It s well known that shooting has been declining in the game of basketball for the past 20 years or more. This time I want to focus on shots from the free stripe. This article was inspired by a friend, Coach Paul Rundell, head coach for 17 years at San Francisco State and now a volunteer coach at Stanford University. He told me he was disgusted by the state of free throwing in the game today.
Many players seem to have no clue as to how to put the ball in the basket consistently.
There s no one in your face, no defense to overcome Plenty of time You have a relaxed 10 seconds to shoot. There s no rush. But now it seems to be the norm or even considered a little above average. You might say the bar has been lowered in the past couple decades. Though this may have always been true, it s even more crucial now that fouling in the final minutes has become an effective defensive strategy.