You don't coach free throws? Did I read that right? How can anyone even suggest this is an accurate statement?

Don't get me wrong, I think Self has been doing some pretty nice things with this squad... but to suggest that you don't coach free throws is a real gomer-move.

Mario was right, we were being too cautious and slowed down the game too early. As a result, the team lost its offensive rythm. It's a different story if there are 2 minutes late with sizable lead. But to slow down the game with over 9 minutes left to play was too conservative.

You coach free throws to middle schoolers. The team doesn't have enough practice time to line everyone up and shoot a couple hundred free throws. Their problem is mental anyway, it's a confidence issue. Players have to be responsible for getting in their own free throw practice.

That being said, they probably need to focus on shooting free throws after they've been running hard and when they are exhausted. My HS coach at the end of practice after we had run sprints would pick someone randomly and have him shoot a free throw, if he made it we were done and if he missed it we'd run some more and line up and do it again.

If he was feeling mishchievous he'd pick our big guys to shoot 'em. But after practice he also encouraged us to stay till we made 100 free throws and if I missed two in a row I'd run a sprint. We probably shot better free throws than KU does, and that's pretty sad.

If you were in charge, what would you do to coach free throws?

Ryan, I like your stuff. You do a lot of research. Probably a little too much. You list too many stats. You can't break a game down that much. These kids are in college, not Wall Street.

"KU shooting a better percentage after halftime (54.5) than it did before the hiatus (50.0). Even more stunning is that Georgia Tech shot worse in the second half (42.4 percent) than it did in the first (47.6)"

My god man!! that entire paragraph included a total of a 12% difference. These kids don't think like that in the game. They just need to play smart, and Self doesn't get kids to play smart.

I know I'll drop to sub-level 6 of Dante's Inferno for saying this, but Self is a recruiter. Name a player that has improved fundamentally under Self. Hell, I think Kaun has gotten worse! He used to be an animal. I thought he would lead the league in rebounds. If we had Roy's coaching combined with Self's recruiting, we'd be playing the Spurs for the NBA title. But we don't. So we need to take all that athleticism and make it a little more boring in the name of fundamentals.

Mark my words.

"If we focus on rebounding and free throws, and maintain our defensive tenacity, we will cruise to a national title".

CRUISE!!

But I don't expect that to happen. I love these guys and I love Bill Self, but they are only getting a little better because they are getting a little older, and they are making most of the same mistakes that they made last year, and the year before. Collins is the only hope for improvement in the tourney.

For anybody with title hopes, this team would get killed by Hinrich and Collison's squad. You heard me "Hinrich and Collison's squad". Can you tell me who's team this is?

You can also mark these words.

"If Self doesn't win a national title in the spring, you're gonna believe what I'm saying now".

Rush will score fewer than 17 points a game and lead the team in rebounding, with 7, and that's the only stat you need to know.

KG makes a lot of good points. I agree with them for the most part. I can't say for sure how good of a coach Self is 'cause I don't go to the practices and am not around the program enough. I do know that there really doesn't appear to be much development once the kids come in. But I think most of the development needs to come from the assistants, not the head coach. Any way, if I had to choose, I'd take talent over development any day.
The guys are definitely making the same mistakes they have the last couple years. However, it's still early. All you can hope for is that they learn from them and not make as many when they go down the stretch run.

Depth of talent only works when you have bread and butter to start with. They need "go to" guys.

I'll take development every time. Title or not, I enjoy watching these kids get better, and for whatever reason, they don't get better under Self.

Go to the career stat sheets of players under Self's regime, then under Roy's. It's scary. Self has literally recruited himself into a corner. His players have no room to grow, therefore the TEAM isn't growing.

Ask Larry Brown how much talent he inherited in his career. Yet he's made teams better wherever he's gone with the talent he was handed. He's a coach.

Danny Manning was amazing, but Danny "and the Miracles" won the title.

I also agree that you don't coach free throws. You practice them but that's it. Even the best free throw shooters miss at the end of close games. I remember watching West Virginia in the Elite Eight miss 4 or 5 free throws at the end against Louisville. They were around 90% FT shooters. Hierber missed two in a row.

It can happen to anyone. Robinson's FT's were in and out anyhow. We almost lost for other reasons like passing the ball around the perimeter and not going to the basket and turnovers.

