The last practice of the regular season had just wrapped up Friday afternoon, but there was coach Brian Wardle standing under the basket rebounding for one of his players shooting free throws.
It was Sultan Muhammad, a 76.7-percent free throw shooter for the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay men?s basketball team. Standing next to Wardle and observing the process was Cole Stefan, a 75-percent free throw shooter.
That arguably two of the best pure shooters on the team were getting in extra work was all anyone needed to know about the Phoenix?s commitment to free throw shooting.
A 70.6-percent free throw shooting team last year, Wardle thought UWGB gave away too many free points. That hasn?t been the case this season. Entering today?s regular-season finale (1 p.m., Resch Center) against Valparaiso (23-7 overall, 12-3 Horizon League), the Phoenix leads the conference in both free throw percentage (76.2) and free throws made (476).
That?s only the half of it. After making 14-of-16 free throws in Tuesday?s win over UW-Milwaukee, the Phoenix (16-13, 10-5) moved into the top 10 in the country in free throw percentage. At No. 10 overall, it is less than a percentage point out of the top five. Davidson leads the nation at 81.2 percent followed by South Dakota (78.0), Iona (77.3), Eastern Kentucky (77.3) and Northeastern (77.1).
In its last five games, the Phoenix has made 78-of-91 free throws (85.7 percent).
?We know the importance of it,? Wardle said. ?We talk about how in league play, every game is so close. It?s usually six points or less. Free throws are what can determine the game. It?s helped us this year. We?ve won a lot of games by making free throws.?
What stuck out more to at least one player was a game lost because of a missed free throw. While watching Wardle work with Muhammad after practice Friday, sophomore guard Keifer Sykes lamented his own missed free throw late in a double overtime loss to Wright State on Feb. 7. With 20.8 seconds left in the first overtime, Sykes split a pair of free throws to give UWGB a three-point lead. Wright State then forced a second overtime with a 3. Had Sykes made both free throws, perhaps the game would have been over.
?Last year, Coach told me don?t leave any points (off) the board this year,? said Sykes, who ranks second in the Horizon in free throw percentage (82.1) and needs just 13 more made free throws to match the school record of 151 free throws made in a season held by Ron Ripley (1978-79). ?We could?ve won more games last year. Even this year, if I would?ve hit one against Wright State, we could?ve won. We can?t leave points (off) the board.?
As a freshman, Sykes shot 66.7 percent from the line. In the offseason, Wardle and assistant coach Chrys Cornelius helped Sykes shorten his shooting motion ? from starting at his knees last year to in front of his face this year. Sykes said he still shoots 100 free throws every day.
Sykes, who has made 31 of his last 36 free throws, isn?t the only one to make significant improvement. Sophomore Greg Mays was a 50-percent free throw shooter last year. He?s at 67.1 percent this year. Senior Brennan Cougill went from 77.1 to 82.4 percent, although he doesn?t have enough attempts to qualify among the league leaders. Junior Daniel Turner went from 65.4 to 83.3 percent before he sustained a season-ending knee injury last month. Among the key returners, only center Alec Brown?s percentage dropped, but he?s still at 75.2 percent. In Horizon League play, Brown is shooting 81.4 percent and is 10-of-11 in his last five games.
?Free throw shooting was one of my main focuses in the offseason,? said Mays, who is 47-of-70 at the line. ?I definitely feel like I?ve made a lot of progress with my free throw shooting.?
Even without junior guard Kam Cerroni, who left the team last month with a 97.3-percent mark (36-of-37), the Phoenix still would lead the Horizon League and be in the top 20 in the nation.
Given all that is at stake in today?s finale ? a win would give the Phoenix a third-place finish and a bye into the conference tournament quarterfinals ? perhaps it would be fitting if it came down a late-game free throw situation.
?We?ve got to knock them down,? Mays said. ?That could be the difference in winning a championship.?
It was Sultan Muhammad, a 76.7-percent free throw shooter for the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay men?s basketball team. Standing next to Wardle and observing the process was Cole Stefan, a 75-percent free throw shooter.
That arguably two of the best pure shooters on the team were getting in extra work was all anyone needed to know about the Phoenix?s commitment to free throw shooting.
A 70.6-percent free throw shooting team last year, Wardle thought UWGB gave away too many free points. That hasn?t been the case this season. Entering today?s regular-season finale (1 p.m., Resch Center) against Valparaiso (23-7 overall, 12-3 Horizon League), the Phoenix leads the conference in both free throw percentage (76.2) and free throws made (476).
That?s only the half of it. After making 14-of-16 free throws in Tuesday?s win over UW-Milwaukee, the Phoenix (16-13, 10-5) moved into the top 10 in the country in free throw percentage. At No. 10 overall, it is less than a percentage point out of the top five. Davidson leads the nation at 81.2 percent followed by South Dakota (78.0), Iona (77.3), Eastern Kentucky (77.3) and Northeastern (77.1).
In its last five games, the Phoenix has made 78-of-91 free throws (85.7 percent).
?We know the importance of it,? Wardle said. ?We talk about how in league play, every game is so close. It?s usually six points or less. Free throws are what can determine the game. It?s helped us this year. We?ve won a lot of games by making free throws.?
What stuck out more to at least one player was a game lost because of a missed free throw. While watching Wardle work with Muhammad after practice Friday, sophomore guard Keifer Sykes lamented his own missed free throw late in a double overtime loss to Wright State on Feb. 7. With 20.8 seconds left in the first overtime, Sykes split a pair of free throws to give UWGB a three-point lead. Wright State then forced a second overtime with a 3. Had Sykes made both free throws, perhaps the game would have been over.
?Last year, Coach told me don?t leave any points (off) the board this year,? said Sykes, who ranks second in the Horizon in free throw percentage (82.1) and needs just 13 more made free throws to match the school record of 151 free throws made in a season held by Ron Ripley (1978-79). ?We could?ve won more games last year. Even this year, if I would?ve hit one against Wright State, we could?ve won. We can?t leave points (off) the board.?
As a freshman, Sykes shot 66.7 percent from the line. In the offseason, Wardle and assistant coach Chrys Cornelius helped Sykes shorten his shooting motion ? from starting at his knees last year to in front of his face this year. Sykes said he still shoots 100 free throws every day.
Sykes, who has made 31 of his last 36 free throws, isn?t the only one to make significant improvement. Sophomore Greg Mays was a 50-percent free throw shooter last year. He?s at 67.1 percent this year. Senior Brennan Cougill went from 77.1 to 82.4 percent, although he doesn?t have enough attempts to qualify among the league leaders. Junior Daniel Turner went from 65.4 to 83.3 percent before he sustained a season-ending knee injury last month. Among the key returners, only center Alec Brown?s percentage dropped, but he?s still at 75.2 percent. In Horizon League play, Brown is shooting 81.4 percent and is 10-of-11 in his last five games.
?Free throw shooting was one of my main focuses in the offseason,? said Mays, who is 47-of-70 at the line. ?I definitely feel like I?ve made a lot of progress with my free throw shooting.?
Even without junior guard Kam Cerroni, who left the team last month with a 97.3-percent mark (36-of-37), the Phoenix still would lead the Horizon League and be in the top 20 in the nation.
Given all that is at stake in today?s finale ? a win would give the Phoenix a third-place finish and a bye into the conference tournament quarterfinals ? perhaps it would be fitting if it came down a late-game free throw situation.
?We?ve got to knock them down,? Mays said. ?That could be the difference in winning a championship.?
