John Q. Public is tired of hearing about steroids. John Mellencamp is tired of hearing people sing his songs to him. Probably. John Calipari is tired of hearing about his team's poor free throw shooting.
He's expressed this in a variety of ways, using everything from humor to outright denial. He's tried everything, it seems, except for acknowledgement. Really, though, what is he supposed to say? I think there is one right answer, and I will provide it on his behalf:
"I get it. We're bad at the free throw line. In fact, we're one of the worst. We're still 35-1, and just because we're bad as a team doesn't mean that we don't have anyone who can make them. I know a lot of our misses come from our bigs, but we can't do anything more about it than we already are. It doesn't mean that I'm going to play them any less or that I have any less trust in their abilities. Now get me some pizza."
Is there really more that can be said about it? It's certainly a better alternative than what he offered up. Presenting: "What I'm taking great pride in is we won it with Chris (Douglas-Roberts)'s free throw. So all that stuff about our free-throw shooting now goes out the window, I guess."
In Coach Calipari's wonderful world, up is down, good cholesterol is bad cholesterol, people care what Skip Bayless thinks, and going 15-32 at the free throw line against an 8 seed is enough to make criticism "go out the window." Let's get a few things straight. Making a crucial free throw does not make you a good free throw shooting team, nor does it mean that all those other misses had no effect on the game. They were, after all, the difference between a sweat-inducing 3 point game and a laughable 20 point game.
There are, as always, a few other things to take into account. First and foremost, we are talking about a team that is 35-1. In close, one-possession games, they're 4-1. Granted, they missed free throws down the stretch against Tennessee (their one loss, for those that don't know), but Tennessee didn't (and doesn't) shoot free throws all that much better. My point is that every team has flaws, and every team makes adjustments in other parts of their game to account for those flaws. North Carolina overcomes its weak defense by having a ridiculously good offense. Tennessee overcomes its poor halfcourt defense by playing full court press and forcing a lot of turnovers. Memphis overcomes its free throw shooting woes by having a very efficient offense that gets great open shots and by having a staunch defense. That is to say, missing free throws certainly doesn't help, but they've found ways to make it hurt less and less (You can read about this in much more detail at BasketballProspectus.com).
All this aside, Coach Calipari is doing a disservice to himself by denying that his team is a poor free throw shooting team. They are. It would be accurate for him to say that it hasn't had much of an effect on his team, but denying it altogether just makes him sound like a lunatic. At the same time, what purpose does it serve for the media to keep asking about it? It's certainly not ground-breaking to point out that Memphis struggles at the line, and it's become obvious that John Calipari isn't going to give them the "We do struggle at the line, I guess we won't win it all" line that they're so eagerly awaiting. Why not just move on? It will save Calipari from having to look like a headcase, and it'll save us from hearing his bullshit.
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Funny you should mention free throws, as I was just thinking that ol' Huggy Bear's mighty Mountaineers may run into some trouble facing the highly efficient free throw shooting Musketeers. Those guards are going to go to the line. Like, alot. Also, I am fairly certain Bobby Bear is too drunk to get his players to acknowledge the 3 point line, let alone guard the perimeter. So give me Xavier.
Since you don't do predictions, here are mine for tonite's games:
UCLA will eat WKU alive.
If anyone thinks UNC is putting up another hundred point game against Wazzu, they need the cyst pressing up against their brain drained. Wazzu's defense is as good as folks say, and their offense is much better than most think. I think Wazzu might pull this out.
As always, my disgusting bias prevents me from commenting on any Volunteer games, but know this: UT is excellent in close games and Louisville is not. Keep it close, Bruce! WAYNE CHISM! WATER CLOSET! FLUSH IT DOWN!
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