.631

[ShockTalk]

You could tell 2V was pissed off (at himself) after missing those two late free throws but you could also see the determination and focus to overcome it as well.

This was even more evident when I watched the game again on ESPN3.

[wusphlash]

Kinda like standing on the tee box and watching your three playing partners hit into the water. The fairway gets a whole lot smaller. When the rest of the team sees Fred and, to a lesser extent, Ron struggle, the rim gets a whole lot smaller. Fred and Ron need to simply hit the fairway. The rest will follow.

[shockmonster]

Not being in a state of flow. Probably caused by the pressure to do more with less. When you have the right tools to get the job done it becomes enjoyable and you achieve a state of flow, things seem to come easy. When you don't, things are more difficult and stressful, you "over think" things, and performance decreases.

I agree. It's a lack of confidence.

[sdshox]

Anyone have time to compare % home vs neutral vs away?

Curious if new people in stressful situations is a factor.

2014-15:
Shox at Home - 83/137; 60.6%
Shox Away/Neutral - 42/61; 68.9%

Opponents at ICT - 74/121; 61.2%
Opponents not in ICT - 33/56; 58.9%

Both Teams -
In Wichita - 157/258; 60.9%
Away from Wichita - 75/117; 64.1%


2013-14:
Shox at Home - 316/460; 68.7%
Shox away/neutral - 348/456; 76.3%

Opponents in ICT - 175/285; 61.4%
Opponents not in ICT - 263/389; 67.6%

Both Teams -
In Wichita - 491/745; 65.9%
Away from Wichita - 611/845; 72.3%

Last 1.5 Years Combined-
Shockers in Wichita - 399/597; 66.8%
Shockers away from ICT - 390/517; 75.4%

So - since the Final Four run, we are just under nine full percentage points of a worse FT shooting team when playing in Koch/IBA than we are on the road. Let the tin-foil hat conspiracies begin.

[pie n eye]

Interesting, thanks for the break down. So not only are we shooting worse percentage wise but were also on pace to shoot appx 200 less FT on the year?

[sdshox]

Interesting, thanks for the break down. So not only are we shooting worse percentage wise but were also on pace to shoot appx 200 less FT on the year?

Not quite that drastic...

198 FTs in 9 games in 14-15; 916 in 36 games in 13-14 (includes MVC/NCAA tourney game stats)

Assuming a pace of 36 games (3 in MVC, 3 in NCAAs to reach 36), we'd end with 792 FTA, or 124 fewer from last year

We are averaging 4 fewer attempts per game to date; Cleanthony himself averaged just under 5 FTAs per game individually last year

[Downtown Shocker Brown]

Thanks for the breakdown sdshox.

Interesting to see how much better we are on the road. Perhaps we should start making noise during FT?

[pie n eye]

Thanks for the breakdown sdshox.

Interesting to see how much better we are on the road. Perhaps we should start making noise during FT?

Maybe someone can sponsor an ambient sound meter? "Make some notice, but not too much!".

[WSUwatcher]

The new people are not the only concern. FVV, Baker, and Carter are all shooting .80-.100 points lower than last year and Cotton is .200 points down.

Exactly, ShockTalk. The five returnees shot .745 as a group from the line last year (.756 not counting Wessel, who had only 17 chances all year). This year they're at .650 collectively, with Wessel being the only one who's improved (although, again, he's the one who shoots least, and he isn't exactly lights out himself at just 4.7 for .571). The four main guys are at .654, and Kelly (who's actually fifth in attempts) is struggling big-time at .389 on 7-18 shooting.

So it's a major problem. No doubt those who point out that the coaches and players are well aware of it are right, and we're certainly not going to fix it here -- but we're also not going to make it worse by documenting it. Who knows -- maybe the helpful info from sd tells us that they need looser new rims in CKA. Koch is probably tapped out for now as a result of the latest big donation, so maybe SN should take up a collection or hold a bake sale.

Seriously, the season is less than a third of the way in, so it's still a small sample size that can be affected by a slump, or in Cotton's case his finger injury. But this is definitely an area where the guys will need to display some MTXE, or to shoot angry, or whatever it takes to make some progress. Maybe having Frankamp around in practice will help -- he can shoot free throws with the best of them. How about some foul line osmosis?

