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According to many coaches, free-throw success is often the deciding factor in winning or losing a fame (Palladino, 1980; Pim, 1986; Schuetzle, 1988; Schulze, 1981).
Jenkins (1977) reported that in close contests the team that had the higher free throw percentage won 80% of the games. It has been estimated that free-throws determine the outcome of as many as one-half the games played in a season (Hays & Krause, 1987; Walker, 1985).
Free-throws generally make up 20 to 25% of all points scored in a game (Hays & Krause, 1987; Mersky, 1987). Kozar, Vaughn, Whitfield, Lord, & Dye (1994) found that during the last five minutes of basketball games, free-throws constitute 35% of the points scored. They also found that in games decided by nine points or less, free-throws comprised 48% of the winning team's points during the last five minutes, and 69% during the last minute of the games. Since opportunities to shoot free-throws increase near the end of close games, it is imperative that these opportunities be converted into points. Yet, despite efforts of coaches and players, National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) records show that free-throw shooting by men's collegiate teams has remained between 68 and 69% over the last 20 years (Ryan & Holt, 1988).
Basketball players typically spend many hours practicing various skills in preparation for competition. When practicing free-throws, they often take five, ten or even more attempts in succession in the hope of transferring the acquired skill to the game. Many coaches and athletes embrace the saying "we play the way we practice." Coaches and players assume that training methods which enhance practice performance will improve game performance. However, practice performance is not necessarily a good predictor of game performance (Schmidt & Bjork, 1992). A frustrating aspect of teaching and coaching basketball is that athletes generally shoot free-throws better in practice then in competition. By studying practice and game free-throws, a better understanding of the relationship between performances in these two situations should emerge. These findings, when combined with learning and practice theory should provide valuable insight into coaching strategy for designing practice conditions that may improve game performance.
Method
Game and practice free-throws by an NCAA Division I men's basketball team were recorded and analyzed for the...