This strikes at the very heart of the demise of basketball in general. (Strikes at the very heart. Damn, that was good)
To get good at shooting free throws, you actually have to stop and concentrate on mechanics. On doing something the right way...the same way every time. That's not what kids want to do. They want to shoot jumpers....launch 3's and find creative ways to slam. We have one basketball goal in one driveway in our neighborhood. I've tried everything I know at my house but my lot slopes so badly that there's no possible way to put one up. This is my get-off-my-lawn moment, but growing up...if there was a kid in the house, there was a goal in the driveway. That's what we did. We played until our parents made us come in or it was too dark to see. We'd play 2 on 2 and HORSE and yes, have free throw contests. We'd shoot 100 and see who made the most.
Yeah, the game today is 10X more athletic and in many respects, more fun to watch. But fundamentally, the game today sux. I posted a while back about going to a local HS tourney about a month ago. First game....2 high flying athletic teams who launched the first 3 they saw or flew to the rack whether there was an opening or not. Entertaining. Second game...one team was badly overmatched athletically. The other team full court pressed from the opening tip. Team 1 broke the press nearly every time without ever taking a dribble. Spacing, movement...fundamentals. Absolutely beautiful.
Anywho...bottom line is we see college studs shooting 50% from the free throw line because neither they nor their coaches give a shoot about working on the little things.
Kids on teams today shoot threes and layups/dunks because that is what the coaches want to see. Just as advanced stats took over baseball it is starting to happen to basketball. People realized that the best shots (in terms of offensive efficiency) are from 0-5 feet and from the three point line. Anything in between and unless you are shooting 67% is not worth it.
But on the other side, being a good shooter can take you far. I have very little athletic ability and am about 6' tall. I lettered 4 years in high school basketball because I was a lights out shooter. I was a below average ball handler and an average passer but in the 4th quarter I was the designated "inbound the ball to him" guy when the other team was fouling because I was a 90% free throw shooter.
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