Underhand free throws
 

I was very pleased with play of UD last night. Good to see some flashes of brilliance.

The highlight for me however was watching Alexander from Tennessee Tech shoot free throws underhanded. Underhand free throws are like watching knuckleballers in baseball. They are so rare and exotic. Fun to watch.

There seems to be only about one player a year in D1 who still tries it. Of course Rick Barry pushes it and his sons shot that way.

Alexander seemed very unsure. He moved around a lot and his body language showed he was uncomfortable. He missed a lot of attempts. When he shot properly, stayed still spun the ball, he was golden. When he did not grip it right and slid when he shot, he missed. I think most of his misses were due to nerves and confidence. He is not comfortable with the technique yet. Not sure how long he has been doing it.

Late in the game, I was actually hoping he would be fouled so I could see him try it again. The game was not in doubt.

When I was younger I tried the underhand FT, but I never used the Barry technique and quickly gave up. I can see where the Barry technique is actually very, very good.

Barry said most players should try it, but ego gets in their ways. Golfers will do anything to sink a putt and don't care how silly they look.

Basketball is still a game and entertainment.

I'm pretty sure that Gary Rogenburk shot underhand.

I always thought of free throws as something that can be worked on and players can get better with practice. My thought is a poor free throw shooter tries underhanded as a last resort. They think it will solve everything. They try a few and underhanded and think, "Well, I missed 7 out of ten, so no point in trying them anymore." Much like someone who picks up a guitar and puts it in the basement after a week because they haven't mastered it yet.

Actually, in the 50's and 60's, a good number of players used the underhand technique. It was very, very common. In fact, as pointed out above, Gary Roggenburk used that method. Numerous other Flyers did as well. If I am not mistaken, I think Bucky Bockhorn and his brothers used that method. During that era, perhaps 30 to 40 percent of players used that technique. The two most famous players to use it were Rich Barry and Will Chamberlain. I think Bill Russel and Bob Cousy of the Celtics used that technique.

Wilt used it the night he scored 100 points and went 28/32 from the line. He only used this technique for part or all of that 1961-62 season (his 3rd year) and set a career in FT% at .613. For his career he was just a over 50%..

Dude was not lofting the underhand shot enough. They were the extremely rare line drive underhand FTs.

I grew up watching the Celtics in the ‘50s and ‘60s and while Barry and Wilt shot FT underhanded neither Cousy nor Russell did
Posted via Mobile Device

Because Russia is underhanded?