MBB vs VT 1/22/2025

[Northeast Stinger]

Finally got power back tonight after the ice storm, so I was able to watch my recording of the game.

Tech looked like a different team. They played hard from opening tip until the last buzzer. There were no long scoring droughts and Tech continued to play pressure defense the whole game. Ndongo had moments where he showed his full potential.

The wish, as I’ve stated before, is that this core of players, beleaguered as they are, can build a winning mentality before the cavalry arrives next year to flesh out the team. If they play this hard the rest of the season it only takes one player having a big night, and everyone else playing smart, gritty ball, for Tech to be competitive. In this game it was Duncan Powell who played lights out. Another night it could be McCollum or Ndongo or George.

This was actually a very entertaining game to watch, not just because Tech won but because both teams played some good basketball. The fact that VT hit 11 three point shots and still almost lost by 9 points except for the gimme basket in the final seconds is testimony to how strong Tech’s total effort was in this game.

 

[Root4GT]

There are 80 teams that 75% or higher from the line. The midpoint is 71.9%

We are the 6th ranked FT team nationally for those that have Tech in their name.

Overall, however, we are 310 out of 364.

I ment to say top 20%. 75% is #76 of 355.

We are a poor FT shooting g team. The Bigs are terrible and Terry should be better than 73%.

Ndongo and Powell take the most FTs on the team. Combined they are at 63% on 153 attempts. That is our problem on FTs.

 

[g0lftime]

I ment to say top 20%. 75% is #76 of 355.

We are a poor FT shooting g team. The Bigs are terrible and Terry should be better than 73%.

Ndongo and Powell take the most FTs on the team. Combined they are at 63% on 153 attempts. That is our problem on FTs.

100 FT's required every practice or day in the gym. My HS won the state championship by feasting at the foul line. A good offense will create FT opportunities while it forces the opponent to play less aggressive. Duke has lived with that philosophy. They try to draw contact.

 

[Root4GT]

100 FT's required every practice or day in the gym. My HS won the state championship by feasting at the foul line. A good offense will create FT opportunities while it forces the opponent to play less aggressive. Duke has lived with that philosophy. They try to draw contact.

You think the players don't shoot a ton of FTs every day? Of course they do. Some players never get good at shooting regardless of how much they practice! Powell should be a better FT shooter but he is right at his career average. Terry is well below his career average this year. Obviously our Big Men are really bad at the FT line.

Our PGs, McCollum and George are hitting FTs at a combined rate of 84%.

 

[ChristoGT]

You think the players don't shoot a ton of FTs every day? Of course they do. Some players never get good at shooting regardless of how much they practice! Powell should be a better FT shooter but he is right at his career average. Terry is well below his career average this year. Obviously our Big Men are really bad at the FT line.

Our PGs, McCollum and George are hitting FTs at a combined rate of 84%.

Give those big men some Taco Bell. Worked for Shaq!

 

[AUFC]

I didn’t play high level basketball but I’m guessing free throw shooting is a little similar to field goal kicking. Your stud kicker can nail 10 straight 50 yarders in the Brock Family Facility on Wednesday and then shank a 38 yarder to tie the game in the 2nd half in front of cameras and an 80,000 person stadium going crazy on Saturday.

Then the fans will act like they know better than the coach and say: we can’t find a single good kicker on this campus? Or the backup will make one kick the next game and they will question the coach on why the backup hasn’t been playing all season.

 

[orientalnc]

The thing with FTs is to shoot so many in practice that your muscles don't know how to miss. You get comfortable, develop a good stroke, and do it exactly the same way every time. A lot of it is mental. A poor shooter has trouble getting comfortable. He doesn't want the opportunity getting fouled has given him. As a result he doesn't have confidence that his stroke is the same as it was in practice, so he cannot shoot FTs exactly the same way every time.

Some players walk up to the line, get their feet positioned and wait for the ball. Others don't want the ball at the line. They like to come to the line and shoot in a fluid motion. So, there is no perfect answer. You have to be comfortable and consistent.

 

[57jacket]

I didn’t play high level basketball but I’m guessing free throw shooting is a little similar to field goal kicking. Your stud kicker can nail 10 straight 50 yarders in the Brock Family Facility on Wednesday and then shank a 38 yarder to tie the game in the 2nd half in front of cameras and an 80,000 person stadium going crazy on Saturday.

Then the fans will act like they know better than the coach and say: we can’t find a single good kicker on this campus? Or the backup will make one kick the next game and they will question the coach on why the backup hasn’t been playing all season.

absolutely. Confidence under pressure is a huge issue. When I played, FT atempts when you were ahead were automatic, but in a close game another story.

 

[g0lftime]

You think the players don't shoot a ton of FTs every day? Of course they do. Some players never get good at shooting regardless of how much they practice! Powell should be a better FT shooter but he is right at his career average. Terry is well below his career average this year. Obviously our Big Men are really bad at the FT line.

