Great scorers are usually very good foul shooters. Imagine how many points Shaq would’ve scored throughout his career and his prime if he were an able foul shooter. Kobe and Carmelo, in today’s game, are players that know that they can get 10 plus points a night shooting foul shots but to do that you need to be good at getting to the basket.

What sets Carmelo apart from other offensive threats is his ability to shoot the ball whether off a pass or a dribble or a screen. He’s amazing so defenses need to focus on him and keep him from getting the ball. Once he gets the ball the defense needs to crowd him so he can’t get off an uncontested shot. The next part is the secret to Carmelo getting so many foul shots…he takes a direct path to the basket.

When I mention a direct path to the basket understand that I’m talking about a straight line. When you are in math class you’ll learn over and over about the shortest distance between two points being a straight line. Now you can say that math helped you in basketball because that’s a key. The shortest distance to the basket and where you are with the ball is a straight line and that’s what Carmelo does so well. I’ll explain further.

Defensive players are taught and trained to knock the offensive player off his path. It’s common sense that if the offense is slowed down then they will have to work harder and try harder to get where they want to go. When Carmelo drives to the hoop and is bumped or knocked off course he simply keeps going straight and it leads to a large amount of fouls called on the defense. For example, how many times have you heard a defensive coach yell to beat a man to the spot? We’ve all heard it. The defense is coached to knock a man off path and then beat him to where he wants to go. That’s only possible because the defense now has the best angle because the offense isn’t going in a straight line. If the offense goes in a direct line once they have even half a body/step on the defense then it is over. Either help needs to arrive or a foul will be committed.

To truly understand this watch Carmelo Anthony on drives to the hoop to really see this in action. It’s no wonder he shoots so many foul shots.

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When I was growing up I was very much a ball hog and it still bothers me today. I wasn’t a very well rounded player but I could shoot and score the ball pretty easily. One of the things I was very good at was getting my man in foul trouble and getting to the foul line. As I got older and became a point guard my mentality as a player changed but the ability to get to the foul line never left me. Here’s a couple points that can be used immediately to get you to the line more often.

1. Be Multidimensional. If you are a one dimensional player it makes it that much easier to guard you. I could shoot so a man had to guard me close. When he guarded me close I could go by him.

2. Learn to initiate contact. Dwyane Wade is amazing at this. I know he is a pro but when he drives he actually creates the contact with the defensive player. He is able to see when the defender is out of position and take advantage of it. This isn’t saying to jump into a guy all the time. Good players understand positioning and if you are driving and have a player on your hip then he has to try to do something to get in a better spot. Once he makes an aggressive defensive move then go right into him and get the foul call. If you are driving on the defender, stop quickly and pump fake. Once he jumps in the air go right into him and get the foul call. One thing that smaller players are better at than bigger players is avoiding getting their shots blocked. You rarely see Chris Paul get blocked but you always see him at the line. When CP3 drives to the hoop he is great at jumping into the shot blockers chest to take away his momentum and create space for the shot. Scottie Reynolds did it in the Elite 8 to beat Pitt. He drove the length of the court and jumped right into the chest of the defense and it created space for himself to get the shot off. Could they have called a foul? Sure, but no ref is going to call that with 2 seconds left. You can learn a lot watching the little guys when they drive.

3. JUMP STOP: I’ve said this a thousand times but learn to jump stop when you drive to or around the basket. When you jump stop you gain control of your body and you are able to take the ball up strong. Players that take the ball up strong get the benefit when it comes to foul calls. If you drive to the hoop and jump off one leg and flip the ball at the basket you won’t get calls. If you drive, jump stop, collect yourself and go up strong you will get fouled and it will get called.

Try these and let me know how they work out for you.

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I’ve talked many times about the Smart Ball and even promoted it on this youtube video. It’s a great product invented by an excellent foul shooter and one who believes foul shooting is a learned trait that can be mastered.

Recently I was reading through Sports Illustrated and came across an article about the importance of foul shooting and how poor foul shooting cost Memphis a title last year. The Tigers missed 4 foul shots in the last minute to open the door for a miracle Kansas win. Memphis shot a horrible 62% from the line and it cost them dearly.

The reason I mention the article is because the story found it’s way to Eddie Palubinskas and described his ascension into foul shooting lore. I watched Eddie coach as a younger boy and had the chance to go to some of his camps as his techniques were being developed. He taught that the only way to be a good foul shooter is to master the technique of shooting by practicing proper habits.

