Free-throw shooters, good and bad

Among the mysteries that plague mankind is why some of the finest athletes on the planet -- college and professional basketball players -- men who are physical specimens -- strong as Sampson, with the coordination of a surgeon -- men who can move with the grace of a ballet dancer -- have so much trouble making free throws.

Free throws are a very important part of the game of basketball -- it has been said that 75 percent of close games are decided at the free throw line.

This mystery was brought into sharp focus recently in the 2003 NCAA Championship game between Kansas and Syracuse. Neither team did very well, but Kansas' performance at the foul line was woeful; enough to bring a grown man to tears. For instance:

Kansas made only one of their first 11 attempts from the foul line in the second half.

Kansas shot 30 free throws in the game, making only 10, or 33 percent.

Kansas lost the game 81-78, yet if they had hit their foul shots at the 60+ percent rate (the rate that the team made during the season) they would have won the game 86-81. Even 50 percent would have enabled Kansas to send the game into overtime.

Now it might be said that this was a college game, where the boys are amateurs and they might be expected to choke up in stressful situations, such as a championship game. But the players in the professional ranks are lacking as well. In some cases it seems as if the more money a player is paid the worse he shoots foul shots.

A few players (very few) in the NBA complete at or near the 90 percent mark in shooting their free throws, yet 70 percent, a figure that used to be considered mediocre, is now considered good for the league. 70 percent is less than many high school teams achieve.

Shaquille O'neal, of the Los Angeles Lakers, is the most famous example of poor free throw shooting. O'Neal is considered one of the game's finest players, a cinch for the Hall of Fame. One would think that a man, so skilled in the game, and one who is paid so well would learn to shoot free throws. Shaq regularly leads the league in free throws attempted, but over a 10 year career has completed less than 50 percent of his free shots. I daresay that if somebody paid me $21 million per year, or over $262,500 per regular season game (Shaq's current salary), I would find a way to successfully shoot free throws.

(It must be noted that O'Neal has gotten better recently, and this year is shooting free throws at a respectable rate, for the NBA, of 66 percent).

In shooting free throws, Consider:

The distance, 15' to the backboard, doesn't change.

There is no defense to worry about.

There is plenty of time (10 seconds) to shoot the ball.

The backboard is directly behind the basket to aid an errant shot.

In contrast to the poor free throw shooters, who are in abundance in the college ranks and the NBA, is a McCookite who might well give valuable tips to basketball hopefuls trying to improve their skills at the free throw line. John (Gene) Malleck, although currently in his 60s, is a regular at the McCook YMCA, where he can be found "perfecting" his free throw shot. Although he routinely makes 97 percent of his foul shots, and recently set a personal record of completing 400 successful free shots in a row, he still feels that he can and will improve both his technique and his accuracy.

Gene, who attended high school at Red Willow, comes from a family of boys -- competitive boys, who competed with gusto whether the game was cards or an athletic event. Four of the brothers played on some of the great football teams at McCook Junior College, three at the same time. Gene also played on a very good '50s college basketball team, along with McCookites, Ken Foster and Jack Lytle and former McCookite, Larry Carpenter.

Of his college days, Gene describes himself as only an average free throw shooter (75 percent), but over the years he continued to hone his basketball skills, and upon returning to McCook in the 1980s, he became a fixture at the Ed Thomas YMCA, playing pickup games with much younger players.

In the last years Gene has given up running the length of the floor in Y games and prefers the half-court one-on-one, or three-on-three game.

Rich Barnett, who at 34 is half Gene's age, maintains that if he follows his strategy he can hold his own in a one-on-one game against Gene, who has lost a step from his surgeries and the years. "But", says Rich, "I know better than to get into a free throw contest with him."

Shooting free throws has become a favorite hobby for Gene. He keeps a notebook, in which he records the results of each free throw shooting session. For the last few years he has shot at least 25,000 free throws per year, making 97 percent of his shots.

For 2003, he feels he has a chance to break into the 98 percent category (though I suspect that once he passes the 98 percent mark he will have his sights set on 99 percent.)

Asked if he might have any helpful hints for poor foul shooters, Gene was quite matter-of-fact in addressing the subject. "Shooting free throws requires only ordinary strength, proper technique, and proper mind set, all of which can be acquired.

Then, of course, it requires a great deal of practice. And perhaps, most of all, a shooter must learn from his mistakes -- analyze the reason why a free shot was missed, and correct that mistake.

Otherwise he will just practice poor habits and never improve." Gene likes to watch basketball on TV, though he is appalled by some of the poor technical practices that players display at the free throw line. "Shaq, for instance, holds the ball on his fingers instead of the palm of his hand when he shoots, so it is impossible to get the right spin on the ball as it leaves his hand. As long as he does that he'll never be a good free throw shooter."

Perhaps the Lakers, or some other team in the NBA, should hire McCook's resident Free throw expert to instill the basics on free throw shooting to its highly paid basketball stars, who, nevertheless, suffer at the free throw line. It could save some of that 75 percent of close games that are decided at the free throw line.

Gene is also a regular at the annual Senior Olympic Games at Kearney, where he competes in the free throw event (which he has won 3 times), and also the 3-point shooting contest. One year, just a week or so after an accident, which required shoulder surgery, and the wearing of a neck brace, Gene won both the free throw event and the 3-point contest. Apparently Gene appeared healthy enough to the other contestants in those events. They must have thought that Gene's neck brace was some sort of trickery -- a device meant to psych them out. "You know," said Gene, "Not one of those fellows asked me, before the event or afterwards, why I was wearing that neck brace."