Our freethrow shooting.....

[CatFanInTheBathtub]

is freaking stellar. I can honestly say that I have never been happier to send guys to the line than I have with this team. We hit 24 of 28 tonight folks, after hitting 16 of 18 against the gators and 11 of 12 against missthefoul state. the vandy game not as good but we won anyway.

over the last three games we have hit

51 out of 58 freethrows.

[BigblueDrew]

We are rebounding well , and shooting free throws, two fundamentals we have lacked for a couple of years, tonight we added tenacious D. These things we begin to pay big divedends if we keep them up.

[Catligula]

Wow, that's 86%!! That is beautiful.

[CatFanInTheBathtub]

actually it's about 88%

[blewis18]

Just another little tidbit here, but I kept hearing about how we were the top in the SEC so I looked up what we shot as a team compared to the rest of the country. Yeah we are 9th in the NATION in percentage!!!!!!!!!!!


http://proxy.espn.go.com/ncb/leaders?groupId=50&cat=teamft&sort=PCT

[CatFanInTheBathtub]

Just another little tidbit here, but I kept hearing about how we were the top in the SEC so I looked up what we shot as a team compared to the rest of the country. Yeah we are 9th in the NATION in percenatage!!!!!!!!!!!


http://proxy.espn.go.com/ncb/leaders?groupId=50&cat=teamft&sort=PCT

and we are second to only fsu in teams from the "big 6" conferences

don't overlook this people !!! our freethrow shooting WILL UNDOUBTEDLY help us win games this year. it's our ace in the hole.


edited to say that what we need to do now is keep getting to the line.....

[BlueheartMattB]

and we are second to only fsu in teams from the "big 6" conferences

don't overlook this people !!! our freethrow shooting WILL UNDOUBTEDLY help us win games this year. it's our ace in the hole.


edited to say that what we need to do now is keep getting to the line.....

I agree. Right now it's helped us keep in the last 4 games or so even when we were having trouble finding shots. I think if we can get more penetration, get Jasper and Meeks (two fairly good slashers) back to normal, and get production from Stevenson, much like tonight, then we'll be able to get to the line more often. Plus, with our limited bench, the little resting periods from freethrows will help us some. But I think if we continue to progress, we could make a late season run into the NCAA (via SEC tourny).

[Terry L. Wildcat]

Has Kyle Macy been schoolin' the lads ?

[Catligula]

actually it's about 88%

Well, not that it really matters but 24 ÷28 = .857

Still very impressive, obviously.

[matt colvin]

Intensity, drive, emotion, coupled with focus. These guys are maturing quickly. That will make up for some talent deficits, as we saw last night. And that's certainly not meant to dig at Stevenson either...He was my pog without question, which was quite an honor last night :thumbup:.

[jaspcat]

Has Kyle Macy been schoolin' the lads ?

When Ramel was stepping to the line last night, I had as much confidence that he was going to hit those clutch freebies as if old #4 was rubbing his socks at the stripe. The last minute was never in doubt when we kept getting the ball to Bradley.

[UKBOO]

Has Kyle Macy been schoolin' the lads ?

No, it's mainly WHO is takeing the foul shots.
No doubt, Bradley and Crawford are better at the line this year, and that can easily be contributed to better conditioning. Throw 2 Pat in there, who is off the charts at the line for a big man. Others may get to the line but those three have been the main ft shooters this year
Contrast that to last year: Morris, Perry, Thomas, Bradley, Crawford, Jasper all contributed to the %. Morris was the biggest contibutor.

[cnice11]

We are rebounding well , and shooting free throws, two fundamentals we have lacked for a couple of years, tonight we added tenacious D. These things we begin to pay big divedends if we keep them up.

We rebound pretty well, except on free throws. For some reason we have problems with that.

[Will Lavender]

Tom asked Gillispie about the free throw shooting in the post-game interview, and Gillispie said, "I don't want to talk about it."

Afraid he'd jinx the guys, I guess. :icon_mrgreen:

[dhens7]

Well, not that it really matters but 24 ÷28 = .857

Still very impressive, obviously.

Right but 51 divided by 58 equals .879


Who cares though. I am just happy it is over 70%

[RichieFarmersMustache]

Yeah, I love this characteristic of our team. This was a fundamental that we were consistently bad at during the Tubby era. Good to see us turning things around. This will help us so much in the long run.

