You're the Coach: a poll question on free throw shooting

[BruisedOrange]

It used to be (and may still be) a lively discussion between shooting coaches over which is more important in improving free throw accuracy: mechanics or mindset?

Knowing the value of limited practice time at this point in the season, if you were the coach, which would you have this Tennessee team do?

More free throw shooting might improve mechanics or accuracy.

Installing plays to maximize our offensive rebounds off of missed free throws (and accepting that as "who we are") might worsen our mindset at the line--or, it might take the pressure off of shooters. But it would give us more possessions, and more shot attempts to counter our less-than-stellar shooting from the field.

 

[backdoorcutvol]

Sometimes the more you harp on missed foul shots the worse they get. Just let them go shoot them once they see one go in the confidence will grow.

 

[vols 30]

 

[BruisedOrange]

View attachment 804002

Because you didn't create the poll question!

 

[goldvol]

I don't think I would do either of those as top tier college coach. Scheduled practice times are limited and critical time for the coach to interact with the players. As a professional player, free throws would be part of your daily individual practice and not part of my time on the court with you.

 

[camp_steveo]

Must make 100 FTs after practice for each missed FT during a game.

 

[Skooter]

It’s mental. I bet they all hit more in practice. Some forms, like Carey shooting with half his body facing the bench, won’t hold up in games when it counts.

 

[mprock]

Practice FT own the player time. Get in gym before or after practice

 

[Zues1]

I can remember when guys worked on these things on their own.
Now it's Call Of Duty...

 

[WaywardVol]

It used to be (and may still be) a lively discussion between shooting coaches over which is more important in improving free throw accuracy: mechanics or mindset?

Knowing the value of limited practice time at this point in the season, if you were the coach, which would you have this Tennessee team do?

More free throw shooting might improve mechanics or accuracy.

Installing plays to maximize our offensive rebounds off of missed free throws (and accepting that as "who we are") might worsen our mindset at the line--or, it might take the pressure off of shooters. But it would give us more possessions, and more shot attempts to counter our less-than-stellar shooting from the field.

Carey has been a career 50% FT shooter. Barnes knew exactly what he was getting. The rest? No clue why they are so bad.

 

[Tin Man]

To make a deep run in the tournament, you gotta make the free throws.

 

[Bigorangefan 98]

My hs coach made each of us knock down least 20 in row before we quit practice … we ended shooting 73 percent t as a team my senior year

 

[ivorydr]

I would demand a change in mechanics on those shooting <60%.

 

[TheMookieMonster]

I would devote an extra hour to work on both free throws and installing plays.

 

[bleedingTNorange]

I would devote an extra hour to work on both free throws and installing plays.

Practice time is limited, you aren’t taking that to work on FTs for an hour…that is going to fall on players getting extra work in outside of practice and games. Maybe you do a little something at the end of practice with a guy or two with some pressure of sprints on the line or something, but other than that it’s on the players own time.

 

[TheMookieMonster]

Practice time is limited, you aren’t taking that to work on FTs for an hour…that is going to fall on players getting extra work in outside of practice and games. Maybe you do a little something at the end of practice with a guy or two with some pressure of sprints on the line or something, but other than that it’s on the players own time.

I was just being silly because he said would you do 30 minutes of THIS or THAT lol.

 

[LAVol1]

My hs coach made each of us knock down least 20 in row before we quit practice … we ended shooting 73 percent t as a team my senior year

I would wager that most of you are still shooting free throws! Our coach instructed us to make 10 in a row before we left practice. I was an 80+% free throw shooter and rarely hit 10 in a row after practice. AI says that if something happens 80% of the time, the chance of it happening 20 times in a row is 1.5%. There's only about a 10% chance of an 80% free throw shooter hitting 10 in a row.

 

[kckempf]

If you want to simulate game conditions, make them sprint the length of the court and get whacked on the arm before shooting practice free throws.

 

[WaywardVol]

Here’s the thing. The time allotted for coaches to spend with players has increased significantly. There is zero reason to have these programs. Zero reason to have an offense that looks like pulling eye teeth.

 

[BruisedOrange]

If you want to simulate game conditions, make them sprint the length of the court and get whacked on the arm before shooting practice free throws.

In my brief HS coaching "career" I'd blow a whistle in the middle of scrimmages or sprints for them to run to the goals where balls were waiting for them to shoot one foul shot. It disrupts practice time, but it's the closest you can come to shooting them in a real game. Charting their free throws before and after practice, they quickly learned, was not reflected in their percentages during practice.

I preached that there is no such thing as two or three foul shots. You're always shooting only one shot, even if the ref awards you three of them.

Repetition has its limits. Golf coaches would point out that your mechanics will always be altered when your muscles are weary or you're feeling pressure. Golfers who have sunk 1,000 three-foot putts know that a three-foot putt for $100,000,000 is a different animal.

 

[BruisedOrange]

[...] Some forms, like Carey shooting with half his body facing the bench, won’t hold up in games when it counts.

That's something that shooting coaches have players do to remove "flying elbow." I shot them that way from 9th grade into adulthood. It's as close to catapult mechanics as you can articulate a body.

 

[kckempf]

In my brief HS coaching "career" I'd blow a whistle in the middle of scrimmages or sprints for them to run to the goals where balls were waiting for them to shoot one foul shot. It disrupts practice time, but it's the closest you can come to shooting them in a real game. Charting their free throws before and after practice, they quickly learned, was not reflected in their percentages during practice.

I preached that there is no such thing as two or three foul shots. You're always shooting only one shot, even if the ref awards you three of them.

Repetition has its limits. Golf coaches would point out that your mechanics will always be altered when your muscles are weary or you're feeling pressure. Golfers who have sunk 1,000 three-foot putts know that a three-foot putt for $100,000,000 is a different animal.

There's something to that, though I have perspective these days from a strange source: ballroom dance. Our instructors emphasized the differences between the technique training, which we would do slowly to perfection, in order to get the figures right and know how it feels, and rounds, when we would dance full speed to be ready for competition.

In the case of our free throw shooting, there's a decent chance Ament was draining them in practice, but wasn't able to get the same consistency when he had to go from a full speed confrontation straight to the line. He looked a lot better against Texas, hopefully he'll get it figured out on the road tomorrow.

 

[BruisedOrange]

There's something to that, though I have perspective these days from a strange source: ballroom dance. Our instructors emphasized the differences between the technique training, which we would do slowly to perfection, in order to get the figures right and know how it feels, and rounds, when we would dance full speed to be ready for competition.

In the case of our free throw shooting, there's a decent chance Ament was draining them in practice, but wasn't able to get the same consistency when he had to go from a full speed confrontation straight to the line. He looked a lot better against Texas, hopefully he'll get it figured out on the road tomorrow.

My respect goes to any man who attempts to learn ballroom dance. Hope it brings you (and your special woman) many years of satisfaction.

 

[kckempf]

My respect goes to any man who attempts to learn ballroom dance. Hope it brings you (and your special woman) many years of satisfaction.

Not a bad way to stay fit. Definitely was impressed when the teacher told us to do pushups for our frame, then dropped into one-handed fingertip pushups to demonstrate. I wouldn't mess with Pasha Pashkov.

 

[BruisedOrange]

Sounds a bit tougher than "The Great Petrov."