Bet you don't know how Lou shoots fouls (without looking at video)

[bags27]

Just happened to watch a video with Lou shooting fouls, and I've never seen this ritual before. Guess what she does before taking the shot.

 

[rvwsleep]

I believe she bends low at the waist and dribbles quickly with one hand grabs the ball with both hands then a couple of quick dribbles with the other hand and then ... Swish.

Interestingly, neither Collier nor Dangerfield dribble the ball before shooting a foul shot. Very unusual.

 

[bags27]

I believe she bends low at the waist and dribbles quickly with one hand grabs the ball with both hands then a couple of quick dribbles with the other hand and then ... Swish.

Interestingly, neither Collier nor Dangerfield dribble the ball before shooting a foul shot. Very unusual.

Yup! always 3 dribbles with the right hand, then 1 with the left, and then a quick shot...every time....

 

[MSGRET]

Last year on SNY they highlighted free throw shooting of the starting 5, and Lou stated that she has done the same dribble since she was a little kid in the gym.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Yup! always 3 dribbles with the right hand, then 1 with the left, and then a quick shot...every time....

This is the same Husky who shifts constantly from foot to foot in interviews. In truth some of us are better shooters when in motion or off of motion and that may be what drives Lou's ritual.

 

[Bigboote]

I believe she bends low at the waist and dribbles quickly with one hand grabs the ball with both hands then a couple of quick dribbles with the other hand and then ... Swish.

Interestingly, neither Collier nor Dangerfield dribble the ball before shooting a foul shot. Very unusual.

Elena Delle Donne doesn't either. She's of the opinion that anything besides the act of shooting the free throw is counter productive. You can't argue with her results.

 

[pvdoggy]

Just happened to watch a video with Lou shooting fouls, and I've never seen this ritual before. Guess what she does before taking the shot.

Just a pre-shot routine like in golf. Many people do it just to focus the mind on the task at hand.

 

[oldude]

Not that I was anywhere close to Lou shooting FT’s, but I was never very good shooting FT’s flat footed. I always shot FT’s as a jump shot, lined up slightly off-center like Hal Greer way back when with the Philadelphia 76ers.

 

[Huskee11]

Lou stated that she has done the same dribble since she was a little kid in the gym.

I am a huge Lou fan, so it pains me to note that she was one for four against Oklahoma from the line.

On one of those misses, she did her usual thing but bounced the ball off of her right foot. Anyone else notice that? As soon as that happened, the golfer in me thought back off and start over. She didn`t, and she missed.

All about the rhythm.

 

[bags27]

and then there's fowl shooting

 

[Trappist]

Maybe someone like BAGS can answer this for me? I remember a rule (because I was once long ago called for violating it!) that while you could bounce the ball at the foul line - Once you stopped, if you bounced the ball again, it was a violation. If the ball left your hand after you had stopped - that was considered a shot! Am I correct and has the rule changed? I sometimes observe players stopping and starting their free-throw ritual.

 

[Teacherdeb]

I had always understood that the shooter should learn to shoot free throws with minimal motion, which allows less room for error. As I recall, Donny Marshall, when at UCONN, had a very clean simple motion and averaged in the 90's percent accuracy, and was the poster child for this theory.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Not that I was anywhere close to Lou shooting FT’s, but I was never very good shooting FT’s flat footed. I always shot FT’s as a jump shot, lined up slightly off-center like Hal Greer way back when with the Philadelphia 76ers.

I was a big Hal Greer fan.

 

[MilfordHusky]

One of our departed and beloved members, Olde Coach, a world-class skiing instructor, wrote a treatise on FT shooting. He was the resident expert. He would have been thrilled that the 2015-16 team led the nation at exactly .800. Unfortunately, we dropped to .779 last year, and 8 missed FTAs against Mississippi State cost us a likely national championship.

I agree about getting into a rhythm and building muscle memory. It is very much like a golf pre-shot routine. I'd rather see Lou have a short pause before her shot, but that's not the way she learned it. Both Crystal and Pheesa are shooting slightly under .700. Maybe they should try a bounce or two.

