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Butler's Free Throw Shooting

Jan 27, 2007
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As great as Butler played Saturday night he has got to improve his free throw shooting. Not really sure, just asking but have we had another point guard shoot free throws at a 62.8% clip? There was a thread that stated that we were the best in the nation, my thought is that we could be but having a team average of 70.3% is well below the 73 -75 national percentile. Even though it was a good win it should not have been that close, of the 10 free throws missed Butler missed 5.
 
I don’t know if there’s something wrong with his shouting form or if he’s just not putting enough emphasis on it. Anyone who can hit 6-6 threes should be able to hit free throws. If I had to guess, I’d say that he’s just not taking them seriously enough especially early in the game.
 
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I have us at 72.3%, not 70.3%.

But I still agree, that Butler and Garrison need to improve their FT %. Williams, is FT shot is so F*ed up there is no quick-fix to that, that would take a summer of work to fix. But EVERYONE else on the team (except those 3) is 75%+.
 
As great as Butler played Saturday night he has got to improve his free throw shooting. Not really sure, just asking but have we had another point guard shoot free throws at a 62.8% clip? There was a thread that stated that we were the best in the nation, my thought is that we could be but having a team average of 70.3% is well below the 73 -75 national percentile. Even though it was a good win it should not have been that close, of the 10 free throws missed Butler missed 5.
Played i think 32 minutes, I think he will be fine. Williams is the one that needs to work on his FT's .
 
Butler is actually shooting FTs better than he did last season. But that is odd too because he shot well above 70% at the FT line his sophomore and junior seasons. I don't have a good guess for why Butler doesn't shoot FTs a little better. His form looks ok, and he's proven he can shoot it more consistently.
 
FTs cost Illinois an upset of Tennessee on Saturday. UK has to improve at the FT line.
The "problem" for UK a little bit is that two of the 3 guys going to the line the most (Williams and Butler) are shooting the worst from the FT line (62% - Garrison is basically 62% also). Butler has proven in the past that he can be a better FT shooter, but Williams is right in line with his history - and with the form and way he looks shooting FTs, I'm kind of surprised Williams shoots it as well as he does.
 
The D-1 avg this year is 71.4%
We are at 72.3% as a team

So it's not as if we are awful. We are just average. That's ok.

Might it be our downfall in a specific game. Yeah sure. As pretty much any other stat in a specific game.

Wisconsin is currently at 84.8%. But in a single game scenario it could be their downfall as well.
 
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I don’t know if there’s something wrong with his shouting form or if he’s just not putting enough emphasis on it. Anyone who can hit 6-6 threes should be able to hit free throws. If I had to guess, I’d say that he’s just not taking them seriously enough especially early in the game.
Some players do better when they catch and shoot or don’t have to think about the shot too much. He could just be inside his own head…
 
The "problem" for UK a little bit is that two of the 3 guys going to the line the most (Williams and Butler) are shooting the worst from the FT line (62% - Garrison is basically 62% also). Butler has proven in the past that he can be a better FT shooter, but Williams is right in line with his history - and with the form and way he looks shooting FTs, I'm kind of surprised Williams shoots it as well as he does.

Yep, with Williams, I commented earlier this season that if he would just use a LITTLE more arc, his FT% would go up...he just shoots such a line drive
 
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Forgot Rondo was so bad...
NBA = 41.8%
UK = 57.7%
Nicole Richie Joke GIF by The Roku Channel
 
As great as Butler played Saturday night he has got to improve his free throw shooting. Not really sure, just asking but have we had another point guard shoot free throws at a 62.8% clip? There was a thread that stated that we were the best in the nation, my thought is that we could be but having a team average of 70.3% is well below the 73 -75 national percentile. Even though it was a good win it should not have been that close, of the 10 free throws missed Butler missed 5.
Teague wasn't great from the charity stripe if memory serves.
 
I've noticed that his misses appear to be very similar, and I think it has to do with the arc of his shot. Whereas a lot of shots come in at around a 45 degree angle, his misses are somewhat higher than that, and consequently the ball bounces up and away from the center of the hoop. Those seldom drop back in.
 
The D-1 avg this year is 71.4%
We are at 72.3% as a team

So it's not as if we are awful. We are just average. That's ok.

Might it be our downfall in a specific game. Yeah sure. As pretty much any other stat in a specific game.

Wisconsin is currently at 84.8%. But in a single game scenario it could be their downfall as well.
A few games ago, were were I think 15-16 near the end of the game, with Carr going to the line. He's a good FT shooter, but he missed both. You could never win money betting on FT shooting.
 
The "problem" for UK a little bit is that two of the 3 guys going to the line the most (Williams and Butler) are shooting the worst from the FT line (62% - Garrison is basically 62% also). Butler has proven in the past that he can be a better FT shooter, but Williams is right in line with his history - and with the form and way he looks shooting FTs, I'm kind of surprised Williams shoots it as well as he does.
Also, with the offense we run, Williams has the ball a lot and will be a prime target to get fouled in must foul situations. And our PG isn't much better. That's an issue we have to find a solution for.
 
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Teague wasn't great from the charity stripe if memory serves.
Decent ... not great ... Teague shot 71.4% in his only year at Kentucky. However, he shot lower in his pro career at 66.1% ...
 
I have us at 72.3%, not 70.3%.

But I still agree, that Butler and Garrison need to improve their FT %. Williams, is FT shot is so F*ed up there is no quick-fix to that, that would take a summer of work to fix. But EVERYONE else on the team (except those 3) is 75%+.
Not allowed to use facts in RAFTERS, What are you doing?
 
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