Can any of you guys do an analysis of our free throw shooting versus say prior to Buzz (when I believe we actually practiced free throw shooting) and during Buzz's tenure to see when we did better and if we might have one any close games with better free throw shooting %?
IMO, Buzz says he doesnt have time in practice to watch his guys put up shots from the line. Instead, he works on the more important things which leads us to winning the close games. I think if we practiced free throws instead of the other things hes working on in that time or record is simply worse.
I did this in a thread recently (not as detailed as the CS guys would do). IF I can find it, I will link,
The answer was simple, Steve Novak. When you have a 93% FT shooter that gets to the line 150 times a season, you have great numbers.
Wisconsin leads the nations in FT% at 83%. MU us about average at 70%.
I don't know what Wisconsin does for FT practice, that said, are they good because of their practice or who they are? If Buzz was the Wisconsin head coach, would they be shooting 83% this year? I saw yes.
Did Steve Novak show up as a great FT shooter or did Crean's practice turn him into a great FT shooter? I say Novak arrived that way and would have shot 93% under any practice scheme.
year by year stats here
http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/team/stats/_/id/269/marquette-golden-eagles (http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/team/stats/_/id/269/marquette-golden-eagles)
FWIW, Buzz's first two seasons at MU saw the team shoot a higher % than the team did in Crean's final two seasons. This year's team is just about on-par with TC's final bunch -- only 1% difference & far better than the 06-07 TC team (of course MU likely shoots alot more FTs now than those teams as well). Percentage is not the real story since this team goes to the line a lot more -- free throw rate (FTR) is an advantage under Buzz but the 'sabermetricians' note FTR is not a primary determinant of success for a team. FTR is the ratio of Free Throw Attempts to Field Goal Attempts.
The offense is sublime, and FTR is part of that mix
http://www.basketballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=1474 (http://www.basketballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=1474)
Found it ....
ESPN stats
Year Games FT% FTA Notes
2011 25 69.40% 617 Buzz yr 3
2010 34 74.10% 660 Buzz yr 2
2009 35 72.80% 338 Buzz yr 1
2008 35 70.60% 785 Crean
2007 34 66.90% 783 Crean
2006 31 73.20% 635 Novak 97%, 74 FTA
2005 31 71.0% 451 Novak 91%, 146 FTA
2004 31 74.7% 683 Novak 91%, 68 FTA
2003 38 77.1% 857 Novak 95%, 38 FTA
2002 33 69.20% 720
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Wow, I had now idea we had 617 FTAs in 25 games. That averages 24.8/game. At that pace and assuming we have 8 gamess left (6 regular, 1 BE, 1 NCAA) we are on pace for 814 FTAs, exceeding the 2007 record of 783.
Also KenPom has our as #154 of 345 teams in FT%. Again we are 0.694. D1 average is .687. So, we are definitely above average for D1.
Novak was sure one hell of a shooter.
My problem with not practicing free throws, is that it is more than a state of mind like buzz says. You could definitely tell during the South Florida game when we missed 8 free throws at the end. We ended up being 7-19 (36.8%) for the game. You need to practice shooting free throws at the end of practice when you are dead tired, just like it will be at the end of games when it matters most. Being able to focus on your shot when exhausted takes practice.
MU is not a bad free throw shooting team, when the game is not close. They choke at the line. Has nothing to do with practicing and everything to do with mental toughness. Buyckes who is a very good free throw shooter cannot not make it when it matters. Same for DJO.
Quote from: Abode4life on February 15, 2011, 04:53:43 PM
My problem with not practicing free throws, is that it is more than a state of mind like buzz says. You could definitely tell during the South Florida game when we missed 8 free throws at the end. We ended up being 7-19 (36.8%) for the game. You need to practice shooting free throws at the end of practice when you are dead tired, just like it will be at the end of games when it matters most. Being able to focus on your shot when exhausted takes practice.
Here we go again with the over-analysis of the FTs at the USF game. And just 90 seconds of that game to boot! This just in, WE HAD A BAD GAME.
Why don't you over-analyze the
Villanova Game where we went 13 of 14 from the foul line?
Why don't you over-analyze the
Uconn Game where we went 14 of 15 from the foul line?
Why don't you over-analyze the
ND away Game (into a frenzied student section) where we went 15 of 17 from the foul line?
Why don't you over-analyze the
Louisville away Game (into a frenzied student section) where we went 23 of 38 (74%) from the foul line?
Why don't you over-analyze the
Pitt away Game (into a frenzied student section) where we went 20 of 27 (74%) from the foul line?
AS I've said before, try and fix and anomaly and you make things worse., The USF was an anomaly. The games above show that to be the case.
D1 average for FT% is 68.7%. MU shoots 69.4%, #154 of #345 teams. This year we are shooting FT% as a team better than 2002 and 2007, and just behind 2009. Same coach and same philosophy about FT shooting produced a stellar 74% team average last year.
MU is in the better half of FT% in D1. Stop fixing something that is not broken.
MU 11-12 so far tonight at the line. anyone still want to complain or call out the USF game? Like 84 said.. total anomaly there, just have to move on
Quote from: socrplar125 on February 15, 2011, 08:46:05 PM
MU 11-12 so far tonight at the line. anyone still want to complain or call out the USF game? Like 84 said.. total anomaly there, just have to move on
Maybe Buzz finally learned the grade school practice technique of shooting free throws while tired.
14 for 15 FTs in the first half .... but but but they did not practice yesterday or today. How is that possible?