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Monday, December 31, 2007

Self’s wish: better free-throw shooting for KU

By Gary Bedore

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KU climbs past Yale, 86-53

It was time to get back to work for the Kansas men's basketball team. Saturday the Hawks returned to the floor after their holiday layoff to square off against Ivy League opponent Yale.

Bill Self has one wish for his Kansas University Jayhawks as they enter 2008.

"My new year's resolution for the team would be, 'Stay hungry,''' Self, KU's fifth-year basketball coach, said after an 86-53 rout of Yale on Saturday at Allen Fieldhouse.

"We can't be happy where we're at."

Though a perfect 13-0, the No. 3-ranked Jayhawks are not without flaws.

"I think most KU fans would agree that we will shoot free throws better. Ooh, brutal," Self said after his players made 12 of 25 against Yale for 48 percent.

"You can't put it on one or two guys. It's the whole team. Every guy on our team who play the majority of minutes - with the exception of Sasha - is shooting between 60 and 70 percent. That's not good enough," added Self, whose Jayhawks have made 62.8 percent of their free throws to opponents' 64.5.

Sasha Kaun has made 51 percent of his free throws.

The other regular rotation players are led by Brandon Rush's 75.0 percent mark, followed by Russell Robinson (71.4), Mario Chalmers (67.7), Darrell Arthur (65.0), Sherron Collins (63.6), Darnell Jackson (63.2) and Rodrick Stewart (60.9).

Also ... "We've got to rebound better," Self said. "Sasha, Darnell, Brandon and 'Shady' (Arthur) don't go after balls like they should. We've got to rebound the ball better, become a little more consistent."

KU has outrebounded its opponents 36.9 to 31.7 per game. Jackson and Arthur lead the team at 6.5 and 5.9 boards respectively.

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Comments

JayCeph (anonymous) says...

If those two phases of the game (free throws and rebounds) are corrected, there really isn't much that will be able to stop the Jayhawks this season.

This could be a great year! (could be...)

December 31, 2007 at 6:54 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

mvjayhawk (anonymous) says...

Rebounding is more important than free throws. FT pct. needs to improve yes, but reboundng is pretty much effort and energy, and we don't control the boards like we should. I expect the tackling dummies on the court this week.....the football team has plenty of those in Miami....tee he.

December 31, 2007 at 7:35 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

leikness (anonymous) says...

Leikness' wish - no fluff basketball articles until Friday.........It's game week 'hawk nation.

December 31, 2007 at 8:47 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

jross1972 (Joe Ross) says...

I wish I would have heard the plan to correct the free throw shooting. We had this conversation a couple of weeks ago, whether free throws could be "coached".

December 31, 2007 at 10:05 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

beebe1 (anonymous) says...

Has to be 'muscle memory'! It can be coached if you make them practice each throw with their eyes closed or with a blindfold! Muscle memory is not a big deal if they use it -- been used by musicians for hundreds of years!

December 31, 2007 at 10:21 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

justanotherfan (anonymous) says...

Muscle memory is important, but the key is to be able to replicate that action in varying states of fatigue and pressure. Shooting a free throw with 8 minutes left in the first half of a 15 point game is very different from shooting a free throw with 8 seconds left in the second half of a one point game.

I will grant that we have been bad in both situations this year, so muscle memory would probably help significantly.

I hope they are sprinkling free throw shooting throughout practice to simulate game situations. The amount of fatigue when shooting free throws will vary, so you have to condition your body to respond as consistently as possible.

Finally, I think another part of it is the mental aspect. Bad FT shooting teams often over think their FTs. This is because the really good shooters put even more pressure on themselves to make their shots and it tightens them up. That's why bad shooting appears to be contagious. Good shooting teams are able to loosen up a little bit more and just shoot the ball, rather than pressing to get a make to break up the cold shooting.

December 31, 2007 at 10:57 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

beebe1 (anonymous) says...

Agree. But an important part of muscle memory is moving yourself (for want of a better word) to 'nothingness'. Fatigue is a problem, but perhaps muscle memory can help replace it. The 'nothingness' I have in mind is a little like concentration or perhaps an abdication to the moment. No concern about win or lose the game, no concern about missing shots or records -- no nothing. Dedication to living in that moment with the right muscle response. It often works.

December 31, 2007 at 11:08 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

dagger108 (anonymous) says...

Darnell was 20% better 2 years ago following his 9 game suspension, because all he could do during practice was shoot FT's on the side (his words).

It seems to me that they have a very similar situation for the next 2 weeks. There is no limit on practice time, so they can devote as much time as they want to whatever is important to them. If they even improved 10%, that would be about 2-3 ppg, or 2 posessions (@ 50% FG).

I seem to recall Coach Self really getting on the guys about turnovers (aka wasted possessions) when he first came to KU. The FT% is no different. It is a wasted possession, and I would certainly hope they would invest the time before classes start again to elimnate those wasted possessions.

December 31, 2007 at 1:10 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

Lebowski (anonymous) says...

