While attending a coaching clinic a few springs ago, we had a chance to spend some quality time with Don Meyer of Northern State University. When the discussion of free throw shooting came up, Coach Meyer didn’t hesitate to recommend a video tape on the subject that had highly impressed him.The video, How To Shoot Free Throws is by Gary Boren, the shooting coach for the San Antonio Spurs. The video is one the best, if not the best, on the subject of free throw shooting that we’ve seen. First, Boren’s credentials give him instant credibility as he has transformed the Spurs into a solid shooting team and annually one of the best in the NBA from the free throw line.
It is easy to see from watching the video that Boren has a great passion for the shot and all that goes into being a successful shooter. He gives great insight to the smallest details that can help each shooter improve. Some of his concepts were new to us and we have already starting applying some in an effort to improve our free throw shooting individually and as a team.
Just a few of the things we picked up from Boren’s video include:
The starting point is not “How do we do it?”, it’s “What are we trying to do?”
Major misconceptions
#1 You shoot at a round target
#2 You should aim at the middle
#3 You should aim over the front of the rim
Muscle memory is locked in to old ways...your brain will want to do it the new way but your muscles will want to it the old way.
Work on each teaching point for five shots and then move on.
You can overcoach shooting.
Feet are a big part of good FT shooting.
Arc! — the higher the arc, the bigger the hole.
The way you practice is important — must make everything count.
Shoot until we make 100.
Emphasize importance of FT’s in practice.
De-Emphasize the importance of FT’s in games.
Major part of practice is to have some game-like free throw situations.
Mental part of free throw is overrated. It is 95% mechanical.
Mental part of free throw shooting:
-Stay in the present
-Have a short memory on bad things
-Have a long memory on good things
And this is just a very quick look at the video as Boren goes on to give over 30 principles for good free throw shooting including:
#5 Don’t start ball too low
“You want whatever motion is necessary but no extra motion. Extra motion makes it difficult to repeat. You want it simple and repeatable.”
...and:
#29 Shooting side foot should be all the way up to the foul line
“Only shot you can be exact on distance...be consistent.”
At LSU, we are big believers in the value of getting to the free throw line. We are working to be better at making the most of every opportunity. This video has helped us and will help you as well.