In terms of good form, I always thought that Michael Jordan was very good. Elena's form is strange, but she limits lower body motion and has phenomenal success. Rick Barry's underhand approach was as good as it gets. Norwalk's Calvin Murphy was outstanding too. He was the Steph Curry of 40 years ago. Murph shot .892 for his career, including .958 in a full season, and once made 78 in a row.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Perhaps it is stating the obvious (I've been told I'm an expert at that), but I believe the repetitive motions free throw shooters develop are ways of settling in and clearing the mind and there is no correct way to approach a free throw. Got an hour: NBA.com - The Art of the Free Throw

Takes you to 13 NBAers pages of explanation and videos. The first, Gilbert Arenas, has an elaborate ritual which he developed for a very practical reason: Gave him a chance to catch his breath!

Ben Gordon: “The whole purpose of your routine is so that you can become the most consistent free throw shooter than you can be,” Gordon explained. “If you focus on the same exact thing that you do every day, it keeps bringing you back to that spot where you’ve got that comfort level. It allows you to concentrate and block everything else out.”

Finally, I give you free throw shooting described by that adored Dookie J J Reddick, and this guy has a real ritual:

 

[MilfordHusky]

Perhaps it is stating the obvious (I've been told I'm an expert at that), but I believe the repetitive motions free throw shooters develop are ways of settling in and clearing the mind and there is no correct way to approach a free throw. Got an hour: NBA.com - The Art of the Free Throw

Takes you to 13 NBAers pages of explanation and videos. The first, Gilbert Arenas, has an elaborate ritual which he developed for a very practical reason: Gave him a chance to catch his breath!

Ben Gordon: “The whole purpose of your routine is so that you can become the most consistent free throw shooter than you can be,” Gordon explained. “If you focus on the same exact thing that you do every day, it keeps bringing you back to that spot where you’ve got that comfort level. It allows you to concentrate and block everything else out.”

Breathing is a key part, especially in a fast-pasted game. Even some golfers take a deep breath in a pre-shot routine.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Breathing is a key part, especially in a fast-pasted game. Even some golfers take a deep breath in a pre-shot routine.

I suspect every long time golfer has had someone try to sabotage them on the tee with a simple question. This question, put to me by my competitive brother, ruined my drive for weeks. The question: "Do you hold your breath on the downswing?"

 

[Huskee11]

I was only an ok basketball player, but I was a pretty good foul shooter. Practiced a lot in the driveway.

What I ended up determining was most important: balance; soft knees and bend them; and relaxed shooting arm, no tension.

Need a routine also.

 

[Zinethar]

I suspect every long time golfer has had someone try to sabotage them on the tee with a simple question. This question, put to me by my competitive brother, ruined my drive for weeks. The question: "Do you hold your breath on the downswing?"

That made me laugh hard. I remember years ago in a bowling league someone asked me if I ever noticed that my left hand went accross my vision during my approach. Next time up I bounced the ball painfully off my ankle and found it hard not to notice that hand ever again!

 

[connie]

This is the same Husky who shifts constantly from foot to foot in interviews. In truth some of us are better shooters when in motion or off of motion and that may be what drives Lou's ritual.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Lou's new nickname is "Sundance."

 

[reno tony]

 

[MilfordHusky]

Some players with the worst form/effectiveness I can recall:

Wilt Chamberlain
Shaquille O'Neal
DeAndre Jordan
Andre Drummond

What do they have in common? Lots of height and huge hands.

 

[ncteacher]

Posted this the other day on the men's site. I laugh every time I see this video. This is THE worst free throw ever! (I happen to currently live really close to ASU)

 

[Ron and Vida]

Yup! always 3 dribbles with the right hand, then 1 with the left, and then a quick shot...every time....

Went to the Memphis game and anticipated her first free throw.
Just as advertised. Never noticed.