Major Key Alert

[zephyr]

Ok let's find a constant then. Free throw line shooting.

NBA average FTSP has been consistently in the mid 70's since the 1950's

No improvement in 50 years.

This coincides with the NBA leading the charge on cookie cutter practice boxes and moving to a wide open arena on game day.

Turbine, I think your thirst for argument is kind of getting in the way of reality here. Have you played basketball? Do you think that Shaq was a career 55% FT shooter because of where he practiced versus where he played? Hell, do you know how hard it is to hit 70% FT even for good shooters?

[zephyr]

IMO -

AAU has completely killed High School and College basketball. No if's, and's, or but's about it. It's TERRIBLE street ball with a "look at me" mentality.

The evolution of the sport has transitioned into this area. The game now is a much quicker and open game than it was 20 years ago. Now teams are using all kinds of metrics to try to gauge how they can speed up their games and this is not just on the pro level. If the pro level moves to this type of ball, everything underneath it will follow and that is what you've seen. The big man is almost dead in many instances and teams are willing to stock up on wing players and guards (except for us) and play a perimeter game. I don't think AAU had anything to do with this. While the AAU circuit is a joke and is really only used for recruiting and exposure for the athletes, it hasn't killed anything. The game is at a high right now on most levels and when these kids get to good programs with solid coaching, they know that defense has to be apart of what they do or they don't play.

Now, I will say that many coaches do complain about the AAU program in the sense that it doesn't focus on certain fundamentals and defense is at the top of that list so coaches feel they have to now come in and emphasize it all over again but I can't say that it has killed anything when the game is at a high level right now.

[Ragin4U]

Turbine, I think your thirst for argument is kind of getting in the way of reality here. Have you played basketball? Do you think that Shaq was a career 55% FT shooter because of where he practiced versus where he played? Hell, do you know how hard it is to hit 70% FT even for good shooters?

Pretty sure all NBA teams average 70% or better even considering some of the atrocious shooting some guys exhibit. Looking at you D. Jordan

[zephyr]

I agree that should be our goal but I am also realistic enough to know that consistent success is tough at this level.
GSU has 1 conference title. WKU has lots but its been awhile if I remember correctly.

Right now, I'd consider consistent success as the following:

String of 20 win seasons
Solid recruiting and building of a good nucleus of players with minimal attrition
1 win per year over teams considered to be of higher stature or a P5 program
Not losing to likes of McNeese at home
Top of conference standings every year.


We don't necessarily need to be conference champs to have consistent success although that is obviously the goal. We need to put a product out on the court that competes in every game and can play up to expectations.

[Ragin4U]

Right now, I'd consider consistent success as the following:

String of 20 win seasons
Solid recruiting and building of a good nucleus of players with minimal attrition
1 win per year over teams considered to be of higher stature or a P5 program
Not losing to likes of McNeese at home
Top of conference standings every year.


We don't necessarily need to be conference champs to have consistent success although that is obviously the goal. We need to put a product out on the court that competes in every game and can play up to expectations.

I'm not being pessimistic but I think this is in the very upper levels of what a program of our size and in the lower levels of G5 can accomplish. If we did those things every year, I think every seat in the CD would be filled. I also think if we can achieve this, other good things follow.

I asked earlier what other programs should we style ourselves after?

[zephyr]

Pretty sure all NBA teams average 70% or better even considering some of the atrocious shooting some guys exhibit. Looking at you D. Jordan

Not all but most. Again, looking at team percentages, obviously there are many who shoot below this threshold but the average is brought up by those who shoot over 80%. Most coaches preach that they want their player to strive for 70-75%. Anything else is great. I would suspect that college percentages are less which puts a premium on good shooters (As long as they are not shooting in the cajundome I presume).

[zephyr]

I'm not being pessimistic but I think this is in the very upper levels of what a program of our size and in the lower levels of G5 can accomplish. If we did those things every year, I think every seat in the CD would be filled. I also think if we can achieve this, other good things follow.

I asked earlier what other programs should we style ourselves after?

Truly, how hard is that though? Playing in a bottom tier conference that we play in, 20 wins is not that difficult especially with the water downed scheduling we see. Look at all the P5 teams we've played over the recent years. We haven't been playing the cream of the crop here. Tell me we can't somehow put it together and beat a bad Alabama team. Lower attrition? I don't think these things are unattainable. Honestly, i thought I was being pretty modest in my expectations.

[Turbine]

Turbine, I think your thirst for argument is kind of getting in the way of reality here. Have you played basketball? Do you think that Shaq was a career 55% FT shooter because of where he practiced versus where he played? Hell, do you know how hard it is to hit 70% FT even for good shooters?

I threw free throws out there as a constant in the equation because as mentioned basketball is hard to track historically because the game has evolved elsewhere.

Shaq suffered because of a different kind of depth perception, his height puts his rim vision at a disadvantage, closer to parallel with the rim, the hole disapears.

This depth perception disadvantage on free throws can be overcome with muscle memory arc control, which is something he never mastered.

[Ragin4U]

Truly, how hard is that though? Playing in a bottom tier conference that we play in, 20 wins is not that difficult especially with the water downed scheduling we see. Look at all the P5 teams we've played over the recent years. We haven't been playing the cream of the crop here. Tell me we can't somehow put it together and beat a bad Alabama team. Lower attrition? I don't think these things are unattainable. Honestly, i thought I was being pretty modest in my expectations.

I dont disagree with your expectations nor do I disagree with the fact that we are not attaining them now. And if we arent reaching these soon, there needs to be changes.

[CajunEXPRESS]

I threw free throws out there as a constant in the equation because as mentioned basketball is hard to track historically because the game has evolved elsewhere.

Shaq suffered because of a different kind of depth perception, his height puts his rim vision at a disadvantage, closer to parallel with the rim, the hole disapears.

This depth perception disadvantage on free throws can be overcome with muscle memory arc control, which is something he never mastered.

Shaq like many could hit free throws in practice at a much higher rate. It's the players, not the dome, or practice court.

[Turbine]

Shaq like many could hit free throws in practice at a much higher rate. It's the players, not the dome, or practice court.

I did mention "muscle memory" which suffers in the exhaustion of a game.

I still maintain that if depth perception of practice differs from depth perception of game, the shooting will suffer.

The closer you can mesh the two perceptions the better you will shoot.

[zephyr]

I threw free throws out there as a constant in the equation because as mentioned basketball is hard to track historically because the game has evolved elsewhere.

Shaq suffered because of a different kind of depth perception, his height puts his rim vision at a disadvantage, closer to parallel with the rim, the hole disapears.

This depth perception disadvantage on free throws can be overcome with muscle memory arc control, which is something he never mastered.

So you're telling me it had nothing to do with the venue for which he practiced then? Good because I agree.