Why Big Men Can’t Hit Free Throws
Why can’t big guys hit from the stripe? It seems like a simple question, but after Wilt Chamberlain (51.1%), Shaq (52.7%), Chris Dudley (45.8%) and Ben Wallace (41.8%) struggled for years, it seems to have gone unanswered.
Attempting to answer the age-old question, former college basketball player John Fontanella, who teaches physics at the U.S. Naval Academy, wrote “The Physics of Basketball,” explaining why tall guys have trouble.
In his book, Fontanella writes that the “window” for the ball to get nothing but net becomes slightly smaller as the height of release increases. However, he goes on to write that with some fine-tuning, such as adjusting the launch angle to lower values, they should be able to achieve an even higher percentage.
So why don’t they? Well, it’s the coach’s fault.
“This gives an extra reason that Wilt and Shaq are poor free-throw shooters,” Fontanella wrote in an e-mail. “If they were trained by people of average height, they were probably trained incorrectly. They were probably taught to shoot like a shorter person and that’s wrong. A big man needs to shoot the ball in a slightly different way in order to take advantage of the physics.”
So basically for Shaq and every other seven-footer (sorry Ben), it’s a vicious cycle. If centers have long been poor free throw shooters, how are they to find one to teach them?
Source: Kansas City Star
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February 2nd, 2009 at 2:23 pm
Ian says:
bs they cant hit cuz they suck and wont practice it why can dirk and bosh make them?? easy practice
February 2nd, 2009 at 2:26 pm
Bron42 aka Haters drink my bath water says:
dirk and bosh are natural shooters and aren’t legit big men lol…thats like sayig why do some big men have handles and some can’t walk and chew gum….although practice does play a big part. but if it was that easy, everyone would be a good shooter.
February 2nd, 2009 at 2:26 pm
JCARR says:
WHat about Yao Ming? Or even Shawn Bradley?
Its the mental approach you take towards free throws!
February 2nd, 2009 at 2:27 pm
Drink the Haterade (KB24 Chip 09) says:
Bynum does OK, but then again he has Kareem the best big man teaching him
February 2nd, 2009 at 2:28 pm
Anthony says:
Uhh..maybe they can’t hit because the free throw line is not in their range? And who is Chris Dudley?
February 2nd, 2009 at 2:41 pm
Bron42 aka Haters drink my bath water says:
Jcarr, again, ur naming softies…most big guys who can’t shoot fts are big muscle guys who have trouble guaging how much strength to put on the ball. Yao would fall in the dirk areas as hes a finesse guy/shooter more than he is a dominant post guys ala shaq,dwight, wilt etc..(sorry ben)..you can tell just by hand position on the ball, which guys are comfortable shooters. shaq palms it meanwhile dirk shots it like a normal jumpshot with that funky knee bend
February 2nd, 2009 at 2:49 pm
liukz says:
Ewing,Dream,Robinson were all good FT shooters
February 2nd, 2009 at 2:52 pm
shake&bake says:
I disagree with the article. If the big guys got arc on their shot, then they’d have the same “window” to hit all net. I won’t buy that height is the main factor because that would mean, the shorter you are, the better free throw shooter you should be.
February 2nd, 2009 at 2:58 pm
fiyaman says:
he’s right i always said that ..the big men dont have an arc on their shot ,its more line drive because they are almost right there with the rim..
Havent yall ever dunk on an elementary rim or a rim thats like 8 feet or less. well if u have then u also must have shot the bal and bet ur shot wasnt as good as on a 10ft rim.. and thats because when the rim is higher u need to but more arch which makes it more accurate.. when u arch ur shot even if it hits the rim it still as a chance of going in.. when u line drive its in or out not in-between
and by the way all the big men that shoot good ALL have an arch on their shot I can remember Ewing leaving his hand in the air in postion aft the follow through..u cant do that with line drive shots..
February 2nd, 2009 at 3:04 pm
John Kox says:
What about the obvious fact that these big guys play close to the basket so they are never shooters to begin with. Big men who developed the midrange shot are good free throw shooters, from Karl Malone to Yao Ming to friggin’ Brian Scalabrine. Check the other factors before claiming it’s physics.
