Robert Lee BASKETBALL CAMP starts TODAY

[Just1More]

I don’t know the answers so any suggestion I make is just thinking out loud . . .

I do believe that pressure is a factor late in the game but a minor factor for the bulk of the game.

Shooting 50, 100, 200, 1000 free throws in a row in practice will not help shooting during a game and it’s not because of pressure. In my opinion free throw shooting is difficult because of constant variations in a player’s stamina and various fazes of fatigue.

Standing and shooting in practice for 50 attempts allows you to start compensating for fatigue. In a game, they don't give you 50 chances at the free throw line, they give you 1, 2 sometimes 3 shots.

I do think repetition in practice is key but perhaps the reps should come 2 shots at a time after running back and forth down the court and lifting weights while they run.

jmo

I am not sure about the pressure factor in our current free throw shooting situation. That pressure and fatigue is there for all teams, and I have watched schools in the top ten, in pressure packed games, make 80% or better for the game, game in and game out.

I believe that this squad of guys are marginal shooters all over the floor, including the stripe. Not having a clutch shooting guard hurts all over the place, including free throws. I'll grant some big men just never get the free throw motion, and all that stuff about their hands being too big and so on.

Now, about teaching good free throw shooting... it is not just repetition. Just like a putter in golf, the most successful guys will tell you it is the drill that creates a specific mindset. You have to have a routine that sets the correct mental attitude and then let the repetitive motion take over. When good shooters start having problems missing free throws, a good coach does not just have them sit at the line and hit 100 free throws. He makes them systematically go threw a routine. It is the routine, with practice, that removes pressure and makes the repetitive motion take over.

[CajunAmos]

I've watched a number of practices all year, and they practice shooting free throws at different times during practice, and finish practice shooting free throws. Some of the guys will never be 60% free throw shooters, but a number shoot a very high percentage all during practice. It seems when guys miss during games, its usually the first free throw. They seem to bend legs better with a more fluid motion on the second free throw. I guess the problem lies in one & one situations, which we've missed a number of during the season.