Great Post, Bob. Little to add here. Let's hope Romar and his assistants have a chance to read it and take notice. Hope is not a good plan to base success on, Lorenzo.

thanks for digging into this, bob - a really thoughtful and interesting analysis.

good data. Just a thought...if Appleby is being shut down, I really would prefer seeing Overton in there, Appleby is really limited, if he is not scoring he is not contributing much. He lacks defensive quickness and had too many TOs Saturday for a senior. I would like to see more of the guys that will improve and grow and be part of the team next year. I know Wallace needs to be in there to keep Brockman out of foul trouble but he an Appleby are not real PAC-10 quality players.

Thanks Bob, very interesting stats. I think Romar is right, if you begin thinking too much about it it may make it worse...on the other hand, can they really shoot FT's any worse than they are?

Hopefully this stat will readily improve as their defense has and their TO margin some.

One other item that seems to have gotten lost in all of the shuffle, you sure need to commend the Huskies for their rebounding on Saturday.

Shooting technique and mental confidence are two keys to successful free throw shooting. There are "experts" who could help. Has coach Romar considered bringing in some expertise to help each player improve his free throw shooting? Wishing and hoping are not going to solve the problem, nor will merely practicing and reinforcing the wrong techniques.

Bob- Disappointing loss at Home for my short handed cats ( short handed because of the injured Jerryd Bayless and the fact that Kevin O'Neill is our coach) but 7th in the Pac-10? I am assumming that this is your take on the team right now, as they stand, rather than how they will finish because only a fool would not put my CATS finishing in the Top 2. Oregon went on a 3 point shooting spree, and we were minus the best Freshman in the Pac-10 and our leading scorer...when he is healthy, look out

This may have an even bigger effect than we've previously seen. Wait until the Huskies have the lead at the end of some hard-fought game and watch the other team catch up by fouling Brockman, Wallace or Dentmon. Dentmon in particular needs to improve as it is usually the guards at the end of the game who get fouled and go to the line.
Also, I agree with bomberboy in that Appleby needs to become a bigger part of the offense if he is going to get minutes. It's one thing to have a bad shooting night when guarded by Weaver, but if he can't drive to the hoop successfully and either get layins or foul shots, he is dragging down the O.

Here is a link to Joe Lunardi's latest bracketology if anyone is interested. What I find the most intiguing/maddening is he only has 5 Pac-10 teams in the field. If that is not EC bias I don't know what is.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/bracketology

Welcome back Meatball! Tough weekend for U of A but I am sure they will bounce back. I really thought Oregon was down for the count, but they went on that 3-point spree and game over.

I disagree with you that they have the ability to recover and take 2nd in the PAC 10. I have been wrong before, but losing at home this early is going to be tough to recover from.

It looks like Lunardi dropped USC and Cal this time around in favor of UConn and Baylor. I can't disagree with dropping USC but all Cal did was lose to UCLA. In his insider-only "Rundown", he shows that he also considered ASU - so that's five in and three on the cusp, not too bad. I don't know what UConn has done lately to get in but generally Lunardi doesn't seem to be biased. He said earlier this year that he thought seven teams would get in, so who knows? Obviously much better evaluations can be made as the season progresses.

I have to totally agree with Bob's PAC 10 breakdown and his analysis of the free throw shooting situation. The Pomeroy website prediction of 3 wins is looking more accurate. Any team with 4 players (Brockman, Wallace, Bryan-Amaning & Morris) that play significant minutes and can only hit 72-145 (.49%) from the free throw line cannot hope to compete in this league. Look for a major hack attack of those players in any close game.

And Meatball, as far as Arizona, I haven't seen anything that would change how Bob set it although I would allow that 4 through 7 could be a complete juggle. It could fall in any order based upon 1 or 2 games. Last year 3 teams finished 11-7 making no difference from 3rd through 5th. 4th through 7th could finish almost the same this year.

Bob-
Good point about three of the Dawgs best free-throw shooters being gone this year. One of the problems, which has been mentioned previously, is that Appleby has a difficult time getting to the basket and drawing fouls. It’s key for a team’s best shooter to find a way to get to the line. I’m an Appleby fan, but too often he becomes a non factor if his outside shot is not there. Hopefully other Pac 10 teams will not be as successful as WSU as taking him out of the game.
On another note, nice to see Quincy playing better but I believe he needs to take more shots per game if the Huskies are going to be a factor in the league. Do you know if Lorenzo is pushing him to shoot more or if he has the green light to take it to the hoop any time sees an opening? I know he’s not Brandon Roy, but we really don’t have someone who can consistently get into the key off the dribble and force the defense to collapse. Still seems like we rely too much on Brockman and Appleby for offense and Quincy is relegated to the perimeter where he’s not as effective.

