he Memphis Tigers lost their No. 1 ranking Saturday night to the Tennessee Volunteers in the most hyped game of the season to date. The Tigers were out-hustled, out-rebounded and missed easy shots. That was the story of the game. But another important short-coming of this Tiger team came to the forefront again as Memphis shot 8-for-17 from the free throw line.
The Tigers entered the game as the nation’s worst free throw shooting team at 58.1%. In big games such as these and those that will follow come March, the Tigers learned a valuable lesson. Unfortunately, the players aren’t learning that lesson from their head coach.
Last week John Calipari was a guest on ESPN’s PTI and was asked how he felt about his team’s poor free throw shooting. Calipari said, “My teams have historically not been that great of free throw shooters. We typically make 58, 62, 59% during the regular season. But in late game situations, we hit them. Against UAB, the last point for us was a free throw. And in the NCAA tournament last year, we shot 72%. If I had a list of 25 aspects of recruits’ games that I find important when recruiting them, free throw shooting would be 26th.”
John Calipari uttered perhaps the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard a basketball coach say. I’ve never been a head basketball coach but if I were, the last thing I would say is how unimportant free throw shooting is. You have to be a borderline idiot to tell your team that missing free throws at nearly a 50% clip is OK.
Calipari has done a tremendous job in his eight seasons with the Tigers. He’s turned around the program when it had sunk to its lowest point prior to his arrival. Building the team into a consistent winner and leading Memphis to consecutive elite eight appearances, the Tigers have returned to national prominence.
But the message he’s sending his players is wrong. Regardless of how much talent is on the roster, players must be made to understand that making free throws is paramount in close games. Saturday night against the Vols, had the Tigers shot a respectable 70% from the charity stripe, the game would have been tied at 66 when regulation ended.
Contrary to the historical data he referred to during his interview, Calipari made it sound like free throw shooting is an afterthought, unless it was an important game. Isn’t every game important?
After losing to Tennessee, Calipari spoke of being out-scrapped and out-played throughout the game. He spoke about the rebounding disparity, with the Vols holding a 50-34 advantage on the boards. He spoke about a lot of reasons why the Tigers lost, but not once did he mention poor free throw shooting.
I can’t help but believe Calipari knows his team could have won the game, despite the generally poor play had they made just five more free throws. Given that 13-for-17 from the line would have won the game, it’s not unreasonable to think the Tigers have bought into their coaches’ philosophy, and that isn’t a good thing.
During a recent interview with Dan Wolken of the Commercial Appeal, Tigers forward Chris Douglas-Roberts said, “Free throws are all mental, it’s not any mechanics; it’s all mental.”
Sorry Chris, but you’re wrong. Free throw shooting is mental, but the mechanics are just as important, if not more so. The idea is to find a comfortable way to shoot the ball, and do it repetitively. If your way isn’t working, you need to seek the advice of a coach for an alternative.
As of now, virtually every player on the Tigers roster needs an alternative. It’s too bad the help they need won’t come from John Calipari, since he doesn’t think free throwing shooting is that important.
The Tigers had better figure out their free throw shooting woes quickly. Memphis will have to improve dramatically if they have any hope of winning a national championship. With so many NCAA tournament games being closely contested, the ability to make free throws is the difference between the teams that advance, and those that go home.
Don’t be surprised to see a Tiger player clank one off the back rim in March, sending the Tigers home and ending what could have been a memorable season. Unless Calipari and his staff change their tunes and emphasize the importance of free throw shooting, the end result will have been their own fault.
