that Yankee second baseman, can't remember his name, who suffered through that. He became frightened of making what was a throw he made easily all his life, then suddenly he makes a couple of bad ones and it messes with his mind. All the muscle memory goes right out the window, and he's overthinking it.  

Do you mean Steve Sax?

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10 minutes ago, thetorch said:

Chuck Knoblach had it worse than Sax.

He's the one. But Sax had a spell of it as well. Being a Red Sox fan it didn't bother me, but it was painful to watch and you had to feel for the guy. You figure you make the Majors as a starting second baseman, you've made that throw a couple of hundred thousand times than suddenly you can't throw it 4 feet before it hits the ground. Or you overcompensate and chuck it into the crowd. It's a mental thing. If, as Ford says, Has makes 80-100 FT's in practice but can only hit 30% in games, you have to look at the mental side of the equation. 

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There are a lot of things to consider when shooting free throws but none more than the following. 
 

1) ROUTINE. Do the same thing in the exact order every single time!  No exceptions. You shoot so many times in the routine it becomes automatic and so comfortable you don’t have to think about it. 
 

2) if you make the first shot stay at the line and be comfortable. No need for all the players to come up and shake your hand(or tap it).  What its the point of that???  Didn’t occur back in the day. You need to stay in the “zone”. If you miss then you step off the line and “reset”. Clear your mind and go back in to your routine 

 

3) NEVER and I mean NEVER be short. Why?  The percentage possibility of a shot being short going in is almost zero. You can’t be short. I’ve seen French sometimes be like two feet short?? WTH?
 

There are others but these are the key.

I once read an article severely years ago on fixing a shot. Many times there are more than one issue that needs corrected on a jump shot. The only way to correct it is to focus on one issue. Correct one issue through hundreds and hundreds of practice shots.  Then move on to the next issue and fix it the same. 
 

I watched my sons High School coach take kids and tinker with 5 different areas of their jumpers at one time. You could literally see the kids trying to “think” about all of these things while they were shooting their air balls. That’s another entire issue I have. lol

 

 

 

 

 

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4 hours ago, slu72 said:

He's the one. But Sax had a spell of it as well. Being a Red Sox fan it didn't bother me, but it was painful to watch and you had to feel for the guy. You figure you make the Majors as a starting second baseman, you've made that throw a couple of hundred thousand times than suddenly you can't throw it 4 feet before it hits the ground. Or you overcompensate and chuck it into the crowd. It's a mental thing. If, as Ford says, Has makes 80-100 FT's in practice but can only hit 30% in games, you have to look at the mental side of the equation. 

If French really does make a high percentage during practice then it is likely with advice and adjustments from staff.  Once a good instructor has you make an adjustment on the court, on the golf practice tee or in the batting cage, then high rates of success is normal - but when you actually play for real, on your own, the artificial success disappears. 

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On 1/10/2020 at 11:55 AM, slufanskip said:

I would make him start by shooting 1 handed. It will at least make him begin his shot holding the ball close to properly. It would at least correct a couple of the issues he now has. I think he could shoot 50% 1 handed if taught properly. 

Yes. First 1 handed.  Then, make a fist with the non-shooting hand and use to balance but not assist/push

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4 hours ago, FanMan said:

There are a lot of things to consider when shooting free throws but none more than the following. 
 

1) ROUTINE. Do the same thing in the exact order every single time!  No exceptions. You shoot so many times in the routine it becomes automatic and so comfortable you don’t have to think about it. 
 

2) if you make the first shot stay at the line and be comfortable. No need for all the players to come up and shake your hand(or tap it).  What its the point of that???  Didn’t occur back in the day. You need to stay in the “zone”. If you miss then you step off the line and “reset”. Clear your mind and go back in to your routine 

 

3) NEVER and I mean NEVER be short. Why?  The percentage possibility of a shot being short going in is almost zero. You can’t be short. I’ve seen French sometimes be like two feet short?? WTH?
 

There are others but these are the key.

I once read an article severely years ago on fixing a shot. Many times there are more than one issue that needs corrected on a jump shot. The only way to correct it is to focus on one issue. Correct one issue through hundreds and hundreds of practice shots.  Then move on to the next issue and fix it the same. 
 