Bob,

What's the TV situation for Thursday night's game? Will it be live on any of the FSN networks? Thanks.

Romar said something on KJR a couple weeks ago that just floored me with regard to his team's poor free throw shooting ... he said the problem would simply "take care of itself over time." Say what??? It would seem obvious to me that more time in practice needs to be devoted to this. The Cougs were 12 of 14 from the line on Saturday night, and that had to be more than simply luck. I wonder if they've ever considered bringing in "an expert" to school these guys on technique. Wallace is a pathetic 1 of 12 this year, and if you watch him shoot, it's no wonder why ... there is no technique there at all. Someone please show him how it's done. I attend several Kingco 3A girls games each year, and their free throw shooting is MUCH better than the Huskies. There is simply no excuse for this!!!!

I'm making the trek from podunk MT to Big City WA the end of the month and would like to hit the Stanford game on the 31st. Any tips/insight on the best place to find tickets for some good seats?

Last fall I did this and got great football tickets from craigslist and figured I'd try the same thing unless someone had some better suggestions.

Thanks!

P.S. If I can score some tickets behind the bench I'll provide Romar with all the wisdom from this site. You know, tips on how to work on FT's, help him out with the rotation, etc. I'll also be sure to help Q with his game.

Maybe go ahead and inject Appleby with some steroids while you're at it. Sorry, sorry, sorry....that was probably uncalled for.

I am a competitive target shooter, having been to Olympic trials in my younger days and shooting for the junior national team for years....I believe there is some similarity between the two endeavors. Really what they need to work on is relaxation, breathing, and concentration. All the technique in the world won't help if you can't get to a "quiet" starting point. You will notice that good FT shooters take deep breaths, losing up their arms, lower their eyes, etc. These things are the foundation of good target shooting whether it is free-throws, darts, bowling, shooting, archery, etc. My guess is that past Huskies have had better concentration, which, combined with decent coaching, led to success. Bring in a yogi, it would probably do more than an expert on free throw technique.

Bring in Baynes. He already put on a clinic Saturday night. Not only was he 6 for 6 but every single FT was identical to the one before...perfect arc...nothin' but net. Is he always that consistent?

Appleby needs to learn how to fake out his defenders so he can get his shots off more often. He needs to be more aggressive whit the his shooting. The guys seem to put to much responsibility on Brockman so they need to step up the playing and help him.

Appleby is limited in what he can do for the team. He's not Steve Nash. They need to run better screens for him, get QPon involved every game, keep Morris getting good looks and find a point guard who can lead this team. If the other wheels can get rolling, Appleby will get his looks. Unless he plays the Cougs and he'll get the clamp. So what? Go to any of the other 4 guys or keep him on the bench.

Baynes is shooting close to 80% this year, about 15 points above where he was last year. I don't know why the improvement. Perhaps because his physical conditioning is so much better this year. Heartrate is a major factor in target shooting and I assume the same holds true for free throw shooting. He is a pretty emotional guy and most of the time he goes to the line, it is immediately following a major physical confrontation so I am amazed that he is able to calm himself down enough to be that consistent. Especially with the Dawg Pound being what it was that night, it was a pretty impressive performance.

12:14 PM, Jan 06, 2008
Posted by Cougfan

When will I learn to save what I have typed before I hit submit? Stupid Cougar!

Jughead, welcome to the Seattle Times blog. I saw your posts on the SR blog and they were very insightful. I hope the trashtalking is over--well we know one "attourney/real estate mogul" who will probably not stop.

-----------------

Well Cougfan....doesn't sound like you've been very successful in life….or love most likely. Just because you’ve lived a life of sorrow don’t assume we’ve all have as well. That is NO WAY you’ve graduated from WSU much less UW (or any other CC) if can’t spell (it’s ‘attorney’ you knucklehead…not ‘attourney’)

Go back to school….you give the reference in your moniker a bad rap.

Forgot to add....yes, you were right 'Stupid Cougar'.

Good point Jughead. I've said before the Huskies play like rabid dogs eager to please. These guys are thoroughbreds compared to the average Cougar. That doesn’t make them better by evidence of their record and their obvious inability Saturday to ‘stay with the Cougars psychologically’ down the stretch. I agree with you…what the Husky players need to do at the line is first and foremost relax…..relax….and then relax some more…then shoot the free throw.

Hopefully Romar doesn’t figure this out though because personally I think Romar is good for Cougar basketball as is Willinham good for Cougar football. One of a kind those two….they could almost be twins.

I'm sure Romar knows more about free throw shooting than anybody posting on this board. I doubt he is perusing the blog to get tips. I was just making a point that clearing your mind is just as important as bending your knees. Most good pistol shooters I have known have developed the ability to lower their heartrate through bio feedback training.