KG if Self doesn't win the title this spring I will think nothing of your quote. I watched Roy miss the Final Four with his best teams in the late 90's. It is a one and done tournament not a best of 7.

Hinrich and Collison's squad had zero national championships as well. Not because they weren't good, but because on one night Syracuse hit 10 three's and KU missed 18 fts. It happens.

Coaching is overrated:see link

http://sports.espn.g...

kickazzkurtz, jross1972 posted this on another article and it directly refutes your point. Just thought the counter-balance might add some depth to this contentious deliberation...

""game situation" huh? thats what PRACTICE is for. You rehearse in PRACTICE for what the "game situation" will be.

you can say that "game situation free throws" are not like practice free throws. Hey, jaypul...guess what. practice offense is not like game situation offense. practice defense is not like game situation defense. You havent really said ANYTHING at all besides the fact that a crowd exists in the gym to make it different; hence "game situation". But this applies to all facets of the game.

You CAN coach game situation free throws. You coach good mechanics. Those mechanics will be USED in the game situation, right? Then if youre coaching mechanics youre coaching for the game situation. Lining the elbow up directly under the wrist. Wrist snap on the shot, causing backward spin on the ball. Ive seen people hold up brooms to practice shooters' putting the proper arch on the shot. Looking at the center back spot on the rim. Follow through. Ending the shot on your toes. Correct alignment as you step to the line.

All of these preparations are made to facilitate proper shooting technique. This technique can not be accomplished except that it is done in practice in anticipation of the game.

You are WRONG. A coach DOES prepare kids for game-situation freethrows."

A very adroit perspective if you ask me (or if you... either way).

So, KGPhoto thinks if we had Roy coaching these "keeds" and focus on rebounding and free throws we would "cruise to a national title." Does 12 for 30 against Syracuse by a Roy-coached team in the national title game ring a bell?

Our history of less than stellar free throw shooting is not in any way tied to the Self era.

I have no doubt, however, that this team shoots free throws well enough to win a national title, assuming no strange aberrations, and Self's coaching (esp defense) and player development is first class. But, there is also a lot of luck that goes into a 6-0 tourney run. We are certainly due!

How does Self "recruit himself into a corner"? Does that mean he recruits players that are "too good"?

I'm not sure how you get that Self isn't a great coach. Well, maybe I do.......YOU judge development by how much a kid's stats (offensive & rebounding) improve over his career.

I would have a different criteria. Self is a master at getting kids to play great defense. And THAT is the area that high school kids coming into college have the least development. I think Self does a great job of developing kids into a "team".

You guys say that Self doesn't develop players. But how many of you remember when Brandon Rush came to Self's program? A totally offensive player. And last year he was known as the one of the most underated on ball defenders in the country. Self may not be able to develop an offensive player that well, but thats not him. He's a defensive coach, who teaches defense.

Jayceph, you can't practice with 16,000 fans in the stands and the pressure. If you think you can you are in another universe than I am.

And even if you do practice it still won't matter. Like my post said even a great FT shooting team like West Virginia missed them. It happens. I don't care who your coach is. You know what Coach Williams, Coach K and Bobby Knights combined FT shooting percentage is? 0% they are 0 for 0 it is their players that have to shoot not you and they could miss.

If you can find a way to prepare someone for game situation free throws I'm sure you have some beach side real estate in Kansas to sell me as well.

And I don't see how the article refutes my point. You'll have to spin that as well. It specifically says a player is responsible for motivation.

If you have to teach someone mechanics of FT's when they entering college they didn't develop years ago.

You can teach mechanics when someone is young, but your not chainging much at 19 years old.

Dougherty is down at SMU trying to change a 7 foot Bama Fall's FT shooting mechanics and the amount of time he has spent on it has him about 4% higher right now; he hasn't shot many. Will see what he has by the end of the year.

You run offense and defense in practice even though it isn't a game situation because Offense and Defense require you to practice over and over so you know it without thinking.

A FT is pretty easy to figure out. You have your mechanics you develop well before college and you sit 15 feet away and take a shot. Nothing was wrong at all with Robinson's two FT's late in the game. One was half way in and out.

If only Self could coach the rim.