CJ Fredrick is 12 of 14 from the foul line this season. (Vicky Graff Photo)
Kentucky is one of six Southeastern Conference teams in the Associated Press Top 25, but Tennessee (No. 7), Alabama (No. 8) and Arkansas (No. 9) are ranked above the Wildcats. Arkansas, LSU, Mississippi State and Missouri are each off to an 11-1 starts, with the Tigers the lone team among the three not ranked.
While defense is a priority for UK coach John Calipari, he seeks improvement from the free-throw line. As a team, Kentucky is shooting 66 percent from the charity stripe. CJ Fredrick and Chris Livingston are the top two and are a combined 27-for-32 for the season, while the rest of the team is 106-for-168 on the season. Fredrick has missed just two free throws on 14 attempts.
“The free-throw shooting is driving me crazy because we should be one of the best in the country,” Calipari said. “We’re missing front-end one-on-ones, like badly, like demoralizing. We should be one of the best free-throw shooting teams.”
The problem, Calipari said, is a lack of overall mental toughness.
“In the Power Five Gonzaga games, we’re shooting 58 percent from the foul line — 58 percent,” he said. “You can’t win games shooting 58 percent. We’re taking four more threes than all those teams per game. Four more. So you’re doing some things different, but making free throws is how you advance. We’ve got to do it. We haven’t been doing it.”
As a solution, Calipari has been using different schemes in practice to emphasize the importance of free-throw shooting.
“(We’re) making them shoot one-on-ones and make 10 in a row and make 100 before (they) leave the gym,” he said. “I really believe the more attention you bring to it, the worse it gets. I also know it is contagious; when one guy gets up and misses two, the next guy is missing two. We’re one of those teams that hasn’t figured all this stuff out yet.”
* * *
Gametracker: Kentucky at Missouri, 7 p.m., Wednesday. TV/Radio: SECN, UK Radio Network.
4 Responses
Did he say what I thought he said? The more they practice free throw shooting, the worse they get? I didn’t know that was possible or did the NCAA move the foul line out to 25 feet?
Did he also say if one guy misses free throws, they all will miss them…like catching a cold? When guys miss an unguarded 15 foot shot it is usually due to being tired, hurt, or distracted. Or it could be that nobody ever got big NIL money by making a freethrow?
The problem with Calipari teams losing important games at the line pre-dates NIL. Track his history. It is a characteristic of his teams. Is it the players he recruits? Is it the message he sends to the players about the importance of free throw shooting?
Regardless of the explanation, the characteristic is very tangible.
Does he want us to believe that he now cares about free throw shooting?
That is more of his BS
I think Cal is walking a fine with just absolutely loosing this team.
I think he lost this team in October. This team by the exhibition games was a shadow of what it was in August in the Bahamas.