February 2nd, 2009 at 3:07 pm
Raj S says:
This article makes extreme generalizations and lacks logic. It sucks.
February 2nd, 2009 at 3:08 pm
fiyaman says:
well having a good shot still comes into physics.. u have to have an arc on ur shot to be consistent.. and if u practice shooting with an arc all the time then even ur free throws gonna have an arc..
I say yes OF COURSE it takes practice and determine nation now one was born shooting free throws.. but I think everyone is trying to point to it being a FREE THROW issue and its NOT..if u look a lot of those guys that cant hit free throws CANT SHOOT PERIOD..( AND HAVING GOOD FG% DOESNT MEAN YOU CAN SHOOT SO CHK THAT B$ COMING BACK WITH ALL THAT HATE)..
i think if big guys learned to shoot from anywhere then free throws wont be an issue
February 2nd, 2009 at 3:10 pm
Sanpitch says:
BS
This guy must have been paid by Shaq.
Why is Shaq the only one when Marcus Camby (6-11, 73.9%), Yao (7-6, 86.1%), Dikembe (7-2,68.4% career), Ilgauskas (7-3,82.7%), and Chris Kaman (7-0,75%) are all better than Shaq?
Can it be work ethic or lack thereof?
Like post 9 said, if you have played on a smaller hoop you adjusted to it. Hell, these guys don’t know what it’s like to play on a bigger hoop.
It’s just an excuse. Don’t be fooled. If Shaq, Ben Wallace, and Dwight spent time on their free-throws they would be better. Simple as that.
2 guys with quite possibly the ugliest shots in the NBA (Camby and Mt. Mutumbo) are better than Shaq. That’s saying something.
February 2nd, 2009 at 3:11 pm
fallinup says:
granny shot FTW
February 2nd, 2009 at 3:16 pm
Mika says:
Ilgauskas anyone?
February 2nd, 2009 at 3:18 pm
Sanpitch says:
This guys is smoking it because every player has a different angle of approach. You have to take in to account the height of all the players. Also, the height they are at when they release the ball, the length of their arms, how much arch if any. Hell it’s so whack that it can’t be used as an excuse for anyone.
If you practice you know what works and what doesn’t. You don’t need no physics.
Just work on your free throws. Hell, Karl Malone came into the league shooting 48.1% and left the league shooting 74.7%, with a high of 79.7%.
There’s no excuse.
February 2nd, 2009 at 3:19 pm
Bron42 aka Haters drink my bath water says:
@san, both camby and mutumbo have high released shots, and dwight practices shooting ALOT…like i said earlier and fiya backed up…most big men who are good foul shooters, are decent shooters overall. meanwhile all the guys u named who can’t hit FTs all also aren’t known for their 15 foot jumpshots either. some big guys are comfortable shooting, some arent. specially when your a bad shooter to begin with and you KNOW people are expecting you to miss. you could practice all day but if u miss one during the game, then u start second guessing and changing ur form during your next shot etc..
February 2nd, 2009 at 3:31 pm
mules says:
wow…determine nation? is that anywhere near rhythm nation? are they part of the united nations? I don’t mean to hate fiyaman but that shit’s just too funny to let slide.
February 2nd, 2009 at 3:35 pm
Sanpitch says:
i guess i have no sympathy. when i was in jr. high i was horrible at ft’s. my coach my freshman year made me shoot one handed, ’cause my left hand was all over the ball. i looked like an ass shooting one handed. but i couldn’t shoot with both hands ’til i was hitting 80% in games. finally i got it and i busted my ass off to get it. many nights after and before practice. i was driven to not look like an ass in front of the whole school shooting with only one hand.
but you got to find something that drives you.
it’s like tiger woods. you got to have the humility to change your shot if it ain’t working. whether you are forced to be humble or whether you have the humility yourself.
i guess i’m just an unsympathetic ass.
February 2nd, 2009 at 3:36 pm
Sanpitch says:
LOL @ 18. I thought the same thing.
