Crimson Red Sports

9/26 at the free throw line, 16 turnovers and only 7 bench points. We could have won this game.

We won't be a serious basketball team until we can hit a free throw.  That is insane, especially for the guards.  They should be hitting 80% minimum.  There is no excuse for 9/26 for free throws.

Wow this is almost heart breaking knowing with 80% we could have won this game. It seems like we see the same old problems year after year at Alabama. We have the same shoulda, coulda, and woulda. RTR!

Most fans see this shortcoming as simple laziness.
Free-throw shooting can be practiced without coaching.  Just a matter of priority.  Apparently it isn't a priority for the players, and the coaches aren't encouraging practice of it.


Bama's FT shooting has been poor for as long as I can remember. Five years at least. Both the above comments are right on.

Why don't coaches put in a FT drill at the END of practice.  Half the team at each end of the court.  You have to make five FTs in a row before you can leave.  If you miss one, you go to the back of the line and wait to try again. Those players still trying after an hour, have to run laps -- maybe 10 laps -- and then they can leave.  This might encourage players to work on FT shooting on their own time.  It can't hurt!


 :facepalm:

Great shooters don't become great shooters just by team practice alone, they spend most of their free time in the gym practicing, practicing, practicing. I doubt we have any on this team that spend much of their free time in the gym. During the pregame shoot around, the players work very hard on their dunk shots and long shots.

If the players aren't going to spend time (on their own) working of FTs, then isn't it on the coaches responsibility to structure some routine that requires them to work on it?  If coaches are going to complain about missed FTs, then they ought to take some action to address that defect.




I've read so many stories about the great players and their workout habits. I think Larry Bird took 100-200 FT's every day, year round even before the NBA.. Same with Kobe Bryant. Bird shot 88.6% for his career, Kobe nearly 84% for his career. They made themselves do these things by hard work. It can be done. I don't expect every player to be another Kobe, but how about hitting 70-75% of their FT's. That's very doable. I remember one year under Wimp when the deal was horrible at the FT line, the next year they finished 2nd in the SEC for team FT percentage.

Why does Coach Johnson not see this if we do and fix it? RTR!

No doubt he sees it since EVERYONE else sees it. I think it's a matter of priorities and having limited practice time to do everything. CAJ inherited a program that was a disaster. Lack of talent, poor fundamentals like passing the ball, rebounding, FT shooting, movement on the court, perimeter shooting, court positioning, etc., lack of energy & enthusiasm (Grant was like a dead fish), & so on. CAJ has been working at a feverish pace to sell the program, recruit talent, and improve team performance. Improvements have been seen in rebounding, floor movement, & defense. Perimeter shooting, overall shooting, and FT shooting have been lousy & movement could be better. The Tide is dead last in the SEC in FT shooting, 11th in FG%, and 13th in 3 point shooting. That is a toxic mix and shows we need more shooters in the worst way.


 
 :dog: