underhand free throws

Yesterday, I watched my favorite basketball team, the Golden State Warriors, play the Chicago Bulls. I don't mention much basketball in this blog, but I'd really like to see the comeback of shooting free throws underhanded.

One of the all-time great players in Warriors history is Rick Barry. Besides being a great scorer, he was also a free-throw making machine. And he shot his free throws in the underhand style. Even back then, it took some getting used to - admittedly, it didn't look cool. What was cool however was the percentage of free throws that he made. After all, what's more important? Looking cool or helping your team score points and win games?

The particular player I have in mind with today's entry about free throws is Andris Biedrins. Yesterday, he played like Warrior fans have come to expect and helped the team to victory. But his free throws were absolutely atrocious! As in almost nonexistent as far as making them. Embarrassing... not cool. Even in the post-game news conference, Coach Don Nelson talked about Andris' free throws. And he mentioned how Rick Barry was brought in one year to work with Andris, showing him how to shoot underhanded, but for some reason, it didn't get anywhere. So in yesterday's game, we were left with line drive free throws that clanged off the front of the rim.

Let's see: Andris doesn't have to worry about height (unless he's too tall, if there is such a thing as an optimum height for making free throws); he's certainly strong enough; his hands are big enough to grip the ball... no, I think he needs to change his technique, and I think that technique should be underhand.

Is he too shy?

Because starting to shoot free throws underhanded will draw a lot of attention. For awhile, he'd be the talk of the NBA. But if it improves his free throw percentage, why not give it a try? Why wouldn't any basketball player give it a try? Especially professionals? Aren't they being paid exorbitant amounts of money to help their teams win games? Isn't helping their team win the ultimate in... cool?

Even shooting free throws myself, I played around shooting underhand. Now it's not simply a matter of cupping the ball in both hands and swinging back and forth under one's legs until finally letting go. As I recall, Rick Barry would relax himself at the foul line, bend down and dribble the ball quickly with both hands, stand up and take a deep breath then exhale, and shoot the ball underhanded applying a pronounced back spin. At my height and strength level, was I able to make it work consistently? Well, no... but the few times I was able to get off a good shot - it all made sense. Basketball hoops are oriented vertically with diameters almost twice that of a basketball. Shooting underhand maximizes a vertical trajectory and makes the hoop look bigger than shooting the ball the typical overhead style. But what really stood out was the backspin. When the ball did touch the rim, the backspin of the ball practically grabbed the rim, and kept the ball inside the basket. A shooter's roll.

I don't know him, but I don't think Andris is too shy. I think he could even relish all of the attention if he started shooting free throws underhand. I'm sure Rick Barry would be more than happy to again offer private shooting lessons - and it's easy to imagine that Andris could get his percentage upwards of 75-80%. Maybe higher. So instead of getting, as one of yesterday's announcers so aptly put it, a turnover by fouling Andris, an opponent would be giving up points. And it'd soon get around the league: "Don't foul Biedrins!"