February 2nd, 2009 at 4:05 pm
Ian says:
bron shit man this has been the let me disagree with Ian week even if he makes some sort of sense.
are all the bigs the hit from outside the paint soft in your book?? all the bigs that just dunk are tuff players in your book??
really u r using a handles example but fine let me go with it the reason some bigs have handles and some dont its the same as free throws
PRACTICEEEE like someone mentioned are the admiral ewing and hakeem soft also??
sanpitch
u r right its all practice not that i cant judge my power crap is not the free throw line distance changes everynight is the same force over and over again.
February 2nd, 2009 at 4:05 pm
UncheckedAggression says:
@fiyaman
You might be legally retarded. And judging from what you have had to say, I am quite sure you are a terrible basketball player. Difficult to shoot on short hoops? You must be completely uncoordinated. The lower the hoop is, the easier it is to shoot on it.
A lot of big guys aren’t as coordinated as little guys. They don’t work on their jump or set shots and it shows when they are at the line. Arc is very important whether you are tall or short, but many big guys haven’t quite figured that out. There are plenty of short guys that have model shots for bigs.
February 2nd, 2009 at 4:07 pm
yoda says:
imo, if they can’t hit as shorter people, why don’t they shoot of the back board. they don’t need much of an arc for that and they would hit way more that way.
February 2nd, 2009 at 4:10 pm
Tee says:
That’s a load of crap. When I started playing I couldn’t throw a ball in the ocean. When I was in middle school. I took time and practiced, not even a lot of time, and learned the fundamentals of shooting. I’m not a lights out shooter but I can hit 7 out of 10 from the stripe easily. If you practice wrong then you aren’t going to get any better. They don’t bend their knees or keep their elbow in when they shoot or just a small error is all that keeps their % down.
February 2nd, 2009 at 4:12 pm
Sanpitch says:
LMAO @ 22.
“You might be legally retarded.” Is the funniest line I have heard in a long, long time. I am still laughing.
February 2nd, 2009 at 4:17 pm
shake&bake says:
So according to the article, if Shaq shot on an 11 foot hoop, he’d be as good as a 6 footer on a 10 foot hoop. He’d need about the same amount of arc so he’d be a good shooter.
I’m going to have to disagree and say Shaq would suck on a hoop of any height.
February 2nd, 2009 at 4:19 pm
shake&bake says:
I think the size of their hands is a bigger factor.
February 2nd, 2009 at 4:37 pm
barons beard says:
Isn’t Ben Wallace a very generous 6’8”? Hardly a comparable height to Shaq, Dwight or Wilt
All are very strong guys who essentially just over power their opponents and as such have never developed a shooting touch, from anywhere
No science involved, other than if you’re biceps are bigger than the ball, you suck at free throws
February 2nd, 2009 at 4:37 pm
doc (i like kobe AND bron) says:
I think the factor is they dont seriously practice.
February 2nd, 2009 at 6:34 pm
ab_40 says:
you forget that shaq and wilt were probably some of the strongest players EVER to play the game. Look at dwight since he’s gotten mr buffed his free throws have been declining. And you can practice as long as you want and as hard as you want but if you don’t have the propper technique to hit 10 in a row UNDER PRESSURE it makes no sense.
But you’ve found an interesting whole in the market. The big man SHOOTING coach. cuz there are loads of big man coaches with moves, counter moves, counters of counters. and counters of counters to counters. after that you’re probably in the bucket for more then 3 secconds haha.
February 2nd, 2009 at 6:58 pm
KDizzle (That breeze is your team finally breathin) says:
lol @ post 22
that shit was hilarious
February 2nd, 2009 at 7:26 pm
Borgs says:
Provided you’re not already super strong and not much taller than six feet, go and get yourself a size three soccer ball, fill it with helium, and see if you can consistently hit a small target about twelve feet away and eight feet high. It’s about strength and hand size (ie. feel) much more than sufficient arc.
February 2nd, 2009 at 9:07 pm
JUGS says:
Yao Ming can shoot free throws.
February 2nd, 2009 at 10:03 pm
Ian says:
borgs
thats not the reason there are plenty of big that hit free throws
ab
i weight 250-260 lbs (thats big man weight) and im the best 3pt and free throw shooter in my league its just practice when i started playin i couldnt hit a freebie to save my life
February 2nd, 2009 at 10:30 pm
Russ says:
Bogus. Plenty of examples of big guys who can hit consistently. And plenty of guard who can’t. All about practice and confidence.
