Poor FT shooting is all on Kruger

[WTSooner]

If you're technique is correct, you should NEVER have a "bad day" from the line. Hell, there is no one even guarding you.

Okay. Name me one player that was around for several years, that never had a bad day? I'm guessing there were games where Larry Bird himself missed several FT's. IT HAPPENS!

 

[WTSooner]

I would never want to slap hands after a make. After makes, I always tried to keep my feet in the same place. After close misses, I did the same, figuring I knew what "adjustment" I needed to make. If I missed bad, or wasn't concentrating, I'd walk off the line before the second one. But I agree, the slapping hands thing seems like a giant distraction to me.

 

[AdaSooner]

I would never want to slap hands after a make. After makes, I always tried to keep my feet in the same place. After close misses, I did the same, figuring I knew what "adjustment" I needed to make. If I missed bad, or wasn't concentrating, I'd walk off the line before the second one. But I agree, the slapping hands thing seems like a giant distraction to me.

I felt the same way. Everything you described is the procedure I followed after every shot. My attitude at the line was "don't touch me," just let me focus on the task at hand.

It would be interesting to know if the practice of slapping hands after the first shot has had an adverse affect on free throw shooting statisically? I did a Google search on that question once, but didn't find what I was looking for.

 

[SoonerBounce13]

Truth is, 13, (1) by the time a coach gets to that level, he's probably so engrained in his methods that he's not interested in new things, (2) probably not many coaches are aware of it since it is just an obscure PHD dissertation by a former NAIA coach (3) Talking about it to an old teammate of mine who is a D-1 assistant for many years, he really believes in it and says it's an ego thing with coaches.

After about 30 minutes of observation, my son's HS coach was convinced and continued to teach the method. I work with kids shooting the ball and they don't like it at first. I just ask them to give it 2 weeks and shoot 200 a day this way and if they still don't like it, then go back to their method. Have NEVER had a kid after the 2 weeks want to change back. And, as far as hitting the occasional bad golf shot, I didn't say this process would turn a kid into a 100% foul shooter. Just improvement. You might try it (with an open mind). I was skeptical at first, tried it and it really makes a difference.

Sounds good.

About the golf, I was actually in agreement that the less you think about at the tee the better your shot

 

[SoonerSpock]

Agreed. But how many players do you know who use the Poteet technique?

Unfortunately, none. Obviously the technique is not very well known and thinking of a process instead of making a shot is vastly different than anything that has ever been taught. As highjumper stated awareness of the Poteet process is nil and coaches are so ingrained in their own methods that ego prohibits them from looking at FT shooting as a process. They cannot think out of a box.

Highjumper was an excellent FT shooter during his days playing for the Sooners. He changed his technique to the Poteet process a couple of decades after playing for the Sooners and told me on one occasion hit 176 consecutive FT's. Bested 100 several times.

To me the keep it simple nature of the process (fewer steps, fewer distractions, easier to repeat) and the ability to shoot twice the shots in virtually half the time makes practice, practice, practice much easier. I call that kind of a process a win, win.

 

[AdaSooner]

Unfortunately, none. Obviously the technique is not very well known and thinking of a process instead of making a shot is vastly different than anything that has ever been taught. As highjumper stated awareness of the Poteet process is nil and coaches are so ingrained in their own methods that ego prohibits them from looking at FT shooting as a process. They cannot think out of a box.

Highjumper was an excellent FT shooter during his days playing for the Sooners. He changed his technique to the Poteet process a couple of decades after playing for the Sooners and told me on one occasion hit 176 consecutive FT's. Bested 100 several times.

To me the keep it simple nature of the process (fewer steps, fewer distractions, easier to repeat) and the ability to shoot twice the shots in virtually half the time makes practice, practice, practice much easier. I call that kind of a process a win, win.

Everything highjumper said about shooting free throws makes sense to me. That's why I urged him to approach Coach Kruger about adopting the method. Maybe he will get that chance in time, and I have a feeling LK may be open to the suggestion. I certainly understand why he is hesitant to do it at this point in their relationship, though.

Interesting stuff about highjumper's strings of consecutive makes. I didn't know that. Wish I had been aware of the Poteet technique many years ago!

 

[SoonerBounce13]

highjumper, you are a former player?

 

[WTSooner]

I don't think that "thinking of the process, rather than making the shot", is all that strange.

Isn't that why most players were taught to have a process? To get them to relax and not get all tense, and to get them into doing things (you can read this as form/technique) the same way every shot?

And I don't think that making 100 straight shots can be attributed to this either. Pretty sure Kellen did something close to that as a HS senior in some competition. He missed a couple of out of 100, but still.

 

[SoonerNorm]

Highjumper shared that information previously and it certainly made sense to me then as it does today.

 

[SoonerSpock]

Everything highjumper said about shooting free throws makes sense to me. That's why I urged him to approach Coach Kruger about adopting the method. Maybe he will get that chance in time, and I have a feeling LK may be open to the suggestion. I certainly understand why he is hesitant to do it at this point in their relationship, though.

Interesting stuff about highjumper's strings of consecutive makes. I didn't know that. Wish I had been aware of the Poteet technique many years ago!

