Veterans From The Charity Stripe

To be a veteran from the free throw line as a high school player is noteworthy to anyone paying attention. It means you aren't afraid to take contact, you are relentless in your pursuit of the basketball, and it shows the willingness you have to sacrifice for your fellow teammates.   In this article we highlight five players that did a great job of getting to the line and making their attempts last season on the Varsity floor.   Thanks for tuning in and enjoy!    112/153 = 73.5%   This will be the second or third time we cover Brynn Clarahan this Fall as we move into this Winter High School season. Clarahan was a top producer throughout the 2A Class in Iowa as a Sophomore. Offensively, she did anything she wanted. She averaged just under 24 PPG on a high percentage of shooting from the floor. She got to the free throw line at Will while attacking the defense, taking 153 attempts from the Charity Stripe throughout her season. This averaged out to 6.4 free throw attempts per game, demonstrating her resilience at trying to get all the way to the bucket each time down the floor. Clarahan showed up in every positive category last Winter as a producer for her team and she is going to be hungry for more as she steps into her Junior season this Winter.     138/197 = 71%   Kalyn Scamman was the leader within the 3A Class last Winter in total Free Throw Attempts and second in Free Throws Made from the PG position. Scamman got to the line several times last Winter when the rock was in her possession. She did a great job throughout the year at seeing wholes in the defense and attacking those open spaces whenever the defense was being lackadaisical. This set her up for several attempts from the line, almost 200 to be exact throughout her team's 22 contests (8ish Per Game) last season. When Scamman got to the line, she did a thorough job of knocking down her attempts. She made 138 throughout her year as a whole to give her about a 70% average. This is the average that should be the standard for players who want to compete at the next level one day. 70% is a respectable 7/10 and that translates.     205/235 = 87.2%   There is only one player out of the entire state of Iowa that MADE over 150 free throw attempts last season. That player was Braylyn Birmingham. There is only one player out of the entire state of Iowa that MADE over 200 free throw attempts last season. That player was Braylyn Birmingham. Do you get the point? Birmingham is someone that lives at the free throw line and I do not think that is a bad thing. This last year I've actually heard a lot of opinions about this but I think that BB can Will her way to the line is a great thing. She understands how to get fouls called for her without flopping. Don't get it confused - this isn't a situation of flopping in any form by Birmingham. She is just quicker, faster, and stronger than her competition level so she can get to any spot she wants to in the blink of an eye and the defense has to foul her to slow her down. It usually doesn't work for the defense as she has averaged near 30 PPG every season she has played Varsity basketball but the effort is there. The 2028 Class is going to produce some animals at the collegiate level and I think this is one of those beasts. I'm not sure where she ends up but if it's in a system that can play around her, you better watch out cause she is going to have some outings.     105/120 = 88%   Compared to everyone else on this list above, Addy Wolfswinkel only got to the line a lot less last season. She only had 120 attempts times last Winter but out of those 120 attempts she shot the ball at a 88% rate - ultimately making 105. Cherokee Washington is a program that shoots free throws a lot because of their personal. They have Wolfs as their PG coming down the court with the ball and then they have one of the better 2027 Posts, who takes up a bunch of space near the basket. Teams don't know how to plan for those two a majority of the time and that shows with their recent success over the last few years both during the regular season and during the Playoffs.     123/147 = 83.7%   I would expect to see Bentley Dill having success again this Winter at CR - Kennedy High School. Dill, the 5'8 SG/PG, competed more as a PG this last season on the AAU floor with her EYBL AIA program. They did make it possible for her to move to the 2 but during Nike Nationals we saw a lot of Dill running things at the top of the key. That's going to translate back to the high school floor this Winter. Dill will be looked upon to be their big dawg on both sides of the floor yet again. She will be returning with a few others prospects to note so they should have more consistency this time all around but it will still be an intriguing situation to watch. I'm sure Dill will continue to be her normal self, getting to the line each game multiple times. That won't change whether she is the PG, SG, or CG and that's something you love to see.

To be a veteran from the free throw line as a high school player is noteworthy to anyone paying attention. It means you aren't afraid to take contact, you are relentless in your pursuit of the basketball, and it shows the willingness you have to sacrifice for your fellow teammates.