Jan 21, 2012
By Jim Muir, Photos by Chris Kays
It doesn’t have the razzle-dazzle of the breakaway dunk or the electrifying effect of the nothing-but-the-bottom-of-the-net three-pointer, but an astounding number of basketball games are won and lost at the free throw line.
And while the art of shooting a free throw seems so simple, it remains so very complicated and in some instances downright mind-boggling. Two of the most dominant players to ever play in the NBA – Wilt Chamberlain and Shaquille O’Neal – both shot a meager 50 percent from the charity stripe for their careers, making them two of the worst free throw shooters in the history of the NBA. During the 1967-68 Wilt shot 38 percent from the line for the season and in his career made 6,057-11,862. That’s 5,805 missed free throws. And opposing coaches developed what became known as the ‘Hack-a-Shaq’ defense, fouling O’Neal in the closing minutes of a tight game knowing that there was a 50-50 chance that he would miss.
Think about it for a second: a person stands alone toeing a straight painted line with basketball in hand and the goal only 15 feet away. There’s no defense in your face, no attempt to block the shot – only player, basketball and goal. And keep in mind that the word before ‘throw’ is ‘free’ for gosh sakes!
In the course of broadcasting and watching scores of games this basketball season and reading box scores in newspapers religiously I’ve noticed more this year than ever a dramatic decline in free throw shooting – and certainly that decline means the difference in a ‘W’ or an ‘L’ in many instances.
I’ll not name the schools (or the bricklayers involved) but a couple of recent box scores shows a team loses by three points and shoots 5-14 from the charity stripe while another team loses by two points and shoots 9-17 from the free throw line. While I’m not a mathematician I can ‘cypher’ those numbers and easily see that shooting even 70 percent from the free throw line would have meant the difference between winning and losing those particular games. And who knows if one of those losses caused by missed free throws might mean the difference in winning or losing a conference title or a lower seed in regional pairings?
So, what has caused a decline in free throw shooting?
Former Benton and SIU coach Rich Herrin believes the concentration on the three-point line has added to a decline in the dedication that goes in to being a good free throw shooter.
“The three-point line has taken the dedication away from free throw shooting,” Herrin said. “Everybody wants to shoot threes and there is no doubt about it that it is a big weapon, but it has overall hurt the game of basketball and particularly free throw shooting.”
Herrin emphasized a good three-point shooter does not equate to being a good free throw shooter.
“Some people will say that if a player is good three-point shooter they should also be a good free throw shooter but it’s a different shot totally,” said the legendary coach. “It’s a jump shot from behind the arc and a free throw is like the old set shot where the feet don’t leave the floor.”
Greg Starrick, former Marion and SIU basketball star, led the nation in free throw percentage during the 1970-71 season when he hit an incredible 342-375 free throws (92 percent). Starrick had a career record of 91 percent that stood for more than 30 years and was finally broken by J.J. Reddick, of Duke.
Starrick, who teams with Mike Reis on SIU basketball broadcasts, credits his dad, the late Wendell Starrick, for his free throw shooting success. The elder Starrick was a longtime basketball coach at Marion and his son would be at practice most days. Always a ‘gym rat’ Starrick said it became a game with him and his dad that he had to make a certain number of free throws in a row before they could leave.
“We just spent a heck of lot of time shooting free throws. This was back when I was in the fourth and fifth grade and I would have to make 10 in a row before we could leave and then we got it up to 15 and then 20 in row,” said Starrick. “We knew what time dinner was going to be ready and there were a lot of times when dinner had to wait because I didn’t leave the gym until I made 20 free throws in a row.”
Starrick said he took a lot of “pride” in becoming a great free throw shooter.
“I don’t see that same pride today from young people who want to spend the time to become a good free throw shooter,” Starrick said. “Good shooting fundaments aren’t stressed enough. Repetition is the key and I don’t think players get enough shots to become good at free throws.”
Starrick said his dad helped him at an early age develop a routine and that routine didn’t change from grade school until he led the nation in free throw shooting.
“I always felt like when I went to the free throw line that the trademark of the basketball had to be facing me where I could see it,” said Starrick. “My stance was always the same, my left foot was a little bit behind my right foot and my feet were the same distance apart as my shoulders so I had good balance. I always tried to focus on the back of the rim and always focused there. And I always felt like having a good arch on the ball was a key in being successful from the line.”
Aside from a ‘routine’ Starrick said the mental aspect and concentration involved is as equally important.
“From the second I was fouled, it didn’t matter if it was the first 30 second of the game or in a tight game in the final seconds of double overtime, I immediately erased all thoughts from my mind about everything, how hard the foul was, what part of the game we were in,” Starrick said. “The only focus I had was making that free throw. I see guys go to the line now and I know they are not ready to shoot a free throw. I had the ability to really, really focus on the free throw opportunity. The mental aspect of shooting free throws is very, very important.”
Herrin pointed to another legendary high school coach, Virgil Sweet, as the best free throw shooting coach he had encountered in his long association with high school and college basketball.
Sweet, who is now retired, coached more than 25 years at Valparaiso (Indiana) High School. Sweet developed what is still known as “The Valpo Free Throw Method’ a 20-point system that Sweet says is guaranteed to bring free throw shooting percentages up. The success that Sweet’s teams had at the free throw line certainly back up his claim. For a 15-year stretch, Sweet-coached teams shot no less than 70 percent as a team from the free throw line. Sweet’s 1963-64 team shot 80 percent as a team which is still a national record. Mike Copper, a member of that team, also set a national record by making 409 consecutive free throws without ever leaving the line.
Herrin said he helped conduct a basketball camp with Sweet and legendary UCLA coach John Wooden back in the 1960s. Herrin said Sweet simplified free throw shooting and took a lot of ‘joint’ movement out of the shot.
“He (Sweet) was the best free throw shooting coach I’ve known,” Herrin said. “His teams always shot better than 70 percent and won a lot of games down the stretch because they were such good free throw shooters. When you over-bend your knees, your hips, your elbows and shoulders, it’s hard to shoot the same way every time. What he did was put most of the weight on your front foot and the player shoots it with as little movement as possible.”
Herrin said it is important for a player to get comfortable at the line and not tinker with his shooting style every time a misfire occurs.
“You can’t change your style if you miss a few free throws,” said Herrin. “The two key ingredients in shooting free throws are concentration and repetition and doing it the same way every single time. I think there is a lot of pride and self motivation in being a good free throw shooter. The teams that win close games down the stretch hit their free throws.”