Our PGs, McCollum and George are hitting FTs at a combined rate of 84%.

Like any thing, the more I practice, the luckier I get.

 

[Connell62]

In my opinion, free throw shooting is less about confidence and more about conditioning and form.

When you play heavy minutes, your legs are the first thing to go, and all shooting starts with your legs. That's why most teams do not practice free-throws until after conditioning. I'll never forget being in a 100 degree gym standing on the baseline, hoping and praying that my teammate made his free-throws, or we all ran stairs.

Talk about pressure free-throws! Honestly, I'm not surprised to see poor free throw shooting across our team considering that most of these guys are playing more minutes than they have any point in their careers. Nait's 80+% is excellent considering all his minutes, and Javian is one of the best around.

The next most important important aspect is your form. If you have good form, then it gives you a softer touch and the follow-throw creates the reverse spin leading to the "shooter's roll". That was one the one thing that I was probably best at in my playing days (shooting free-throws). Too bad I didn't get to the line more often..lol

 

[orientalnc]

In my opinion, free throw shooting is less about confidence and more about conditioning and form.

When you play heavy minutes, your legs are the first thing to go, and all shooting starts with your legs. That's why most teams do not practice free-throws until after conditioning. I'll never forget being in a 100 degree gym standing on the baseline, hoping and praying that my teammate made his free-throws, or we all ran stairs.

Talk about pressure free-throws! Honestly, I'm not surprised to see poor free throw shooting across our team considering that most of these guys are playing more minutes than they have any point in their careers. Nait's 80+% is excellent considering all his minutes, and Javian is one of the best around.

The next most important important aspect is your form. If you have good form, then it gives you a softer touch and the follow-throw creates the reverse spin leading to the "shooter's roll". That was one the one thing that I was probably best at in my playing days (shooting free-throws). Too bad I didn't get to the line more often..lol

Almost everything about basketball is tied to conditioning. That said, I agree with shooting FTs at the end of practice. But learning to shoot FTs is an individual part of being a basketball player. When I played my coaches emphasized that getting my body and my skills ready to play was my offseason responsibility. He didn't have time for that when the team was together. So, yes, after team drills, shoot FTs. Thhat helps you feel comfortable when you are tired. Does it work. Mostly it helps. But shooting FTs is mental.

I shared the bolded part after high school. In my two years of college basketball I never shot a FT. But I was really good at the end of practice!

 

[cpf2001]

There’s no free lunch. More time spent practicing FTs is less time spent elsewhere. Doing it on your own time when not around coaches is the exception here, it’s probably one of the easiest things to practice solo.

 

[gte447f]

I wish they could pinch hit by selecting a volunteer free throw “ringer” from the stands. Sounds like we’ve got some candidates here on the Swarm. Heck, I’ll throw my hat into the ring too, and so will my 10 yo son. I think we can all shoot better than 60%. My wife can even volunteer for souare. She can shoot better than 25% and she banks all of her free throws off the glass. If only it were that easy…

 

[g0lftime]

There’s no free lunch. More time spent practicing FTs is less time spent elsewhere. Doing it on your own time when not around coaches is the exception here, it’s probably one of the easiest things to practice solo.

Some were shot just before practice as the guys were coming out of the dressing room . Most were shot at the end of practice after drills and scrimmage when tired.
Anybody else play basketball tag at practice. Again usually before actual practice had started. Played half court. Guy with the ball was "IT" and had to tag another player while maintaining your dribble. It was always fun and improved ball handling skills.

 

[orientalnc]

Some were shot just before practice as the guys were coming out of the dressing room . Most were shot at the end of practice after drills and scrimmage when tired.
Anybody else play basketball tag at practice. Again usually before actual practice had started. Played half court. Guy with the ball was "IT" and had to tag another player while maintaining your dribble. It was always fun and improved ball handling skills.

Yes.

 

[MtnWasp]

I've been watching college basketball since the early 80s. The only thing that I see that has changed with free throws is that it takes longer for the officials to get everyone set up and for the shot to go up.

I haven't looked it up to confirm, but I haven't observed that technique or overall percentages have changed perceptively.

For as long as I remember, fans have always been frustrated by missed free throws and poor FT shooters. And they always voice the same solutions to that.

But I think if the problem were easily solvable, it would have been solved by now. There wouldn't be any poor free throw shooters left.

I suspect that what is behind poor FT shooting is multi-factorial and in some instances stems from unfortunate anatomical make-up given the distance and height of the rim. For instance, the long forearms and fingers of bigs may make the lever action of the FT awkward for some guys at that height and distance from the rim. I wonder if the rim were 15 feet high or further back if their Ft percentage might actually go up if not stay the same.