I would agree that no one posting knows more about free throws than Romar but then again, shooting free throws is certainly not rocket science. It simply makes simple sense to clear your head before you shoot….whether you do so by telling a loved one who has past on you love them….by saying ‘hi’ to your wife, dad, mom, kids, whoever…or simply by closing your eyes and telling yourself you can make it.

This part of the game is a gift….it is the most easy thing a ball player has to do during the game. What that logically tells me is that your mind must be clear at this point. No wondering what could have been….no wondering if it went this way or that way….no wondering if your team wins the game or loses it. If this means you must learn to lower your heart rate so be it….but if anything YOU MUST BE CALM - how you do it is different and unique for each player.

Ah yes, who was it who said that the blog did not have spell check? I am having trouble remembering who that was. Graduated 1989; 1 year varsity letter winner. Other than that...If you want to meet at the Village Pub on Saturday morning, Geno, I will prove all of that to you as long as you bring me your law degree. I will be there for the UCLA game. Looking forward to it, counselor!

Anyone want me to go back and point out all of the grammatical errors or should we just talk basketball. It's the "most easy" thing to do...like free throws.

I guess I don't like question marks...

man... you know geno's bad when he's pissing off his own cougs...

Pattapit:

Actually, you have it wrong a bit. Geno does not piss me off. He throws out trash talk with no substance. I don't know how many times he pointed out the Cougs are ranked #4...are there any Husky fans on this blog that don't know that? He throws out innuendos and rarely if ever backs them up. To wit, that I am not a Cougar. My gut feeling is that he will not show at the Village Pub on Saturday because he will be unable to prove he is a lawyer, hope I spelled that correctly, and will be afraid that I can prove my happy existence as both a Cougar and a family man. I think anyone on here would concur that I don't throw out information that is unproveable. I believe, but I could be wrong and I am not going to try to find it, it was he (Geno) who said WSU practices FT's and that is why they are good. One cannot prove, unless they are at the practices, which team works on FT's more, defense, or anything else. And finally, he says I don't post on the WSU blog...he is right! I read the SR blog , but never find anything much to respond to. However, I do belong to Cougfan.com (which one has to pay for) and post there. However, I do not post under Cougfan because that name is used by the publishers.

I try to use civil discourse when I post. It is a means to interesting banter. I have yet to see anything interesting come from Geno. I really believe most people on this blog would attest to that. Am I wrong?

And I do have to laugh when I am accused of being uneducated when someone posts the likes of this:

"Just because you’ve lived a life of sorrow don’t assume we’ve all have as well. That is NO WAY you’ve graduated from WSU much less UW (or any other CC) if can’t spell (it’s ‘attorney’ you knucklehead…not ‘attourney’)"

This board is polluted by Cougars. It's no longer a Husky blog.

Can we please keep the comments to the topic at hand, which is free throws? And, Romar obviously does NOT know more about this than all the folks on this blog. If he did, he wouldn't say such ridiculous things on the radio as "the problem will take care of itself over time." Ah, no Lorenzo, it most certainly will not. When Artem Wallace goes 1-12 thus far, something is very, very wrong. I sit right under the hoop for every game, and the guy pretty much just throws it up there and hopes for the best. He has one of the worst "styles" I've ever seen. If that doesn't scream for some coaching (either within or outside the current staff), I don't know what does. And thanks very much, JugHead, for the insightful comments on target shooting, relaxation, etc. Very interesting and dead-on correct.

I for one played basketball in high school but by no means was good enough to play college ball. With that said, from all I read about the subject of 'free throw shooting' you'd think this was rocket science....IT ISN'T.

Every player has to develop a style that suits him/her. Breathing and relaxation is certainly a large part of it but first and foremost is the developing a style (or process if you prefer) that works for you.

I would agree with those posters that feel each UW player needs to be coached at this but there are some players that don't....coaching free throw shooting will actually be a detriment. The only thing that player might need is coaching from the perspective of helping the player learn to relax or control his/her breathing at the line but the process or style that they must follow is not part of that coaching. This type of coaching will actually do more harm than good and I think THAT is what Romar is referring to when he says ‘the problem will take care of itself’…not that his coaches won’t help or know how to help.

This is all my opinion of course…..what Romar does…what Romar is thinking….what Romar should do is really beyond any here can predict or dictate.

Cougfan......you come across like a small man. It is obvious you lack confidence and self-assuredness. Maybe age will help you - in other words, give it time and some day you too can be successful.

Nice Blog report.
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Something needs to be done, and I am sure it will be will it be enough? Hard to tell. Looks bad with the UCLA game coming up though. Those guys dont foul very much.