Here is an excerpt of the article from Sports Illustrated:

“In the space of a second Eddie Palubinskas faced a choice: head for the icy river or take his chances with the bridge abutment. Negotiating the bend of a back road in Utah, where he was coaching high school hoops seven years after an All-SEC career at LSU, Palubinskas felt his car spin out on a patch of black ice. He chose the bridge abutment. The crash essentially shattered the right side of his body, leaving his shooting arm with a compound fracture.

Palubinskas had been a superb free throw shooter in college: 87.5% at LSU in the ’70s. But during rehab he became obsessed with closing what he calls “the imperfect gap,” those seven or eight percentage points between his personal best and perfection. First in his hospital bed, then in a wheelchair stationed beneath the basket, and finally back at the line, he fiddled with such variables as the spread of his fingers on the ball, the orientation of the grain and the alignment of his elbow. He decided that the likeliest “culprit” in any missed free throw is lateral movement of joints or muscles that leads to a deviation from a straight line.

Palubinskas essentially rebuilt his mechanics from scratch, and for the quarter century since — whether horsing around in his driveway in Greenwell Springs, La., or playing in his men’s league — he has made 99 of every 100 he takes. “The ball responds to one message, and that’s the physical force given it,” says Palubinskas. “The ball doesn’t care about psychology. Once you master the mechanics, there is no choking. The game is almost 120 years old, and we’re still operating at a level of mediocrity.”

Palubinskas believes that foul shooting would improve if TV commentators pointed out when a player moves the gun barrel at the end of a shot. (”See, Jim, lateral movement of the elbow!”) Instead it has remained stuck around 68% for a half century. “If you make 18 of 18 and lose by one, that’s a legitimate loss, but others are illegitimate,” he says. “They say defense wins games, but how do you defend a free throw? If you lose by two and miss six free throws, that’s the Number 1 statistic you should attack.”

Among squandered NCAA titles, Houston in 1983 (missed nine, lost by two), Syracuse in ‘87 (missed nine, lost by one), Kentucky in ‘97 (missed eight, lost by five) and Kansas in 2003 (missed 18, lost by three) all failed the Eddie P. Test. That 2003 Jayhawks loss was particularly egregious; they trailed Syracuse by 11 at the break and, given multiple chances to catch up, bricked 13 of 17 free throws in the second half.”

I watched Eddie hit foul shot after foul shot after foul shot without hitting rim. He had a solid understanding of the principles involved in making a shot and is a very gifted instructor.

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I was an excellent foul shooter and i can still shoot them pretty well. My record for consecutive made is 178 straight and I’m proud of that because it isn’t easy at all. It always came natural to me because I had some great teachers and always had good shot form. I’ve taught these to a number of people but since foul shooting is something everyone should do well I figured I’d go into my strategy.

1. Rhythm and Routine: Get into a rhythm and routine when shooting foul shots and don’t waiver. I don’t sit there and hold the ball for ten seconds and then go into a quick shot. I get the ball and dribble once, set my feet and shoot. I believe that if I focus on the routine that I forget about the pressure or stress of the shot and it works. You’ve heard it a hundred times, but do the same thing each time you shoot the ball. Get in a rhythm.

2. Clear your mind: This one is overlooked and not really talked about, but clear your mind by getting rid of negative feelings. Take a second once you get the ball to take a deep breath and clear out feelings about being fouled or missing a previous shot or a turnover. Take the breath and put it all behind you. I once heard Michael Jordan talk about how important it was for him to clear his mind before a foul shot because he got fouled hard a lot and had a lot of pressure so he used the foul shot to put everything behind him that had happened already and be done with it. Great strategy.

3. Understand basic shooting principles: A few basics will make all the difference in the world here. If your elbow is straight the ball will travel straight. If you are lined up straight on the foul line then the issue becomes short or long and that’s always the best way to go. Second, point your toe where you want the ball to go. Your feet help align your shoulders so if your feet are pointed straight then it helps the ball stay on a straight course. These sound simple but they must be practiced. Players that are good foul shooters practice foul shots until they are great foul shooters.

I tell players all the time that your feet should point the way you are aiming your shot. So if your feet are pointed away from the hoop then that’s really where your body is trying to aim. This is a key for shooters who want distance on their shot as well if you are a 3 point shooter because when your feet are pointed correctly and when they aren’t you shoot against your body and it limits your range and makes your shot flat. There are times I can play defense on someone and tell if they are going to make a shot or miss it based solely on the position of their elbow and feet when they shoot a ball.

Examples of good foul shooters : Jose Calderon of the Raptors
Examples of what not to do: Tim Duncan…He hits in the 60’s but he violates everything I teach young players about the art of the foul shot. His feet are pointed in, he holds the ball too long and goes right into his shot and it looks rushed. He hasn’t improved over the years either like most players do.

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