While Poteet's dissertation is probably not common knowledge in coaching circle I would hop that Dr. Tom Amberry's (McGinness World Record holder, 2,750 consecutive) book "Free Throw: 7 Steps to Success at the Free Throw Line" is something most coaches have some familarity with even if they have not read the book. It was published in 1996. Jim Poteet worked with Asbury when writing his dissertation.

http://mysite.verizon.net/res7ynax/id14.html

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/free-throw-tom-amberry/1001804459

[ame]http://www.amazon.com/Free-Throw-Steps-Success-Line/dp/0062734342[/ame]

 

[WTSooner]

Another note, not everything works for everybody. What might work for some, or even most FT shooters, might not work as well for others. It's kind of like the shooters, or batters in baseball, that have good results with form that would never be taught.

 

[garyeb2]

Every human endevor is part art,part science. Or in other words, part process,part talent. People lacking in talent can improve their results by improving their processes. People with talent will get good results even with marginal processes.

 

[Soonerman]

You are so cool.

Typical answer. Yawn.

 

[SoonerSpock]

Another note, not everything works for everybody. What might work for some, or even most FT shooters, might not work as well for others. It's kind of like the shooters, or batters in baseball, that have good results with form that would never be taught.

For certain the cookie cutter does not work for everyone. But if a coach is a proponent of a free throw shooting technique/process I see nothing wrong with him having the policy of allowing players to shoot FT's anyway they desire as long as you hit 70-75%. If you cannot hit 70% then you will do it using my process.

 

[Big Old Booger]

highjumper, you are a former player?

He played at OU. 60's I think, or early 70's. He's from my hometown, or he lives there now. Originally from Duncan.

I believe he was very good at the high jump too, thus the name.

 

[Big Old Booger]

Typical answer. Yawn.

As was your diatribe about how long you played basketball.

This isnt intramurals, brother.

 

[drjimpo]

Good to hear from you Ada. I'm basing my theory on what I have seen and done. Don't know if you remember when Jim Poteet (former HC at Bethany Nazarene) made the news for his PHD dissertation of the "Dichotomy (sp) of the foul shot". He did a couple years research and found that it is unbelievable how incorrectly we teach kids to shoot foul shots. I can personally vouch for his reliability from working with kids myself. Its so very simple, I have seen him hit 100 in a row left handed, then 100 in a row right handed. He spent 30 minutes with our HS kids a few years back and increased the team average 7% immediately. Put his theories into play myself, even at my "advanced" age and it is amazing the difference you can make if you do it right.

Someone emailed me about this discussion. Maybe I can shed some light on the free throw from my perspective. Thanks for mentioning my dissertation, highjumper. I know that you understand where I am coming from. The title of the dissertation was "The Paradox of the Free Throw." The subtitle was "The things that make it look so easy are the things that make it so hard." I've spent many hours researching and experimenting with free throw shooting. Frankly, the free throw percentage for NCAA Division I players is awful. The made free throw percentage peaked in the mid 1970's at just below 70% for Division I players as a whole. Today the percentage is about 67%. Roughly 2 made out of 3 attempts.

There are two aspects to free throw shooting: (1) the mechanics or fundamentals and (2) the mental approach. Players spend very little time practicing free throws. They are more interested in shooting 3's and dunking. Yet 25% of all points scored in a basketball game are at the free throw line. Would it not make sense to spend 25% of a team's offensive practice time working on free throws?

Let me comment on mechanics or fundamentals first. Most college players I observe are weak in this area. They do not have a consistent ritual at the line or the ritual is so involved that it takes away from shooting the free throw. Most players also use their jump shot release to shoot the free throw. They release the ball high over their head as if someone is going block their shot. I have yet to see a blocked free throw in all of my game observations:ez-laugh: Players should approach the mechanics of shooting a free throw in the same way that a golfer approaches a putt. You have a paradigm shift and the ball should be lowered more to eye level to shot a free throw. This approach is the best to sight in the target. An analogy would be someone shooting a rifle. Would they aim at a target by holding the gun high over their head; or by sighting in with the gun at eye level. The answer is quite easy. I will leave mechanics for now and comment more if there are questions or other comments.

Fundamentals must come first and then we can begin to work on the mental approach. This is the area where an individual can become a great free throw shooter. The mental approach is difficult, but it can be mastered. A player must become "process" oriented, rather than "outcome" oriented to become a good free throw shooter. By this, I mean that a player learns to "process" his ritual and lets the "outcome" take care of itself. By worrying about "outcome", the player either places too much pressure on making the free throw or thinks negatively by hoping he doesn't miss. In the game, the Sooners lost earlier this week, I contend the players began to think negatively in hoping they didn't miss. This becomes a "self-fulfilling" prophecy. The players all became "outcome" oriented rather than "process" oriented.

I have been somewhat simplistic, but players can be coached to be better free throw shooters, but it takes work and a buy in by both players and coaches.

Hopefully what I have written will stimulate some more conversation.

 

[MsProudSooner]

Thank you for taking the time to post that.

 

[TheGimper]

Thank you for taking the time to post that.

I second that.

Reading about this method makes me eager to put in practice next time I play a game.

 

[highjumper]

highjumper, you are a former player?

Loooong, Long time ago.