Green, who doubles as director of player development, gets a baseline by either having them shoot 50 to see how many they make (and work from there) or shoot until they make 50 (and work from that).Īssistant coach John Andrzejek calls his routine "Free Throw Rehab." Players have to make 25, but along the way (try to follow along) must hit five in a row, nine of 10, two swishes and not miss two straight. It's impossible to replicate game-like free-throw pressure in practice, so coaches have to get creative. Center Micah Handlogten (25.0 percent) and forwards Tyrese Samuel (51.4), Alex Condon (64.7) and Tommy Haugh (42.1) – a combined 82 of 156 on the season (52.6 percent) – have been in the gym before and after practice and been put through an array of free-throw shooting drills of late. That's not to say the Gators won't strive (or even succeed) to improve. "It's obviously a shortcoming for us," UF coach Todd Golden said after the UK defeat.Īnd probably will be over the balance of the season. But let the record show the team spent plenty of time at the mock line over the previous several months on the way to this point in the season. In case anyone was wondering, yes, Florida (10-4, 0-1) has put in some extra time shooting free throws the last couple days in preparation for Wednesday night's road league opener at Ole Miss (13-1, 0-1). They're 321 st (out of 362 Division I teams) nationally. UF went 18-for-29 in Saturday's 87-85 home loss to sixth-ranked Kentucky and at 65.1 percent the Gators now rest at the bottom of the Southeastern Conference in free-throw shooting by almost five percentage points. Yes, it's topical this week for the Gators, but for the wrong reasons. "For some, it's just not that simple."Īh, the free-throw line. "Step up and make 'em, right?" said Humphrey, now the color analyst on UF radio broadcasts. But free throws? He found himself thinking too much. For Humphrey, pulling up on a catch-and-shoot from the arc was second nature and instantaneous. ![]() ![]() To be fair, Humphrey didn't visit the line too often – just 70 times during his career and a mere 13 attempts during UF's second of those back-to-backs – but he also recalls feeling differently eyeing free throws vs. At 60 percent, he also was the worst free-throw shooter among that incomparable 2006 NCAA championship starting five. 12 for the Gators at the time was sharp-shooting guard Lee Humphrey, one of the greatest and clutchest 3-point snipers in college basketball history. "We were like, 'Yes! Please!" Green said, recounting those times. Green (and then-Coach Billy Donovan) were thinking the same thing, but for a different reason. – Taurean Green remembers back in his point guard days hearing coaches and players on the opposing benches screaming at their guys on the floor, as the Florida Gators were trying to close out late-game situations.
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