It would be an interesting study to correlate the length of the ulna (or ratio of the length of ulna to humerus) to free throw percentage. I bet some interesting results would pop-up. I bet there is an optimal body assembly schematic for making FTs.

 

[Root4GT]

The thing with FTs is to shoot so many in practice that your muscles don't know how to miss. You get comfortable, develop a good stroke, and do it exactly the same way every time. A lot of it is mental. A poor shooter has trouble getting comfortable. He doesn't want the opportunity getting fouled has given him. As a result he doesn't have confidence that his stroke is the same as it was in practice, so he cannot shoot FTs exactly the same way every time.

Some players walk up to the line, get their feet positioned and wait for the ball. Others don't want the ball at the line. They like to come to the line and shoot in a fluid motion. So, there is no perfect answer. You have to be comfortable and consistent.

Your assumption is the guy actually makes the free throws practicing alone or with coaches in the gym. For some players that never happens. It seems odd though that a person who is athletic enough to play Division 1 College Basketball couldn't become a at least a decent FT shooter.

Big men have issues more often than smaller players. Likely they simply don't shoot nearly as many shots from away from the basket. There are years, likely a decade of playing close to the basket for most big men. That has been changing over time, especially with the Euro Big men.

 

[orientalnc]

Your assumption is the guy actually makes the free throws practicing alone or with coaches in the gym. For some players that never happens. It seems odd though that a person who is athletic enough to play Division 1 College Basketball couldn't become a at least a decent FT shooter.

Big men have issues more often than smaller players. Likely they simply don't shoot nearly as many shots from away from the basket. There are years, likely a decade of playing close to the basket for most big men. That has been changing over time, especially with the Euro Big men.

My opinion: There are two types of shots that get shown on highlight videos - dunks and treys. 15-foot jumps shots and FTs are never on SportsCenter. Kids will spend hours trying learn a dunk they saw on TV.

But practicing FTs is not something I spent a lot of time doing alone. My brother caught the ball (hopefully coming through the net) and fed it back to me. Chasing the ball down is not something you want to do while learning to shoot FTs correctly. Today, I would set up a camera and video my FT practices and share them with my coaches. That was not something I could do when I was young and learning to shoot.

 

[ESPNjacket]

I've been watching college basketball since the early 80s. The only thing that I see that has changed with free throws is that it takes longer for the officials to get everyone set up and for the shot to go up.

I haven't looked it up to confirm, but I haven't observed that technique or overall percentages have changed perceptively.

For as long as I remember, fans have always been frustrated by missed free throws and poor FT shooters. And they always voice the same solutions to that.

But I think if the problem were easily solvable, it would have been solved by now. There wouldn't be any poor free throw shooters left.

I suspect that what is behind poor FT shooting is multi-factorial and in some instances stems from unfortunate anatomical make-up given the distance and height of the rim. For instance, the long forearms and fingers of bigs may make the lever action of the FT awkward for some guys at that height and distance from the rim. I wonder if the rim were 15 feet high or further back if their Ft percentage might actually go up if not stay the same.

It would be an interesting study to correlate the length of the ulna (or ratio of the length of ulna to humerus) to free throw percentage. I bet some interesting results would pop-up. I bet there is an optimal body assembly schematic for making FTs.

Here is an excerpt from a 2009 article:
"Since the mid-1960s, college men’s players have made about 69 percent of free throws, the unguarded 15-foot, 1-point shot awarded after a foul. In 1965, the rate was 69 percent. This season, as teams scramble for bids to the N.C.A.A. tournament, it was 68.8. It has dropped as low as 67.1 but never topped 70.

In the National Basketball Association, the average has been roughly 75 percent for more than 50 years. Players in college women’s basketball and the W.N.B.A. reached similar plateaus — about equal to the men — and stuck there."
Link to source

Since then the average has risen to over 70, with the two highest seasons being the most recent two: 71.4 in 2023 and 71.9 in 2024.

2025 is currently at 71.7.

 

[Root4GT]

Here is an excerpt from a 2009 article:
"Since the mid-1960s, college men’s players have made about 69 percent of free throws, the unguarded 15-foot, 1-point shot awarded after a foul. In 1965, the rate was 69 percent. This season, as teams scramble for bids to the N.C.A.A. tournament, it was 68.8. It has dropped as low as 67.1 but never topped 70.

In the National Basketball Association, the average has been roughly 75 percent for more than 50 years. Players in college women’s basketball and the W.N.B.A. reached similar plateaus — about equal to the men — and stuck there."
Link to source

Since then the average has risen to over 70, with the two highest seasons being the most recent two: 71.4 in 2023 and 71.9 in 2024.

2025 is currently at 71.7.

But if only the GT players practiced more before they left the gym they would be 75%+ shooters. I mean the GT message boards have known that for a couple of decades. Shame no coach or player understands how simple the solution is. (Yes Sarcasm Intended)