BobbyK on Tristan FT shooting

H

Horn6721

Hook'em
I am not a big Bobby Knight fan but he is one of the better color guys since he can back up his analysis.

For 2 games that I have heard Bobby explain what he'd do to help Thompson shoot free throws.
He thinks the shooter's feet should not be parallel but one foot should be slightly behind. which foot depends on right handed or left handed.

When he was talking about it during the CU game TT made 1 of 2 and the CU guy he used to illustrate whose feet were not parallel made 2 of 2.

Last night he started on it again , showing Thompson at FT line with perfectly lined up feet and missed FT.Only this time he used Wangmeme as an example of how Bobby thinks a FT should be shot and showed Lexi's feet , one was slightly back of the other and we know that result.

I can't believe someone hasn't shared that with the coaches. I know Barnes likes and respects BK.
Wouldn't anything simple like that be worth a try?
Otherwise we know every opponents end of game strategy
 
There are no secrets - meaning Barnes and his staff know about shooting technique. But making any adjustments often involves a tough transition period, meaning things get worse before they get better. This is why most progress on such things comes in the summer.

To my eye, the biggest issue with TT is that his shots are so flat. I remember an old trick where a coach stands between the line and the hoop holding a broom up high and makes the free-throw shooter shoot over the top. Could help TT. But again - there are no secrets. Barnes and his staff know all these matters of technique and more, but they also can't make all these adjustments midseason.
 
VG
That makes sense. changing midseason would notbe a good idea

I was just hoping for a FIX knowing what will come during the tourney
and knowing it will affect TT's confidence at the line.
 
In general I would agree, but as far as Thompson's FT shooting in particular is concerned, I don't think any change in mechanics at this point could hurt. Who knows, it may instantly take him from a <50% to >60% and that could be significant for someone that leads the conference in attempts.
 
IMO free throw shooting is like a golf swing in that there are a lot of ways to do it. Not saying knight's point isn't valid, just that the staff may simply not think it is what is causing the issue. For all we know he's tried it and it makes things worse.

I would argue that minimizing unneeded head and body movement, having a straight arm motion and having a set release point with a good rotation can be done wherever your feet are placed. It's what you're comfortable doing.
 
Thompson would be better off shooting underhanded, his line drive free throws don't have much of a chance. Still Texas went 25 - 6, not bad.
 
There's usually a nail in the direct middle of the free throw line at most gyms. If you're a right handed shooter simply put your right toe on the nail with your left foot slightly behind the line so your body is centered on the line, like Knight was talking about. Put your middle finger on the air hole of the basketball so your hand is centered on the ball.

Bend your knees, then release....rotation....swish. You should easily be able to knock down three out of every four.

(BTW-I never liked spinning the ball back to myself on the line because it was too easy to catch it off-center. But a lot of guys do this...)
 
I agree Stat. While I appreciate Bobby K's experience and insight his insistence that there's only one way to do something is rediculous and borrrring. Another example is his insistence that teams shoot a 3 too early in the possession. Just because he liked his teams to score in the 50's doesn't mean that's every team's forte. Hrrmph.

Hook'em!!!
texasflag.gif
 
He doesn't mind them shooting a 3 if it is a good look. Now when guys force a long distance shot early on the clock then he will say something.

Coach Knight has seen the horns play all season long and he mentioned earlier in the season how TTs shooting motion was bad early and getting better with more arc. In the last game he simply mentioned that he needed to get his right foot ahead of his left foot a bit instead of squaring up. That is a great pointer and I am hoping somebody relays that back to TT so he can give it a try. Good news is that his stroke has gotten better and if he can tweak something else like his stance he could improve further by the tournament.

He has really shown a ton of progress throughout this season and has only seemed to get better. Imagine if he can start making 60-70% of his FTs. He will be unstoppable.
 
Bob Knight doesn't know anything more about free throw shooting than Rick Barnes or any of the assistant coaches at Texas. Because there are no secrets. TT has some mechanical flaws, and (I'd wager) some confidence issues, and neither are easy to fix midseason. But coaching knowledge is not the issue.
 
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