[kochHead]

OMG, a psych major ...

Not a psych major, but my theory on this is derived by reading various books on sports psychology and the mental side of sports performance. Truth is, I had a high level of anxiety when it came to playing in games. This caused me to perform poorly and my confidence decreased. So, basically I tried to educate myself on how to break this cycle. Now I sometimes project this psychobabble on others. Deliberate practice / repetition is an essential to improve performance but I dismiss this because I assume these guys are practicing there ass off.

[Fozzy]

Good FT shooting is part mental, part routine. Unfortunately the routine is different than what a player is used to during the regular game, thus making it more difficult and needing more practice. I propose though they try to use normal routines in their FT routine:

FVV - put 10 seconds on the shot clock and start it once he gets the ball, Fred dribbles a little and then shoots a rainbow and holds the pose

RB - shoots better closer to the 3 point line and once he receives a pass, so he should back up and shoot the ball as soon as he gets it from the ref

TC - premier defender who likes to dunk two handed should try shooting with his back to the basket and tossing the ball with two hands over his head

EW - as soon as he gets the ball he should hug it and swing his arms a little bit and then shoot, maybe even ask the ref to roll the ball to him so he has to get it off the floor first

DC - good at hitting wide open jump shots at that distance, so as soon as he gets the ball he takes a jump shot, regardless of where he is, for important FT's let him text Lebron afterwards

subs - put the person they normally come in at the line first and they replace them

freshman - not used to people behind the basket, so have fans behind the basket hold up placards that make it look like a wall is behind the basket, maybe have fans chant "we have spirit, yes we do, we have spirit, how about you" to make it feel like a HS game as well

redshirts - bring out the recliner since they "sat" out one year

Just some ideas :)

[im4wsu]

Exactly, ShockTalk. The five returnees shot .745 as a group from the line last year (.756 not counting Wessel, who had only 17 chances all year). This year they're at .650 collectively, with Wessel being the only one who's improved (although, again, he's the one who shoots least, and he isn't exactly lights out himself at just 4.7 for .571). The four main guys are at .654, and Kelly (who's actually fifth in attempts) is struggling big-time at .389 on 7-18 shooting.

So it's a major problem. No doubt those who point out that the coaches and players are well aware of it are right, and we're certainly not going to fix it here -- but we're also not going to make it worse by documenting it. Who knows -- maybe the helpful info from sd tells us that they need looser new rims in CKA. Koch is probably tapped out for now as a result of the latest big donation, so maybe SN should take up a collection or hold a bake sale.

Seriously, the season is less than a third of the way in, so it's still a small sample size that can be affected by a slump, or in Cotton's case his finger injury. But this is definitely an area where the guys will need to display some MTXE, or to shoot angry, or whatever it takes to make some progress. Maybe having Frankamp around in practice will help -- he can shoot free throws with the best of them. How about some foul line osmosis?

I remember feeling last season that the team shot much better at the South goal (2nd half) than in the first half. Just seemed like the north goal had a lid on it for us.

To address that "feeling" as it pertains to FT shooting, last season the Shockers were 144/210, 68.57% in the first half of games at CKA and 154/226, 68.14% in the second half of games at CKA.

So much for how the "feeling" affected FT shooting.

[WSUwatcher]

So, im4 -- no need for a bake sale, then? That's just as well; it's a pretty busy time of year for most of us, even those who aren't going to Hawaii.

[WSUwatcher]

Update for the sake of perspective:

San Antonio lost a one point game Wednesday night to Memphis in which the Spurs, who shoot .761 from the line as a team this year, hit just 13-27. Tim Duncan, for whom foul shooting has always been the weakest part of his textbook fundamental game (career .695 FT shooter) was 5-15.

So, as the bumper stickers say, "Stuff happens." Now obviously, WSU can't afford for it to happen consistently, because as we saw at Utah and almost at home vs. Bama, it CAN make a difference. But it's still early enough to be just a slump rather than a consistent problem, and there's still plenty of time to follow kochHead's advice and quit trying to do too much. Just relax and flow, baby -- the free throws will follow.

[wufan]

Our poor FT shooting this year is costing us less than 2 PPG this year (19 FT at a 9% lower rate). Not getting to the line as much is costing us another 3 (4 less attempts at ~ 75%).