I watched my sons High School coach take kids and tinker with 5 different areas of their jumpers at one time. You could literally see the kids trying to “think” about all of these things while they were shooting their air balls. That’s another entire issue I have. lol

 

 

 

 

 

Rule #3 reminds me of Harvey Pennick's little red book on golf. Never leave a putt short, he's never saw a short putt go in the hole. Same rule applies here. One tip my old JR High coach stressed to us on FT's picture your hand going into the hoop and you won't be short. 

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You hear all the time coaches and players complain they're doing too much thinking and not playing instinctively. I think that can apply to shooting a basketball. Watch sometime and see how guys make more 3's on the move vs a catch, think, and pop. Same thing can apply to FT's. As said above, get a routine and stick with it. 

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56 minutes ago, Clock_Tower said:

If French really does make a high percentage during practice then it is likely with advice and adjustments from staff.  Once a good instructor has you make an adjustment on the court, on the golf practice tee or in the batting cage, then high rates of success is normal - but when you actually play for real, on your own, the artificial success disappears. 

There is no way in hell he makes a high percentage consistently in practice. I don't care who says he does. 

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1 hour ago, slufanskip said:

There is no way in hell he makes a high percentage consistently in practice. I don't care who says he does. 

Agree.  Then again, I take the story more in stride and to means he simply does better/is more normal in practice. 
As long as the solution now being tried is considered a physical problem (not to ignore and not act like a mental problem) , then I wonder if a 10 FT refresher lesson before game time on the practice court would help. 

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I read the article where Ford said French makes 80-100 consistently in practice. That was clearly for French to read to build his confidence.  That’s absurd to believe that could in any way be true. I’m not that gullable. 

It’s not like these things are spinning around and out. He’s clunking them off the backboard, literally coming up two feet short or off to the left or right my 2 foot. when he misses he misses bad!!

 

for goodness sakes take him out the last 4 minutes of a game.  They are going to foul him! I don’t have the the stats but it seems he even shoots a lower percentage in the last few minutes. If he must be in, let him play D, Rebound etc. Do NOT throw him the ball for goodness sakes.  Please!

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52 minutes ago, FanMan said:

I read the article where Ford said French makes 80-100 consistently in practice. That was clearly for French to read to build his confidence.  That’s absurd to believe that could in any way be true. I’m not that gullable. 

It’s not like these things are spinning around and out. He’s clunking them off the backboard, literally coming up two feet short or off to the left or right my 2 foot. when he misses he misses bad!!

 

for goodness sakes take him out the last 4 minutes of a game.  They are going to foul him! I don’t have the the stats but it seems he even shoots a lower percentage in the last few minutes. If he must be in, let him play D, Rebound etc. Do NOT throw him the ball for goodness sakes.  Please!

If French is in on offense in the last couple of minutes nursing a lead when the opponents are trying to foul, then he should be the one inbounding the ball.  They can't foul him while he's standing out of bounds.

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55 minutes ago, FanMan said:

I read the article where Ford said French makes 80-100 consistently in practice. That was clearly for French to read to build his confidence.  That’s absurd to believe that could in any way be true. I’m not that gullable. 

It’s not like these things are spinning around and out. He’s clunking them off the backboard, literally coming up two feet short or off to the left or right my 2 foot. when he misses he misses bad!!

 

for goodness sakes take him out the last 4 minutes of a game.  They are going to foul him! I don’t have the the stats but it seems he even shoots a lower percentage in the last few minutes. If he must be in, let him play D, Rebound etc. Do NOT throw him the ball for goodness sakes.  Please!

How can he shoot a lower percentage in the last 4 minutes when you’re shootings in the30’s 

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2 hours ago, FanMan said:

for goodness sakes take him out the last 4 minutes of a game.  They are going to foul him! I don’t have the the stats but it seems he even shoots a lower percentage in the last few minutes. If he must be in, let him play D, Rebound etc. Do NOT throw him the ball for goodness sakes.  Please!

Coach Ford does pull him. All is good. 

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We are really not as bad of a FT shooting team as some make us out to be.  We have a huge number of freshmen and new faces this year, we have a team full of non-shooters but athletes and competitors who have all had their moments.   And we have French... which brings the whole team down with both his poor % and quantity of shots..   Yuri and Goodwin have more focus issues.   Goodwin usually shoots best down the stretch or with the game on the line so I am less concerned with his average which includes missed FTs at the beginning of games nd Yuri needs more time and confidence but appears to have good form and technique.   Jacobs, Perkins and Bell all seem very good.   And we have lost Gibson for the year - and have essentially been without Fred as well.  Yesterday, again, we hit our FTs and we pulled French at the end of the game.

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