NCAA champion coach Jim Harrick shares some secrets of free throw shooting with StudentSportsBasketball.com. According to coach Harrick, there’s more to making free throws than just practicing.
If the skills of basketball were broken down into a pie chart,the free throw would comprise of an area of about 23 percent. It’s that important, and making or missing them becomes even more crucial during the NCAA Tournament (or in the case of high school players, during the playoffs.).
When I was at UCLA, we liked to shoot 40 free throws per day. On some days, we’ll shoot 10 in a row or we’ll shoot until each person misses. We also practice the one-and-one bonus situation.
Another trick is to make a competitive game among your players involving free throws. I also recommend shooting sometimes at the end of practice when players are more fatigued.
I’ve broken down practicing free throws into four areas — General Thoughts, Mental Approaches, Physical Approaches, and Building a Machine.
General Thoughts
1. A free throw is a free point, so take it.
2. Games are won by one point.
3. Free throws demoralize an opponent. MAKE THEM.
4. All close games are decided at the free throw line.
5. Free throws are the only shots taken from the same spot every time.
6. Concentration is crucial, so close out all the noise around you.
Mental Approaches
1. I will not miss.
2. I will lock in on the middle.
3. I will shoot two inches over the front of the rim.
4. The ball is as fragile as an egg.
5. I will shoot softly so that I do not crack the egg.
6. I will watch the spot on the rim.
7. I will remember what the last successful shot felt like.
8. I will not miss.
Physical Approaches
1. Pick your spot on the line, stand there every time.
2. Your head should be right in line with the basket. Do not move your head.
3. Eliminate showboat rountine — the successful shot is excitement enough.
4. Eliminate all unnecessary movement.
5. Make the shot effortless. Bend knees for added push.
6. Face the basket with both eyes. Lock them on one spot.
7. Hold the ball close enough to your face to see the rim right over the top of the ball. Do not start your shot until you have locked your eyes in the rim.
Building A Machine
1. Non-shooters must rebound on free throws as in a game situation.
2. No talking during free throw.
3. Always shoot at least 20 free throws at a time: Build a machine.
4. Do not step back after each shot.
5. Remember your spot and always stand there on a free throw: Build a machine.
6. Strive to set the longest streak.
7. Once in a while, shoot until you make it and then shoot until you miss. That will make you streak conscious.
8. Glorify a player when he has a streak going. It pressures him, it points out the importance to others and it encourages others to break that streak.
Editor’s Note: This article first appeared in the May 1995 edition of Student Sports Magazine. Jim Harrick coached at Morningside (Inglewood, Calif.) and as assistant coach at Utah State and UCLA before moving on to become the head coach at Pepperdine. Harrick also was head coach at UCLA, Rhode Island, and Georgia. His most well-known for coaching UCLA to the 1995 NCAA national title.
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