[UKBOO]

"I've always been a big believer that free throws are directly a result of, not your confidence as a shooter, but your confidence as a team -- but also your preparation," Cats Coach Billy Gillispie said afterward. "When you prepare to win, you're team makes foul shots, whether it's in the first five minutes or the last."

http://www.kentucky.com/285/story/294652.html

[Will Lavender]

What's funny is that, if the practices I've seen are any indication, they don't practice foul shooting.

I've seen three practices. In those three practices COMBINED, they've shot free throws for maybe 60 seconds.

Whatever works. :shrug1::icon_mrgreen:

[cnice11]

What's funny is that, if the practices I've seen are any indication, they don't practice foul shooting.

I've seen three practices. In those three practices COMBINED, they've shot free throws for maybe 60 seconds.

Whatever works. :shrug1::icon_mrgreen:

They may work on FTs in individual workouts with assistant coaches. And in their spare time

[TouchNotTheCat]

I've always believed that successful free throw shooting, contrary to the popular belief that it's related to practice time and focus, is a result of effective teaching of free throw technique.

The Cats now have a coach who is a good "teacher" and who has effectively taught the players how to shoot free throws.

(And confidence is a big part of it, too).

[UKBOO]

Coach doesn't like to use valuable practice time on freethrows. That is assigned as "homework".
Tubby would have them shoot them when the guys were tired. I disagree with this, although many (most?) coaches do it. The better plan is to send better conditioned players to the line. They can recover more quickly, and fatigue is less of a factor.

[catszoom54]

How do we rank on free throw shooting in the NCAA?

[dhens7]

How do we rank on free throw shooting in the NCAA?

somebody posted earlier we were 9th in the country

[CoquieKat]

I'm very impressed by the FT numbers this year. The figures from past years have made me cringe, and I think there were some games those times that the Cats could have won had the FT percentage been what it has been this year. Can't think of any off the top of my head...

[Buck_Naked]

Good thread! I've been noticing this drastic improvement all season.

I'm thinking it's ironic that in the midst of what will no-doubt be one of UK's worst seasons in years (record-wise), they are producing one of the best FT-shooting teams we've had since the early 80's and maybe even the late 70's. Heck, maybe even all-time!
(anyone got quick stats on the best season FT% by a Kentucky team?)

All I know is that I no longer hold my breath when the Cats go to the line...

:icon_lol:

[vaPascal]

is freaking stellar. I can honestly say that I have never been happier to send guys to the line than I have with this team. We hit 24 of 28 tonight folks, after hitting 16 of 18 against the gators and 11 of 12 against missthefoul state. the vandy game not as good but we won anyway.

over the last three games we have hit

51 out of 58 freethrows.

Truly incredible and the primary reason we won last night. :thumbup:

Go Cats!

[MarkPopeHairCut]

Our free throw shooting is very impressive.. I think that Billy G stresses it in practice.. he has to, that is the only explanation for the great shooting.. WOW...

[Mountain Cat]

I've always believed that successful free throw shooting, contrary to the popular belief that it's related to practice time and focus, is a result of effective teaching of free throw technique.

The Cats now have a coach who is a good "teacher" and who has effectively taught the players how to shoot free throws.

(And confidence is a big part of it, too).

fitness is a big part of it too. Tired legs make bad shooters of us all.

[blewis18]

Good thread! I've been noticing this drastic improvement all season.

I'm thinking it's ironic that in the midst of what will no-doubt be one of UK's worst seasons in years (record-wise), they are producing one of the best FT-shooting teams we've had since the early 80's and maybe even the late 70's. Heck, maybe even all-time!
(anyone got quick stats on the best season FT% by a Kentucky team?)

All I know is that I no longer hold my breath when the Cats go to the line...

:icon_lol:

Ok i'm probably wrong, but I went through bigbluehistory and looked at everyone of the seasons. I think the best team was the '66-'67 at 77%. If you look at what is crazy look at what their record was on the season. Kind of eerie huh?

http://www.bigbluehistory.net/bb/Statistics/seasoncumulativeuk.html

[UKBOO]

Ok i'm probably wrong, but I went through bigbluehistory and looked at everyone of the seasons. I think the best team was the '66-'67 at 77%. If you look at what is crazy look at what their record was on the season. Kind of eerie huh?

http://www.bigbluehistory.net/bb/Statistics/seasoncumulativeuk.html

It isn't a fluke that great FT shooting teams usually have poor records. Again, its more of WHO is taking them then how many a team makes. Usually a great FT shooting team is sending guards to the line instead of post players.

