Free throw guru has his eye on Memphis

University of Memphis basketball coach John Calipari probably wouldn't know Ed Palubinskas if he stood next to him on the free-throw line.

But Palubinskas, documented as one of the world's best shooting teachers, knows all about Calipari.

He knows that Calipari's team, the No. 1 seed in the South Regional, is heading into the NCAA tournament as the worst free-throw shooting squad in the field. He knows the Tigers, despite shooting 71.7percent in last week's Conference USA tournament, are still under 60 percent at 59.6, ranking 326th out of 328 Division 1 teams.

"Calipari kind of jokes that his team makes free throws when it counts," said Palubinskas, one of the greatest players in Australian history who has devoted most of his 50-plus years to studying and developing the perfect shooting stroke.

"He's got a great team, but how much better would they be if they shot better than 59 percent?. . . "

Calipari said he thinks his team is being picked on for its one obvious statistical flaw: "They say, 'They are so bad shooting free throws, they can't win games.' We've been the same the last three years. What is our record the last three years?"

The record is a jaw-dropping 99-9, with two consecutives losses in regional finals. Last year, the Tigers shot 62.1 percent from the line for the year, 71.5 percent in the NCAA tournament.

Since 1985 when the NCAA expanded its postseason tournament to 64 teams, only one team has shot less than 65 percent and won the national championship (Connecticut in 2004).

It's Calipari's theory that free-throw percentages don't matter if you're taking and making more free throws than your opponent.

"Our percentage may not be great, but we're still making more than they make," Calipari said.

Well? Of the eight teams getting a No. 1 or No. 2 seed in the NCAA tourney, Memphis and North Carolina have attempted the most free throws (811), but Memphis is sixth in free throws made (483).

Also, Calipari constantly says his team "makes free throws in the final four minutes when we need them."

But for the season, Memphis is 101-of-170 (59.4 percent) from the line in the last five minutes of games.

For old-school basketball fans, it's particularly aggravating to watch guards -- supposedly the best shooters on the court -- miss as many free throws as centers.

Since college basketball added the three-point shot in the 1986-87 season, there seems to be an increasingly casual acceptance of missing two out of every five free throws. After all, one three-pointer can make up the difference.

From what former Vanderbilt star Barry Booker has seen in his travels as a TV analyst for Southeastern Conference telecasts, free throws are treated lightly by players in practice.

"I see a lot of practices the day before a game where kids are at the foul line and coaches say, 'Let's shoot 10,'" Booker said. "The kids just catch it and shoot it. It's not anything approaching the routine they have during the game."

"Coaches will have players shoot a few free throws at the end of practice, rather than get a few guys used to shooting in game-type situations," said Price, who tutors college and NBA players in the offseason back home in Norman, Okla.

Former Missouri State guard Blake Ahearn, the NCAA's career free-throw percentage leader (94.5 percent) who made 435 of 460 through last season, started his trek toward perfection in the fourth grade. He began recording his shooting workouts (makes and misses) and still does so in a little black book. Ahearn's theory is that if you write down your numbers and see they are dropping, it forces you to fix the problem.

Ego is a huge reason many players never bother to improve free-throw percentage, whether it's trying something different or acknowledging there's a problem.

But as Florida coach Billy Donovan noted about his former player, Joakim Noah, when pride and ego are put aside, the results are enormously satisfying. Noah went from a 57.7 percent free-throw shooter as a freshman to 73.3 percent as a sophomore when the Gators won their first of back-to-back national championships in 2005-06.

"There are certain guys who get to a certain point, and when it gets really uncomfortable and they think it's not that big of a deal," Donovan said. "Then, there are guys who go beyond their means and expectations, and they realize they had something inside them that took them further. Those are the guys that improve the most."

"I became much more scientific in my analysis," said Palubinskas. "Now, I am as scientifically close to perfect as possible, and this is something I have to share.

"I'd love to help Calipari. It's unbelievable for Memphis to shoot free throws that badly and have that many wins. If it doesn't get fixed, they're not going to win the national championship."

Comparing this year's No. 1 and No. 2 seeds at the free-throw line (stats are before NCAA tournament):

1. North Carolina 76.1%

2. UCLA 73.1

4. Duke 69.5

5. Texas 68.9

6. Georgetown 66.5

7. Tennessee 65.6