Free throw shooting – in theory is one of the simplest parts of the game… unless you’re the one up at the line in a particularly pressure packed situation.  Which force will win this battle and take over?  Will your muscle memory or your brain win?

I wish I weren’t able to personally attest to the devastating effects of poor free throw shooting to the degree that I can, but call me Dr. Free Throw Frustration!!!!!

We have made the playoffs six years in a row in a brutal district, and each of those years we lost in the playoffs due to poor free throw shooting.  When Acie Law IV, now with the Atlanta Hawks, was a senior we turned the ball over with 6 seconds left and Acie hit a layup at the buzzer to break our hearts.  The problem I had was we went 13 for 27 from the line (including more than one front end of a one and one).  Two years later, we lost in the Final Eight when my All-Stater, Michael Milton of Texas Tech, went 7 for 15 and the team went 14 for 29 from the line to lose by 4.

Then, the epic “Oh my God, is this really happening to us?” situation.  In the 2006 state championship game, we were down 10 in the fourth quarter and fought back to force overtime.  We went up early in overtime and completely controlled the situation until we missed 6 consecutive free throws down the stretch that would have sealed the deal.  Instead we had to survive one of the most improbable shots in the history of high school basketball when Nic Wise from the University of Arizona had a three pointer go more than halfway down, circle the rim twice and come back out in order to give us the break to win the state championship.

As grateful as I am that we won one, I feel that with decent free throw shooting down the stretch we could have won 3 state championships in 6 years.

Do I think kids choked?  No, not per se, but it sure would be fascinating to be inside the mind of the free throw shooter at that moment.  One player later told me, “Coach, I am not making any excuses (they know I hate them) but I could feel the floor moving under my feet.” 

The real kicker on this story is that if I could have chosen the three different guys who shot those 6 free throws we missed I would have chosen two of them…

I think most people would agree that if you can get your brain out of the way of your body, free throw shooting ought to be simple.  You’re standing still, the distance never changes, nobody is in your face, and it’s just like putting a golf ball (you’re saying what???).

Some guys can putt and others can’t and it can be summed up in a short story.  My cousin, Sean Inman, was an assistant golf coach at Purdue University and they had a guest come speak to the team.  I can’t remember his name, but the essence of his book, which then in turn became the basis of his instructional/motivational speeches he would give, was that all golfers fall into one of two categories:

· Guys who say “Oh cool, I get to putt.”
· Guys who say “Oh crap, I have to putt.”

Along the same lines I believe that shooters fall into roughly the same two categories.  Guys either anticipate the opportunity to take the big shot, or they are just not mentally tough enough to seize the moment and take the big shot.

I believe that the keys to consistent free throw shooting are:

1.  Get your mind out of the way of your body (do not let there become “paralysis through analysis”).
2.  Simplify your free throw stroke (less variables creates a more “repeatable shot” and thus more consistency).
3.  Let your legs make this shot (if your wrist is cocked prior to dipping the knees, then the shot is all legs).

In regards to point #1, I think the key is to have PRECISELY the same ritual each time you shoot.  When I played (back in the Stone Age) I would always dribble the ball three times, say to myself “You are the baddest white boy in this gym” and shoot.  The reason I think this is important is two fold:

1. It focuses your attention on your ritual, not the situation (in particular if you are on the road where the fans are riding you hard).
2. It gets your mind out of the way of your body (doesn’t put you into that “paralysis through analysis” scenario that makes the parallel to putting a golf ball valid). 

Think less and shoot the dang thing…

In regards to point #2, I have a quick story to tell.  John Roberson was a great player as a junior and I knew I had a special opportunity to coach a once in a lifetime point guard.  I knew that in order to be able to walk away and feel good about coaching John, I had to find a couple things that he needed to improve on and FORCE HIM TO WORK ON IT!!

I am a believer that in order to really maximize your game, you need to add something to your game each year.  Make it an off season goal to improve in that regard, and then DO WHAT IT TAKES TO GET IT DONE.

Well, with John the three things I identified as areas needing improvement were his leadership abilities (he did, but it was necessary since Bobby Knight is a pretty demanding guy and he needs a leader in John), his strength, and his free throw shooting.  John only shot 64% as a junior and I knew that he needed to improve that to really be able to close out a game the way I needed him to.

I won’t bore you with the leadership and strength issues, but in regards to his free throw shooting, one of my proudest coaching memories is getting John to buy into something relatively minor – and he shot 85% that year…but what was the difference???

The biggest difference was I convinced John to minimize the variables in his free throw by changing one thing.  When John was a junior he had a flaw in his free throw where he would be bending his knees while cocking his wrist (as opposed to having his wrist cocked PRIOR to bending his knees) and I convinced him to have his wrist cocked before he ever went into his knee dip.  Two variables will create more inconsistencies than one variable will, thus the idea of pre cocking the wrist.

By making two variables (leg dip and wrist cock) into one variable, he minimized his motion (golfers refer to a “repeatable” swing that holds up under pressure) and by improving from 64% to 85% he was able to “close games out”.  People who know me know that when we get the lead late in the game, we are gonna spread the floor (coaching point of emphasis is make sure you are still trying to score…DO NOT PLAY NOT TO LOSE!!) and force you to foul us.  However, this whole philosophy of “closing games out” doesn’t work if your primary ballhandler isn’t a great free throw shooter.

In summary, get your mind out of the way of your body, simplify your shot and become a leg shooter. 

Free throw shooting can win you rings, it can cost you rings, and it is, in fact, the easiest shot in the game!!!!!