JJ needs the team to work on free throw shooting for next season. That was a glaring weakness.
Free throws!
- Thread starter Amahawk
- Start date
Makes you wonder what this team did/does in practice?
Same with shooting 3s.
And layups!
Hanna graduated. Problem solved.
Layla is the only one who is subpar on next year's team.
Hanna graduated. Problem solved.
Hanna had terrific career, my hat is certainly off to her. Yet, I cannot understand why someone at the University of Iowa could not teach her how to shoot a basketball, a skill that is taught to players at all levels of the game. Unlikely she will ever be an accomplished natural shot-maker, but she needs to do better than just throwing the ball at the basket. Consistently hit an 8'-10' jumper and the whole court opens. See Grace Sullivan, Northwestern University.
Hanna had terrific career, my hat is certainly off to her. Yet, I cannot understand why someone at the University of Iowa could not teach her how to shoot a basketball, a skill that is taught to players at all levels of the game. Unlikely she will ever be an accomplished natural shot-maker, but she needs to do better than just throwing the ball at the basket. Consistently hit an 8'-10' jumper and the whole court opens. See Grace Sullivan, Northwestern University.
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There were only 2 players on this year's team who were poor free throw shooters. One of them graduated and the other is a backup 5.
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I’m not sure it’s that easy to fix. I watched the Timberwolves miss 11 free throws in their playoff game vs the Nuggets last night 
You can only simulate a certain kind of pressure when practicing free throws. Now do it when you have 15,000 people watching you prepared to groan when you miss, and then compound that by knowing the narrative around your failures at the line. You can start to see how the momentum of it all can swing you one way or another with confidence. So, you hit 80 of 100 in practice, but it can only get you so far when the game is on the line.
Stuelke actually iced a couple of games early on in the season, hit a few massive ones in the '24 BTT OT win over Nebraska.
Team effort choking in that last game vs. Virginia when team confidence cratered.
Stuelke actually iced a couple of games early on in the season, hit a few massive ones in the '24 BTT OT win over Nebraska.
Team effort choking in that last game vs. Virginia when team confidence cratered.
I occasionally watched Lute's hawk practices at the old fieldhouse. After a long practice he always had a free throw shooting practice when players are tired and like the end of a game. He spoke about it on his radio show that that is the time when you need players to make key free throws, late in each half when players are a bit tired.
His practice was you have to hit two consecutive free throws to go to the showers. And some players like Steve Waite would have their problems with it. But boy did it help late in that huge win when Waite sunk the free throw that sent the hawks toward the Final Four.
I remember that some coach - probably Lute - that made everyone shoot free throws in a circle and if anyone missed, they had to start over. THAT is pressure.
That doesn't compare to a tournament game at home in front of 15k in a game you are expected to win. Some players can shut it out much better than others. There is a reason teams employ sports psychologists.
By the time a player gets to college its "tough to teah an old dog new tricks". Needed to be corrected years ago before it became "part of her game".
You observation certainly has much merit, though I may not agree your correlation applies to the human species. Still I argue Hanna's stroke/technique was so flawed, purposeful correction to her fundamentals would improve results (at least esthetically).
Steulke's points production in her junior and senior seasons never matched what she averaged in Clark's senior season.
It's clear the "runouts" after a Clark rebound made her legacy.
It's clear the "runouts" after a Clark rebound made her legacy.
And her record setting high score one game because Caitlin kept feeding her the ball almost every play.
Credit to Hannah, she was busting her a$$ in transition and couldn't miss that game.
Gustafson was a great free throw shooter in college. 80%+ if I remember correctly.
It was not in response to free throws..it was in response to you can't teach and old dog new tricks. She has become one of the better three point shooters in the league after not being an outside shooter in college and to start her pro career.
Expecting Hays to dramatically improve her FT percentage is probably a pipe dream.
Getting to 55-60% might not happen, which means her minutes will be severely limited.
Getting to 55-60% might not happen, which means her minutes will be severely limited.
Free throws have always been tricky to practice because it seems rather inefficient to create the game situation of running, jumping, banging, shooting on the move, then suddenly stopping and standing still to take a shot under high stress with a ton of noise assaulting your ears.
Typical FT practice usually comprising of standing and taking a whole mess of shots without moving, not really re-creating the situation.
What, maybe do wind sprints after practice, go full-speed up the court and back, then take two shots, full-speed up and down the court again, take two shots, race downcourt again, jump, dribble, turn hard, bump someone, take two more shots? Repeat ad nauseum?
Even if you can coordinate the action so that several players were doing this drill at the same time, this would take a LOT of time, possibly close to doubling the length of each practice, or more. That seems implausible...
I have no idea how they can even do as well as they do NOW.
Maybe some genius coach will figure out something someday...
Typical FT practice usually comprising of standing and taking a whole mess of shots without moving, not really re-creating the situation.
What, maybe do wind sprints after practice, go full-speed up the court and back, then take two shots, full-speed up and down the court again, take two shots, race downcourt again, jump, dribble, turn hard, bump someone, take two more shots? Repeat ad nauseum?
Even if you can coordinate the action so that several players were doing this drill at the same time, this would take a LOT of time, possibly close to doubling the length of each practice, or more. That seems implausible...
I have no idea how they can even do as well as they do NOW.
Maybe some genius coach will figure out something someday...
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JJ needs the team to work on free throw shooting for next season. That was a glaring weakness.
Went 62%, 79%, 81%, 79%. Either had a bad year or just got better.