Hi,
My name is Barry Wolfson, also known as the Foul Shot Doc.
It’s New Year’s Day and I’ve decided that’s it is a good day to start a blog to share my thoughts re: foul shooting. I figured if NBA star Gilbert Arenas, Agent Zero, can do it, why not me.
It’s my hope to share my thoughts and adventures regarding the world of basketball with you. I hope you will enjoy it. Feel free to email me at barry@foulshotdoc.com with comments or feedback.
Ever wonder why “Bigs” can’t shoot foul shots? It’s simple. Since they were little or should I say young kids they were always told to stay near the basket by their coaches, me included, to get rebounds. There were other average sized players to dribble the ball and shoot from the outside. Consequently, they were told NEVER to shoot from the outside and all their shots were a few feet from the hoop.
When they were fouled, all of a sudden they were forced to shoot from 15 feet away, where they rarely practiced from with all eyes on them.
It is hardly a surprise that they were not successful.
Back in January, I asked folks to name 4 colleges that had colors in their name. Several folks had 3 correct answers, but nobody had all 4. They are Navy, Brown, Auburn and Siena.
It was interesting to watch the Spurs employ the Hack-a-Shaq strategy in a new way against the Suns. Instead of waiting for Shaquille O’Neal to receive the ball before fouling him, they fouled him away from the ball. Not only did O’Neal shoot a pitiful 9 for 20 in the elimination game but at best traded 1 pt. for possession of the ball. It also totally eliminated Phoenix from employing their fast paced fastbreak style of basketball. Although it made for ugly basketball, it was a winning stategy.
Since then, the Spurs used the same tactic a little w/ Tyson Chandler of the Hornets while Detroit fouled Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic frequently. Both are poor foul shooters who could use The Foul Shot Doc.
Conversely, the Lakers and Kobe Bryant used the foul line to their advantage as Bryant hit 21-23, scoring more points from the line than any of his teammates scored in the game. Coach Phil Jackson said “It’s an incredible night to have 23 foul shots. It was our biggest scoring threat of the night.” It still amazes me that folks refuse to realize how pivotal free throw shooting impacts on a game.
As I said in earlier post, Memphis foul shooting woes would cause them to lose in tourney. Last night vs Kansas, they shot 12 or 19 for 63%, including 4 of 5 misses down the stretch of regulation time, allowing Mario Chalmers of Kansas the opportunity to hit a 3 pointer w/ 2 seconds remaining to send the game into overtime. Had they converted 1 more foul shot, the Chalmers shot would not have mattered. KU shot 14 of 15 for 93% from the line.
Earlier this season, I read in Sports Illustrated how Bob Rotella, a sports psychologist had visited the Memphis team. Rotella, who has also consulted the Cleveland Cavaliers, has written 4 books on golf. After reading the SI article, I tried reaching out to Memphis Coach John Calipari out of curiosity by mail and phone. He didn’t respond. Perhaps, he should have called the Foul Shot Doc. By the way, the Cav are still the 2nd worst free throwing team in the NBA.
In a truly painful game to watch if you are offensive minded, Tennessee defeated LSU to reach the Women’s Final. Not only was the shooting from the field horrible, but the free throw shooting was worse. You might blame bad field goal shooting on great defense and the teams familiarity with each other. However, poor foul shooting is inexcusable and preventable. LSU shot 7 for 19 for 36% while defending National Champ Tennessee shot 2 for 7 for 28%.
Earlier in the week, Rutgers’ Scarlet Knights Women’s team lost to UConn 66-56. UConn shot 19-21 from the foul line, including 17-19 in the second half. Rutgers only shot 3-5 for 60%. A 16 pt. difference from the line. It’s hard to win when you shoot foul shots poorly and not enough (RU). It’s a lot easier to win when your team is aggresssive and accurate from the line (UConn).
With the exception of Memphis, most of the teams in the Men’s tournament have shot fairly well from the foul line as opposed to last season. In 2007, at least 12 teams were bumped from the tourney because of poor foul shooting, including Indiana, Memphis, Louisville and others. I predict Memphis will lose because of poor foul shooters. Besides, I’ve always been a UCLA and North Carolina fan.
Clutch foul shooting may wind up determining the National Champ. Who can forget Lindsey Harding, #1 ranked Duke’s All-American missing 2 late free throws that enabled Rutgers to win. Harding, an 80% shooter missed them when it counted. I felt only a tiny bit sad for her since I’m a Rutgers alum.
Gotta love Stephen Curry, Davidson, Tyler Hansbrough and Kevin Love. I remember seeing Love play as a high school junior at a sneaker camp at FDU in Teaneck. I was seating w/ Pete Strickland, NC State Asst. Coach, who told me I had to watch this kid at the far end court. During the next sequence, he blocked a shot, ran down the ball and fired a perfect full court outlet pass for an easy bucket. “Ooh S…”. He, then, told about his middle name, Wesley, named after his Dad Stan’s ex-teammate Wesley Unseld.
In a surprising upset, Oglethorpe University defeats Kean 98-86. Not much to say, but everyone is disappointed. We were all looking forward to going to Michigan for a shot at the National Championship. Tonight, the team went 19/24 for 80% from the foul line. I am very pleased to be associated with these young women, who worked really hard to overcome their foul shooting woes.
Collectively, they improved from 61% to 69% since I came onboard. Special kudos to Chari’ Cooper who improved from 49% last season to 72% during the time we worked together. They were eager and attentive learners and it was a pleasure working with them. It is too bad it had to end this way. They had a great opportunity to go all the way.
Last weekend, Kean defeated Utica College 83-76 and Brandeis University 95-61 to reach the Sweet Sixteen. Tonight, the Cougars beat the University of Chicago 70-56 going 18/27 for 67% from the line. In big games now, the players seem eager to draw fouls, getting to the foul line and are very relaxed when knocking them down. Kean is now 28-3, best record in school history, and faces Oglethorpe University for the right to go to The Final Four.