[SamKat]

Will, I noticed coach gillispie's not wanting to talk about it. If it ain't broke...

I would like to know his team's stats on free throws at his two previous head coaching stops.

I also was hoping that Kyle Macy might have been doing some coaching there. Didn't his Moorehead teams shoot FT's very well?

[Mountain Cat]

Maybe Jodie Meeks has been sharing tips.

Last season Jodie hit 61/68 for 89.7% for the season, which is 6th best all-time at UK.

[UFWildcat]

Maybe Jodie Meeks has been sharing tips.

Last season Jodie hit 61/68 for 89.7% for the season, which is 6th best all-time at UK.

WOW

That's only sixth best all time? :shock:

[catszoom54]

I just feel good when our players go to the line now, unlike last year

[CatFanInTheBathtub]

Our free throw shooting is very impressive.. I think that Billy G stresses it in practice.. he has to, that is the only explanation for the great shooting.. WOW...

the explanation is easy. we are basically rotating 7 guys, sometimes 6, and 4 of them are guards. our best big man just happens to be a great FT shooter. there's no magic to it, just the right combination of players.

[UKBOO]

the explanation is easy. we are basically rotating 7 guys, sometimes 6, and 4 of them are guards. our best big man just happens to be a great FT shooter. there's no magic to it, just the right combination of players.

Exactly..

[poodoo]

Regardless of the reason for it (and I agree with MC that the late strong free throw shooting is related to the team's conditioning, for which I thank our head coach), KUDOS to the players for having shot free throws so well so far this season (and, yes, I knocked on wood). :) Also, a special kudos goes to Ramel for his free throw shooting against UT, for his success there was a HUGE part of the victory. :)

[CatFanInTheBathtub]

so I was checking out the latest SEC freethrow stats, as of Thurs.




FREE THROW PCT (Min. 2.5 made per game)
## Player-Team Cl G FTM FTA Pct
----------------------------------------------------
1.Bradley, Ramel-UK........ SR 17 88 101 .871
2.Beal, Jermaine-VU........ SO 19 55 66 .833
3.Crawford, Joe-UK......... SR 17 52 63 .825
4.Lofton, Chris-UT......... SR 18 47 57 .825
5.Thornton, Marcus-LS...... JR 18 61 74 .824
6.Ogilvy, A.J.-VU.......... FR 19 110 141 .780
7.Patterson, Patrick-UK.... FR 16 61 79 .772
8.Downey, Devan-SC......... SO 18 64 83 .771
9.Curtis, Dwayne-UM........ SR 17 54 72 .750
10.Calathes, Nick-UF........ FR 20 85 114 .746




on top of that, Jodie is 22-27 for 82 % (more attempts and he'd be 6th in the conference)

and even Porter is 4-4 !

[CatFanInTheBathtub]

and considering those first 4 guys will be getting to the line most of the time, I think we're looking pretty good in close games.

[UKBOO]

and considering those first 4 guys will be getting to the line most of the time, I think we're looking pretty good in close games.

Great point. Not only that, but teams will factor in the UK FT shooting late in games.
If UK is up a few late, they should be able to lock down the game. UT can attest to that.

[poodoo]

so I was checking out the latest SEC freethrow stats, as of Thurs.




FREE THROW PCT (Min. 2.5 made per game)
## Player-Team Cl G FTM FTA Pct
----------------------------------------------------
1.Bradley, Ramel-UK........ SR 17 88 101 .871
2.Beal, Jermaine-VU........ SO 19 55 66 .833
3.Crawford, Joe-UK......... SR 17 52 63 .825
4.Lofton, Chris-UT......... SR 18 47 57 .825
5.Thornton, Marcus-LS...... JR 18 61 74 .824
6.Ogilvy, A.J.-VU.......... FR 19 110 141 .780
7.Patterson, Patrick-UK.... FR 16 61 79 .772
8.Downey, Devan-SC......... SO 18 64 83 .771
9.Curtis, Dwayne-UM........ SR 17 54 72 .750
10.Calathes, Nick-UF........ FR 20 85 114 .746




on top of that, Jodie is 22-27 for 82 % (more attempts and he'd be 6th in the conference)

and even Porter is 4-4 !

WOW! Too, thanks for sharing. Also, I'm personally counting Jodie, making us have #1, #3, #6, and #7.

Again, WOW! Keep up the OUTSTANDING work, guys! :) GO CATS!!!