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FTS on FTs
FTS on FTs
Jim Meadows
Published by Swampy Meadows
02-16-2008
FTS on FTs

BEVERLY HILLS (MI) –- I don’t know about you, but I am sick and tired of throwing up in my mouth while hearing/watching the Flyers clank their free throws at crucial points in a game. UD shot 6 of 17 or a dismal 35% vs. the Dukes and it literally cost them the game. The guys didn’t do much better vs. the Owls, hitting 12 of 22 for 55%, but still managed to make some of them when it mattered. On the season they are shooting an abysmal 65% as a squad. That simply ain’t getting it done and if the Flyers want to make it to the Big Dance they have to change and they have to improve now!

That got me to thinking:

Has anybody ever told these guys how they should approach freebies?

I would certainly hope so, but if not, allow me.

Here’s the FTS FT checklist:

-- establish a routine. Whatever you do, do it exactly the same each and every time you step to the line, including how many times you dribble the ball. Free throws are all about routine, relaxation and muscle memory.

-- set a good foundation. FT shooting, like any shot attempt, begins with the legs. Whether you prefer a wide stance (like Senator Craig) or a narrow one (my personal preference, with my feet slightly pigeon-toed) get your puppies set before you do anything else, just as you would in golf.

-- pick a target. Where are you aiming? Back of the rim? Front of the rim? Somewhere in the middle? Choose a target and as golf teacher extraordinaire Harvey Penick always told his students “take dead aim.”

-- find the seams. Center the ball in your hands and spread the fingers of your shooting hand on a seam so that your palm is elevated off of the ball.

-- grip the ball with your fingertips. In watching Charles and London attempt FTs, they are shooting with their whole hand, including their palms, on the ball and not with just their fingertips. Somebody needs to tell them to change. I know they make shooting gloves that basically force you do to this.

-- initiate the shot from the same place. Do you like to start low, down around your knees or up by your chest like me? Wherever you prefer to begin, shoot from the same place every time.

-- relax and take a deep breath. You cannot make free throws if you are tight. Relax, let it flow and let it go.

-- dribble. I always bounce the ball twice before I shoot. Pick a number and stick with it.

-- shoot from your tiptoes. Watch the truly great FT shooters -– they do not stand flat- footed, they shoot from their toes.

-- keep your elbow in. Don’t let your elbow fly out or it will pull the shot to the side.

-- clear your mind. Don’t think, shoot.

-- follow thru. Once the ball leaves your fingertips, your wrists should continue in motion until the shot swishes. Hell, if it helps, exaggerate your follow thru and hold it, like Wesley Snipes did as Sidney in “White Men Can’t Jump” –- it worked for him. “It’s ****ed hard work lookin’ this pretty!”

-- wash, rinse, repeat. The whole process should take a minimum amount of time and be repeatable, time after time.

-- practice. I’m an 85% FT shooter. How do I know? Because I’ve taken thousands of ‘em, in increments of 10 and I almost always end up with either 8 or 9 out of 10. There is no reason in the world that this team should be shooting less than 75% as a squad.

That’s it “From the Swamp.”
You can email me at: swampy@udpride.com
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