Gators Look To Solve Free Throw Mystery vs. Rider in Jacksonville (7 p.m., CSS)
Friday, December 9, 2011 | Men's Basketball
By Chris Harry
GatorZone Contributing Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Neither the coach nor his players could believe it, understand it or put much effort into trying to explain it.
Florida, the 12th-ranked basketball team in the nation actually started Wednesday night's prime-time primo matchup against Arizona by missing 12 of its first 14 free throws (14.2 percent) before rallying for some key makes late to finish 15-for-32 from the line (40.6 percent) in a rugged 78-72 overtime victory at the O'Connell Center.
Gators coach Billy Donovan afterward literally marveled at the ineptitude of the bricksmanship, saying he could walk into the gym and make 2-for-14 left-handed.
He just as soon could have said blindfolded.
To win a game against one of the premier program's in the country despite such a poor showing from the line was fortunate, to say the least. Good for the Gators. They got away with one.
But those alarming numbers from Wednesday were an ugly microcosm of the bigger picture. If Donovan was amazed by that wincing 2-for-14 run against the Wildcats, he's probably sickened by the fact his team is shooting 59.6 percent from the line for the season, a figure that Thursday ranked 321st out of 345 Division-I teams.
“I don't have an answer for it,” senior point guard Erving Walker said. “It's just ridiculous. We have good shooters. We hit 'em in practice. I don't know. I just don't know.”
Somebody better know something -- and soon.
The Gators (6-2) may not face too many pressure-packed situations from the stripe when they face Rider (1-8) Friday night in a quick turn-around game at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena. But UF still has non-conference games versus the likes of Texas A&M, Florida State and Rutgers before launching into the Southeastern Conference season, where such abhorrent lapses from the line could spell disaster.
So Florida will look for big strides, starting tonight, but the bar is pretty low. In fact, the Gators could improve on their free-throw shooting just by being below average (D-work, 60 percent). Not exactly what the coach wants to hear.
“I think we can do a lot better,” Donovan said.
It should come as no surprise that some extra drills aimed at improving UF's free-throw shooting were rolled into Thursday practice schedule -- and likely will remain on the docket for some time. Pressure shooting drills, where the coaches call out five or six players, and for example, Kenny Boynton (65.6 percent) has to make two, or Patric Young has to make two (50 percent), or Will Yegute (35.3 percent) has to make one -- or a collection of five or six players have to hit nine of 12.
“You try to create levels of stress,” Donovan said.
It's tough to duplicate the stress levels of stepping to the line and having to knock down a pair in a packed arena with the game on the line. In fact, it's impossible.
The closest you get in practice at matching the pressure of a player knowing that if he doesn't hit his required number, the entire team is running a suicide -- because of him.
The way the Gators are shooting free throws, that's potentially a lot of line-touching.
“When Will Yeguete goes to the free-throw line and misses four in a row, and now they're on their fifth suicide? I think he feels a little pressure with the guys running,” Donovan said. “You try to simulate as best you can. I don't know that you can simulate the crowd, the noise, what's going on. But you try to do it where there's some kind of penalty where they're all collectively there. And I also think it's a pretty good team bonding thing because they're all rooting for the guy to make the shot because they don't want to run.”
Imagine how many suicides Wednesday's brick fest would have meant.
Better yet, don't.
“It's frustrating, but you have to play through it,” freshman guard Bradley Beal said. “We have to stay confident and just keep shooting them.”
And eventually, making them.
GATORS GAMEBOX
Rider vs. No. 12 Florida
Tip-off: 7 p.m. (Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena, Jacksonville, Fla.)
Records: Rider 1-8, Florida 6-2
TV: CSS (w/Dave Baker and Bill Koss)
Radio: Gator Radio Network (w/Mick Hubert and Craig Brown) -- Click here for affiliates) / Sirius 220/XM 199
Game notes: Florida notes; Rider notes
Need to know: This will mark the first meeting between UF and Rider, which is located in Lawrenceville, N.J., and plays out of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. The Gators, though, are 7-0 all-time against MAAC members and 7-0 at the arena in Jacksonville, including two wins in the 2006 NCAA Tournament (over South Alabama and Wisconsin-Milwaukee) en route to the program's first national championship. ... The game will be a homecoming for Jacksonville native and sophomore C Patric Young, who played and won a state championship at Providence High. Young (11.5 points, 7.6 rebounds per game) is coming off the finest game of his career, a 25-point, 10-rebound masterpiece in Wednesday night's 78-72 overtime victory against Arizona. Young's 6-9, 247-pound frame beat down the smaller Wildcats and could do the same against a Rider starting lineup that uses three guards and goes no taller than 6-7 up front. ... Young can expect some double-teams, which means UF's perimeter players, such as leading scorers Kenny Boynton (17.8 ppg), Bradley Beal (14.8 ppg) and point guard Irving Walker (14.1 ppg, 5.3 apg) should get some kick-outs for looks at open 3-point shots. The trio didn't hit many threes vs. Arizona -- the Gators shot a season-worst 7-for-26 (26.9 percent) -- but overall UF is making 40 percent from distance. ... Backup G Mike Rosario, after a virtual no-show game at Syracuse, bounced back to go 3-for-4 on 3-poiners and score 10 points in 14 minutes vs. Arizona. His defense and concentration need to improve for him to play more. ... The Gators out-rebounded Arizona 47-35, including 22 offensive caroms. UF has out-rebounded all its opponents this season, except for Syracuse. ... Rider has three players averaging in double-figures, led by sophomore F Daniel Stewart (14.9 ppg, 6.9 rpg) and senior G Jeff Jones (13.8 ppg). ... The Broncs threw a scare into nationally ranked Pittsburgh early in the season, leading on the road with five minutes to go before losing. Last year, Rider defeated USC by 20 points on the road. The Broncs beat Mississippi State to open the '09-10 season and defeated both Penn State and Rutgers four seasons ago.