Muscle memory? What does everyone mean by that exactly? I'm not real fond of that term, personally... unless your refererring specifically to coordination. Coordination is something that nobody is born with. You gain it through repetition... and most players at this level have that by now. That's something you don't improve overnight. There's nothing ku can do to physically get "better" at free throws before say.... next Saturday or even next month. What they can do is keep working them in as much as possible and hope that gives everyone more confidence come March.

I agree more with what I think beebe is getting at... this is all in the brain. I think it is now becoming more of a problem because of the awareness of it. I was in no way whatsoever surprised that KU shot less than 50% on Saturday after hearing that they gave it more attention during the week before. I'm just as concerned as everyone else... but I'm afraid too much attention to it can do more damage than good.

December 31, 2007 at 1:35 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

jross1972 (Joe Ross) says...

Lebowski...

The reality is there is no such thing as "muscle memory", but there is a place in the brain called the premotor cortex where physical learned behavior is stored so that repetition is easier. This is why after learning to play a song on the piano, you dont often have to think about where your fingers go if you ever play it again (I guess youd have to be a piano player to know that). People incorrectly call this "muscle memory", when it is really "brain memory". This is certainly why shooters who make 95% of their free throws do it so well.

December 31, 2007 at 4:14 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

alexwishart (anonymous) says...

anyone know of a good ku sports bar in LA?

December 31, 2007 at 6:11 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

KUbsee69 (anonymous) says...

No such thing as muscle memory? You must be joking!

I'd guess those of you saying that have not participated in the "shooting sports". Mounting a shotgun during trap/skeet/sporting clays shooting, and of course hunting, is ALL about muscle memory. Same with handgun shooting ... the draw, mount, point, and squeeze. It's achieved with practice, practice, practice. And it's definitely not "brain memory". The brain and eyes have other, complex tasks to perform during shooting ... target acquisition, identification and tracking for starters.

December 31, 2007 at 6:49 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

jross1972 (Joe Ross) says...

KUbsee69...

I taught physiology in college and I can tell you that youre proving yourself to be ignorant in the true sense of the word. The ability of the body to recall movement patterns and initiate similar voluntary actions is a modality that lies in the brain, NOT the muscle...even though the muscle accomplishes the movement. You dont know what youre talking about.

All the things that you talk about, like the shooting sports, have contestants which learn movements and store that information in their brains. Sorry if this disappoints you, but heres your science lesson for the day:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/bv....

December 31, 2007 at 7:02 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

jacqueshock (anonymous) says...

The stat that stands out is the FT % of the guards. Chalmers is way better than 67%. Same with Collins.

December 31, 2007 at 7:09 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

ku98 (anonymous) says...

"premotor cortex"? Here is something I never thought I'd read on this website...
Yogi Berra would tell you that FT shooting is 80% mental and the other half is physical, and he would be correct (well, except for that "other half" thing).
FT shooting is about confidence first, and form second, and both can be improved with practice.
You can't be afraid to stand at the free throw line. You have to be there and KNOW you are going to make them. After that, it is all about form, and I think most of our guys have pretty good form. The problem is between their ears.

December 31, 2007 at 9:48 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

jaybate (anonymous) says...

This exchange AMAZES me. We have someone here, jross1972, who actually KNOWS something about how persons learn to do and repeat physical activities and posters either ignore him, or outright contradict him and talk about pseudo science like muscle memory! Are you guys also members of the Flat Earth Society? Anti Gallileons? Do you believe the Apollo moon landings didn't really happen? Do you still doubt the existence of the freaking atom? Let me guess: you've got creationism bumper stickers and reject the fossil record of evolutionary biology. You're positive chaos and complexity theory are part of a vast left or right wing conspiracy.

"Its the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine."--R.E.M.

January 1, 2008 at 12:41 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

jaybate (anonymous) says...

Here's my recommendation for how to improve the FT shooting of our team: Coach Self needs to start a television and radio ad campaign asking all able bodied women in Kansas to refuse to date or otherwise become amorously involved with KU men's basketball players shooting under 70% of their FTs.

Within 3 weeks you will find most KU players practicing FTs 24/7 and improving very soon...or transferring.

January 1, 2008 at 12:56 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

jaybate (anonymous) says...

Now here's my real wish: KU over Memphis by ten for the National Championship.

January 1, 2008 at 1 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

ralsterKUMed95 (anonymous) says...

I also think it is mental. I remember Russell, KU's poster-face for the word "effort" on the FT line 2yrs ago at Texas A&M, I think, and he had his career high at 22pts and went 15-of-16 from the line. What happened? Already obviously had the form--we see it every game. I thought vs GaTech he was going to go 8 for 10, but wound up missing his last 2... Its difficult to think that seniors are "more rattled" mentally than they were a year or two ago. And these guys play too hard to call them laccadaisical. I do not know the reason--all I know to do for it is reps, reps, reps in the gym with a "shot doctor" to correct obvious arc and form defects; then its up to each player to repeat that hundreds of times over a few days--very doable. They have got to make that new form their own, much like Sasha is trying--he needed to, or else in a late game, it becomes Hack-a-Shaq (on Kaun). I am not being critical of our coaches--I am sure they are already doing all the above...

January 2, 2008 at 1:03 a.m. ( | suggest removal )