February 2nd, 2009 at 11:26 pm
jnuh says:
I would rather watch Chris Dudley shoot free throws than Dwight Howard. He is a total embarassment to basketball players everywhere.
February 3rd, 2009 at 2:03 am
Yoshi says:
Big men not being good shooters is a myth (D-Rob, Hakeem, Ewing can shoot)..there are those big men that can’t shoot…then the not so big men who also cant shoot em…its just whether your a good shooter short or tall
so shaq has no excuse for not putting the effor tin perfecting their FT’s…Yao, Big Z, Amare all can hit their FT’s
February 3rd, 2009 at 3:16 am
heartbreaker85 says:
bigs who can shoot ft
dirk, z, deke, dream, bynum, pau, bosh, kg
bigs who cant
shaq, wilt, dwight, timmy (he has his days)
you notice that bigs who cant shoot have one thing ni common- most of em are power players, who dunk first, lay-up second. bigs who can shoot are those who were forced to cause they couldnt back people the fuck down and dunk on em (i.e. dirk)
February 3rd, 2009 at 4:07 am
Andy says:
Peja is 6’10″ and has shot 89% for his career
February 3rd, 2009 at 4:28 am
Sweet English says:
Are we all forgetting that the biggest of big men, Mr Ming, is shooting 86% from the line?
People like Peja are a given, the guy is a straight shooter so there is no chance he would be a low percentage free throw shooter.
But Yao has clearly got the tech nailed
February 3rd, 2009 at 6:48 am
fiyaman says:
lol @18 …my bad I didnt even see that I typed that I had to go back a read all my posts to see if i actually said that ..u got me
February 3rd, 2009 at 6:51 am
fiyaman says:
@22 UncheckedAggression says:
THIS GUY MUST BE AN IDIOT.. the telling pt is when he said it is easier to shoot on a basket that is shorter than u…
question is it easier to shoot down or shoot up.. before u answer go an try it asshole…
February 3rd, 2009 at 6:52 am
fiyaman says:
oh yeah.. u dont want none dude….. trust me just cause im on this site dont mean i aint got no game so keep that tongue in ur mouth it might get stepped on during a crossover
February 3rd, 2009 at 6:54 am
fiyaman says:
and all u dudes that are disagreeing just so u can so NO U NEED TO PRACTICE MORE…come on now that common sense of course u got to practice but u have to practice shooting the right way if u always practice line drive shots u will never be a consistent shooter
February 3rd, 2009 at 7:40 pm
UncheckedAggression says:
@fiyaman
Everything I said was correct, and that includes the comments about you. You can talk all the shit you want but it doesn’t make up for the fact that you don’t know what you are talking about and need the shut the fuck up.
Moron–it is a lot easier to shoot on shorter hoops. If you are uncoordinated and have bad touch then you will not be able to shoot well no matter what. But if you can shoot well on a 10 ft hoop then it won’t take long to figure out a 9 ft hoop, and so on. Ask that guy you went to HS with that actually could shoot. You know, the guy who’s nuts you were on every day?
November 11th, 2009 at 4:48 pm
Cranky Alexander says:
Ok guys I have a theory:
Shooting is a feminine action. It involves fine motor control and is generally considered to be a graceful motion (God only knows who taught Marion?!?!). The best shooters are ones the have the “soft touch” that we all hear about. After shooting the ball successfully you should have the ‘queens wrist’ showing that you have the proper follow through for, rotation on the ball and adequate arc.
Macho big men like Shaq, D. Howard, Ben Wallace etc. all have disgusting follow through and I think it’s because they do not want to, or can not do the feminine motion. This is either a psychological barrier or a physical one.
A good tip if you are having problems with free throws is to keep your shooting elbow in so that (if you’re right handed) on release your arm extends in front of your right eye. Believe it or not this will not affect your aim (unless of course you have only one eye).
Rick Barry went to extreme lengths to change his free throw shot and whilst he looked like a proper dick he was one of the most successful free-throwers ever to play in the NBA. What are you going to do to get there?
B-Ball: Like battle ballet with a round ball… truly the most creative and expressive sport in the world.
Love
Cranky Alexander