I remember Dave saying prior to the start of the Marshall game that their official score keeper came over to the bench prior to the game and asked Konkol if there was a mistake because he was only showing 9 players dressed out. And we almost won that game and it was a tough game. That effort probably played a part in how the Charlotte game went down so I kind of get that game. That said, if we'd hit our free throws better we beat Marshall. Then I could better accept the Charlotte game.
Almost exactly what happened on the Texas road trip where we lost in the closing seconds to North Texas and then faced Rice. Again, we do better at the free throw line and we'd have beat North Texas.
Since Konkol has been here it's been kind of a Rosanna Rosanna Danna deal: "It's always something!". I'd like to see him get the team over the hump and win these kind of games even with the problems we have. Even with the short bench this year. To me it's a lot like the situation with football, we lose these games we have a chance or ought to win and it frustrates the heck out of me.
Southeastern Louisiana is shooting 84% as a team from the FT line. Big deal? Oh, they play in the lowly Southland Conference vs. weak competition, so it doesn't count. Say what!??? What's the competition got to do with it when it comes to shooting FTs? That could be McNeese players standing along the lane, or Duke players, and the shooter gets the exact same chance....to shoot a FREE throw.
I have no patience for excuse-mongering. Our resident Sunshine Pumpers, in every sport, always have excuses. And then when they've lost the argument, they resort to....well, can YOU do better? My answer is YES I can.
They need to shoot better. We all know it. It should just take a little practice to get down.
No shade to you, but I see this on many boards....and this is one of the greatest simplifications in sports. If it took just a little more practice...more people would do it.
Truth is...shooting is hard. That is why they pay millions for the best to do it. If its so easy, why do so many professionals struggle with it? You know how many kids become better shooters once theyre in college? Very few. And the ones that do have very little to do with their coaches.
Majority of schools/coaches dont DEVELOP players...they COLLECT players. Thats why recruiting is so important. Thats why style of play is so important.
On this roster, how many kids have become better shooters since theyve been at LT? Pick any school and run that test. You will see that individual development is almost solely the responsibility of the kid...and is not indicative of a program's ability to develop their skills.
They need to take better shots... and that is coaching.
1-23 from 3 point line... second leg of road trip... depleted roster...
The old truism of dead legs leads to bad shooting was proven once again. We had to have set a record for air balls in a 5 minute span.
So why does our staff allow the shitshow to continue against the worst team in the conference?
Drive the fricken ball and steal every minute you can get off of your bench. That means play Thomas now even if he is not completely ready. We are already playing for the future anyway.
Well said. I always read "why doesn't coach work on free throws more?!" I laugh a little because it just doesn't work that way
There is not enough time during practice to work on free throws to the extent you need to work on them. Shooting 80% from the stripe takes a ish ton of daily practice. 70% is good. It does not happen by devoting 30 minutes a day to team shooting. The kids have to get in the gym, stand at the free thrown line, and shoot shoot shoot.
Now, it is up to the coaches to develop these players. Part of it is recruiting, part of that is coaching technique, part of that is inspiring them to put in the work after practice and holding them accountable for the free throws they miss either in practice or in game. So it is on Konkol in the end.
If you aren't saying "had we made our free throws" then you got your ass kicked. Even if you shoot 70%
There should be a limited amount of time devoted to free throws. At the end of practice, when gassed, just to reinforce the importance.
I think they could work on them after practice if they needed to. Especially those below 70%
A few years ago, I hired a 70-yr old motivational speaker to give a presentation to my sales and leadership team at one of our semi-annual meetings. Part of this guy's gig was that he would take on all comers in a free throw shooting contest immediately after giving his prezo. In fact, he was so confident in his free throw shooting ability that he guaranteed he would beat every one of us in a shooting contest, or his presentation would cost me nothing. Now, I was going to pay him regardless, but the whole idea seemed fun to me....so I took the bait. Afterall, he was 70 years old.
Well, after giving a great presentation to my team, we headed out to the court, and he beat all 40 of us in a free throw shooting contest. I don't mind telling ya, I was shocked. This 70-yr old man never missed. I mean, never. I think he shot close to a 100 free throws that day and never missed.
He later gave me some tips about shooting free throws. He said it was easy once you knew how to do it. This was 10 or 12 years ago, so I don't remember things like the hand positioning and other stuff....but he was very clear about one thing: Free throw shooting is MENTAL. And its all about muscle memory, and using your legs. Which of course, comes with practice. I later learned that this guy had been hired by a few NBA teams and colleges to teach free throw shooting to their players. The whole experience left a lasting impression on me. It was a lot of fun, and turned out to be a great team building experience.
I would highly recommend Konkol go hire a guy like this on the side. It would be worth it. And its not hard to do. Guys like this are out there.
He only had 70 years to practice!
And yes I realize this sounds line HD running a 4.4...