March 20, 2006
WALK THE LINE
HALIFAX - It might be the easiest skill to learn in basketball. Stand 15 feet away from the basket and - with no defenders - make a shot. Free throws are the freebies of basketball and yet, as this weekend in Halifax proved, depending on the circumstances, making a free throw can be as difficult as a 25-foot three pointer.
If you want an idea of how excruciating missed free throws can be, look no further than the McMaster Marauders. Smaller and arguably less talented than their first-round opponents, St. FX, Mac played a near-flawless game and led by as many as nine points in the second half. However, Mac missed seven free throws in the last two minutes, including four straight by forward John Obrovac. Those miscues allowed St. FX to sneak into overtime and defeat the Marauders. In Mac's next game, the consolation semi-final, Saskatchewan's Andrew Spagrud also missed four free throws in the final two minutes, allowing the Marauders to hit a buzzer-beating shot for the win.
Overall for the tournament, the Marauders shot 57 per cent from the line (including making only eight of 23 attempts against the X-men), down from their 70 per cent average achieved during the regular season.
"It's a tough place to shoot," Mac point guard Justin Gunter said of the Halifax Metro Centre. "In an arena, there's nothing behind the rim so you have no real depth perception. Plus, having 7000 people screaming at the top of their lungs doesn't help. But there's still no excuse, you've got to make throws in big games."
On the other end of the spectrum lie the Carleton Ravens. The four-time national champions were atop the OUA in free throw percentage this season, converting 78 per cent of their attempts. In the nationals, as is their custom, they took it up another notch, as 82 per cent of their shots found their way through the rim heading into the final game. Despite a couple of late misses in their 73-67 win over top-ranked Victoria Sunday, the clutch Ravens sunk 14 of 17 in the championship, while Victoria shot just 62 per cent, hitting 18 of 29. Those numbers were instrumental in Carleton winning a fourth straight banner.
Ravens assistant coach Rob Smart, a former player at Carleton said there's no specific reason why his team has always been able to take care of business at the line.
"There's nothing fancy to it, guys have taken thousands of free throws by the time they get here," Smart said, "but it's been a big part of our team, our guys always seem to step up and make their shots."
Smart also said there's no cure-all for a player or team that struggles at the most inopportune times at the line.
"There's no one thing that causes you to miss, or else we all would have solved it by now," he said. "Everyone's got their own demons to purge at the line. I've missed some key ones too but it just comes down to the individual stepping up."
And just as free throws in practice are different from those in game situations, standing at the line with the game in doubt presents a far different palette of emotions than shooting in the first half. McMaster shot 81 per cent from the line in the first half of its three games, while converting only 48 per cent in the second half (including a 7-for-21 performance in the second half and overtime against St. FX).
"It's the most helpless feeling as a coach to watch your team miss free throws because there's literally nothing you can do," Mac assistant coach Amos Connolly said.
For Obrovac, who was playing in his final games as a Marauder this weekend, he said there's no way to sugar coat what happened on Friday.
"I've had a lot of people come up and tell me it's not a big deal, or that I redeemed myself by the way I played in the next two games," Obrovac said, "but I don't buy any of it. I know I screwed up."
"It's never happened to me before, going cold like that. I could make excuses, say that I was hurt or tired or whatever," Obrovac continued, "but at the end of the day, those are easy shots that you have to make."
(Source: Chris Black, Special to the OUA.)
(Photo: McMaster's Adam Steiner sets up for a free throw earlier in the season. Big makes and costly misses from the stripe had a huge impact on the 2006 Final 10 Tournament this past week. File photo by Cameron Dunlop.)
If you want an idea of how excruciating missed free throws can be, look no further than the McMaster Marauders. Smaller and arguably less talented than their first-round opponents, St. FX, Mac played a near-flawless game and led by as many as nine points in the second half. However, Mac missed seven free throws in the last two minutes, including four straight by forward John Obrovac. Those miscues allowed St. FX to sneak into overtime and defeat the Marauders. In Mac's next game, the consolation semi-final, Saskatchewan's Andrew Spagrud also missed four free throws in the final two minutes, allowing the Marauders to hit a buzzer-beating shot for the win.
Overall for the tournament, the Marauders shot 57 per cent from the line (including making only eight of 23 attempts against the X-men), down from their 70 per cent average achieved during the regular season.
"It's a tough place to shoot," Mac point guard Justin Gunter said of the Halifax Metro Centre. "In an arena, there's nothing behind the rim so you have no real depth perception. Plus, having 7000 people screaming at the top of their lungs doesn't help. But there's still no excuse, you've got to make throws in big games."
On the other end of the spectrum lie the Carleton Ravens. The four-time national champions were atop the OUA in free throw percentage this season, converting 78 per cent of their attempts. In the nationals, as is their custom, they took it up another notch, as 82 per cent of their shots found their way through the rim heading into the final game. Despite a couple of late misses in their 73-67 win over top-ranked Victoria Sunday, the clutch Ravens sunk 14 of 17 in the championship, while Victoria shot just 62 per cent, hitting 18 of 29. Those numbers were instrumental in Carleton winning a fourth straight banner.
Ravens assistant coach Rob Smart, a former player at Carleton said there's no specific reason why his team has always been able to take care of business at the line.
"There's nothing fancy to it, guys have taken thousands of free throws by the time they get here," Smart said, "but it's been a big part of our team, our guys always seem to step up and make their shots."
Smart also said there's no cure-all for a player or team that struggles at the most inopportune times at the line.
"There's no one thing that causes you to miss, or else we all would have solved it by now," he said. "Everyone's got their own demons to purge at the line. I've missed some key ones too but it just comes down to the individual stepping up."
And just as free throws in practice are different from those in game situations, standing at the line with the game in doubt presents a far different palette of emotions than shooting in the first half. McMaster shot 81 per cent from the line in the first half of its three games, while converting only 48 per cent in the second half (including a 7-for-21 performance in the second half and overtime against St. FX).
"It's the most helpless feeling as a coach to watch your team miss free throws because there's literally nothing you can do," Mac assistant coach Amos Connolly said.
For Obrovac, who was playing in his final games as a Marauder this weekend, he said there's no way to sugar coat what happened on Friday.
"I've had a lot of people come up and tell me it's not a big deal, or that I redeemed myself by the way I played in the next two games," Obrovac said, "but I don't buy any of it. I know I screwed up."
"It's never happened to me before, going cold like that. I could make excuses, say that I was hurt or tired or whatever," Obrovac continued, "but at the end of the day, those are easy shots that you have to make."
(Source: Chris Black, Special to the OUA.)
(Photo: McMaster's Adam Steiner sets up for a free throw earlier in the season. Big makes and costly misses from the stripe had a huge impact on the 2006 Final 10 Tournament this past week. File photo by Cameron Dunlop.)
