Free Throws Are Important…Part 1

<span style="font-size: 14pt;">Are Free throws in Important?  I would say yes they are, most do not take the time to work on those, because most coaches believe that free throws need to be worked on, on the athletes personal time.  I would say they are loosing games because they do not work on those skills, yes, free throw shooting is a skill and it should be worked on just like any other skill on the basketball court.  In my practices with teams I have coached, we work on free throws after each and every practice; each player has to make (20) free throws in a row before they can leave the building.  It may take time for some, but after working on this skill, most get the importance and try and focus to make those baskets, so they can conclude practice each day and it also helps us win games.  Here are some girls that we believe work on their free throw skills and help their teams win games in crucial times of the game with being able to step to the line and make pressure shot to win.  They are listed from MaxPreps.com and the information is courtesy of their Leaderboard on their site.</span> &nbsp; <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>2021, 5’10, F, Temecula Valley HS, Madison Packwood</strong> - Madison is a forward at Temecula Valley HS and is averaging about 15PPG, 6RPG and almost 2 steals per game this season.  <strong>She is a 88% freethrow shooter for her team and she made (35 of 40)</strong> on the year and helped her team win games most likely on the freethrow line.</span> &nbsp; <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>2023, 5’7, PG/SG, Heritage Christian HS, Mary Corbett</strong> - Mary averaged 13.9PPG this season as a guard as well as 3.2RPG and was a major contributor for her team and teammates this season.  She played in 13 of the 16 games her team participated and Heritage Christian was (10-6) overall on the season.  <strong>Mary was a 86% freethrow shooter and was (32-37) on the season from the line.</strong></span> &nbsp; <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>2021, 5’10, SF, Mater Dei HS, Ayana Johnson</strong> - Ayana averaged 8.9PPG this season as a small forward for Mater Dei as well as 6RPG and 2.3STPG.  She contributed to the team going (20-1) overall and winning a few titles, but what stood out for her was her freethrow percentage for her team.  <strong>Ayana shot 85% from the line and was (28 of 33) on the year.</strong></span> &nbsp; <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>2021, 5’3, PG, Oxford Academy HS, [player_tooltip player_id="161684" first="Angie" last="Choi"]</strong> - Angie averaged 18.2PPG this season as a guard for Oxford Academy as well as 5STPG, 4.5RPG and 3.8APG for her team.  She contributed very consistently for her team as an all around player and put up some solid numbers that will allow her to play at the next level for some school. <strong> Angie shot 84% from the line and was (80 of 95) on the year.</strong></span> &nbsp; &nbsp;