Whether a basketball coach is deep in analytics or as a statistician, he is the one to know which of his players can – and cannot – shoot free throws. This is the most basic of all basketball statistics, which may be the reason for its standing as a public obsession.
Joe Golding knew what the numbers said. His power forward, Joe Pleasant, was fouled by a point in his first round NCAA tournament game with 1.2 seconds remaining and Abilene Christian trailing. Pleasant had two free throws. One, if converted, would tie the game. Two will provide an almost insurmountable leadership. He was close to a 50/50 offer to recall each one.
“I thought they were going in. I suspected they were going in,” Golding News reported Sunday. “The child works hard. He deserves good things. He is a good free throw shooter. He really is. He has not shot Free Throw well this year, but he works on them all the time. And I knew they were going inside.
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“Good things happen to good people. This was part of the story. Wrote the story Who was going to make those free throws. I had no doubt.”
Golding was right, of course. Pleasant’s two free throws slowly settled under the net, and Abilene Christian, the No. 14 seed in the East Region, earned a 53-52 victory over No. 3 seed Texas, who claimed seven days earlier in the Big 12 tournament. Title.
“My coach, he said I was going to make two free throws, we would get a stop at the end,” Golding told reporters during the zoom call. “You work for free all the time. This is no different, I am shooting them in the gym by myself or just me. I just had to imagine them going inside.
What could be even more remarkable than winning Abilene, and this is saying something, is the Wildcats have not played exceptionally well, at least on offense. He shot 29.9 percent from the field. They were 3 of 18 on 3-pointers. No player scored more than 11 points. The Wildcats scored just 10 points in the final eight minutes of the game.
How did this happen? For one, Abilene placed her hand on the ball more often. The Wildcats forced 23 turnovers. They beat the Longhorns 36–31. That’s right: Texas took 6-11 Kai Jones, 6-10 Jericho Sims, 6-9 Greg Brown and 6-9 Royce Ham in a game against the Southland Conference champions and hit their tails on the boards. The Wildcats did not make many of their shots, but they scored 27 more tries than UT.
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“We showed tremendous heart tonight. A ton of adversity, overnight, ”Golding said. “Did not get the ball to go to the basket. Could not find a way to score. But the bus continued to guard it, and found a way to get to the aggressive glass. I think 18 aggressive rebellions for his five people. When you’re not making a shot and can’t find anything to go on, you’ve found a different way to win. “
Pleasant, who finished with 11 points and eight rebounds, is a 6-8 junior from Overland Park, Kan. Her father, Anthony, was an NFL defensive end for 14 seasons and won two Super Bowl rings with the Patriots. Joe is built a bit like a pro football player, and he shoots free throws, like one. Well, most of the time.
Free throw percentage is a tricky stat in basketball, generally and often considered more than capricious. The difference between Division I basketball and the best foul shooting team in the 200th, is an average of 2.4 points per game. Is this enough? This is not a bit, but it is not a single missed blockout, blown defensive assignment, more consequential than an unnecessary turnover.
And it is less reliable than many believe.
Case in point: When Connecticut was fighting to recover from a five-point deficit against Maryland with 2:53 remaining on Saturday, star guard James Bookeen went into the line for one each. He lost. With seven points and a 2:29 loss, he went back in line for another front end. And then missed. With the game still recoverable inside the final minute, Terps are now up by eight, with Bokknight earning another free throw opportunity and going 1 for 2. In a 63–54 loss, he was 2 of 6.
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And then pleasant. He missed 35 of his 85 free throws during the 2020–21 regular season, leaving him with .588 percent. He is the most popular of the shooters out of eight active players averaging double-figure minutes for the Wildcats. it did not matter. Those shots were going to the basket.
“I would say that it was a mental thing. I think I am starting to get myself back. Imagine the free throws going on the bus, ”said SN. “I’m really trying to focus on my breath, calming myself down, I realize that I work so much on it that it’s no different for me in the gym versus the game.”
Abilene Christian has been a Division I program since 2013–14. It is a varsity of 5,300 students with a former NCAA tournament appearance, which was earned as Southland champions in 2019. Two years ago the Wildcats faced a few more prominent Wildcats, a group representing Kentucky, and Pleasant said attendance was decided differently.
“I felt like two years ago, we were happy to be there. It was a first time experience. “This team, we are ready to take on another challenge: not only to be here, but to compete and try to get some wins here.”
Abilene became the No. 14 seed in the second day to win the first-round NCAA game and the fifth team ranked 12th or worse to advance to the tournament. What was notable: The Wildcats didn’t need a miracle to do it. As long as you don’t count those free throws. Which you probably should do.
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