How a film session with Lamont Paris improved Nick Pringle's free throw shooting for the better

He didn’t have to accept it. He could’ve just told Lamont Paris he would be fine and that he would figure it out on his own. But the reality was that he needed help.

Throughout his college career, free throw shooting had never been a strong suit of Nick Pringle’s. Before transferring to South Carolina this season, the 6-foot-10 forward was a 46.4 percent shooter at the line. He wasn’t exactly the type of player you’d want shooting free throws with the game on the line.

In Pringle’s first game with the Gamecocks this season, he went 3-for-8 on his free throws in a 74-71 loss to North Florida. After the game, Paris presented him with a proposition. He could either make a few tweaks that could serve him well in the long run, or he could stick with what he’d been doing and “rep that thing till there’s literally no tomorrow.”

In that moment, Pringle came to the cold hard realization that his free throw shot needed a lot of work. He decided to take up Paris’ offer to correct what wasn’t working. Since then, his shooting has gotten progressively better with each game, culminating in a perfect 10-for-10 performance in a 74-48 win over Radford on Sunday.

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So how did Pringle go from being an automatic miss to turning it around and knocking down every free throw he shot? It started with him and Paris having a sit-down last month.

“The game before we played Indiana, me and coach had a little sit-down, watched my form, recorded it,” Pringle said. “We got in the gym one day and he showed me the right way to do it.”

They watched through Pringle’s shot and picked out where to make improvements. Then they recorded Paris’ shot and did the same thing.

They went frame by frame through the footage with Paris noticing a couple of things that stood out: what his rhythm looked like, where his set point was and how long it was taking him to release the ball once he started.

“His free throw process was really long. So, we shortened that and shortened the window,” Paris said. “… I think it’s hard to do what I call ‘laser surgery’ on somebody’s shot at that point. The games are already being played. I think it’s difficult to do something drastic but there are some small things that I saw in his shot that I thought could help him just have better rhythm — ultimately more confidence because he would be making more.”

The importance of getting this right was critical. Paris knew South Carolina would be dependent on Pringle being a go-to guy that they could throw the ball to inside to go up and score. In the process, teams were going to foul and send him to the free throw line from time to time.

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It took a lot of work to correct the issue. But over time, Pringle’s shot became much improved. Over the last nine games, he’s 36-for-44 (81.8 percent) on his free throw attempts. This season, he’s currently shooting a career-best 72.1 percent when he steps up to the line.

“He believed in it. He was willing to make a change. He was committed to being a better free throw shooter,” Paris said. “… He didn’t have to accept that evaluation to be true. And he did and he’s worked hard at it. He’s shooting the ball really well right now. He’s got a lot of belief in it.”

Free throw shooting was just one aspect that needed a lot of work. He’s been great in a lot of areas this season, averaging 10.3 points and 6.8 rebounds per game — both career highs. But he would like to take the next step in improving other parts of his game to be a complete player.

“It’s been big time. I appreciate Coach (Paris) a lot for that,” Pringle said on his improved free throw shooting. “I just went to him the other day talking about my mid-range jumper trying to find something along the line in that. I just want to keep building and become the best player I possibly can for my teammates.”

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