It's unreal how many teams are poor at free throw shooting.

[DesotoCountyDawg]

Marquette tonight is 17-31 (55%) from the line and their opponent, Seton Hall is 10-16 (63%).

 

[TexasHoopCoach]

You almost never see an ESPN highlight of a free throw. You will see dunks, 3 pointers, some more dunks, and oh yes, even some more dunks. When the kids hit the floor and start shooting, they race to the 3 point arc and start heaving up some serious masonry.

The free throw is the most un-cool shot in the game.

 

[Todd4State]

Didn't someone like Rick Barry shoot FT's like that?

 

[ckDOG]

Free throws are pure muscle memory. Same shot every time. There is no reason anyone (barring freakishly large hands like Shaq etc) should be shooting less than 70% free throws. I'm going to give every Div. 1 college player the benefit of the doubt and say that most, if not all, of them have the hand-eye coordination to repeat the same motion 70% of the time (even Big Feces). Yes, I know there are mental aspects and fatigue factors to consider. But I still don't give a **** - 7 out of 10 should be a reasonable expectation.

Agreed - the free throw isn't a "sexy" aspect of the game. Dunks, 3pt'ers, dunks, and blocks are what gets you on sports center. I was going to say free throws are the "lost art" of college basketball. But, that would hint at free throws being inherently difficult - however, they aren't. They just happen to be the most neglected aspect of the sport this day and age.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p>

 

[MSUCostanza]

that so many coaches don't practice FT's at all. Right, Stans-haters?

 

[RebelBruiser]

That's exactly what it is, and it's not just the free throw, it's also the mid-range jumper. The only thing players practice these days is the three point shot and the drive to the basket, because mid-range jumpers and free throws aren't exciting.

 

[Uncle Leo]

And he ranks 2nd all-time in career FT%.

 

[Uncle Leo]

Shot Selection: A Graphical Look

If you're not interested in Pomeroy's usual nerdery, I'll spare you and get to the part about the mid-range jumper...

A lot of analysts lament the death of the mid-range game, and you can see that in this chart. Fewer than half as many shots are taken between 10 and 15 feet as are taken between 20 and 25 feet. What's striking is that accuracy in the mid-range is less than it is for the closest three-point shots. One might ascribe the lack of mid-range shots to players being stupid, lazy or some other negative stereotype which gets associated with the modern game, but the conclusion could also be drawn that there's more mid-range shooting going on than there needs to be. If a player can be as accurate from 20 feet, with a little practice, as he is from 15, then why practice the 15-footers if you're just going to cheat yourself out of a point? Further evidence against the stupidity theory is the lack of shooting going on between 15 and 20 feet. Players and coaches clearly understand basic math.

 

[RebelBruiser]

I could see an economic argument to be made there. Saying you make 50% of your shots from 10-15 feet and 40% from three point range, I could see where it would be better to shoot a lower percentage from 3 than shoot a higher percentage from mid-range. I definitely think the mid-range game is more important in the NBA than in college though.

 

[RaleighDawg.sixpack]

Which would explain how Rip Hamilton went from a good, solid college player to a great (all-star) NBA player.