The free throw conundrum

We all know Georgia has a free throw problem.  Well, a free throw making problem.  You see, Georgia is top 10% in the nation in free throws attempted per game.  That's what makes it so depressing to see them in the bottom 25% in free throw percentage.

If you're not bothered yet, let me toss out some numbers.  Georgia currently shoots just over 66% from the free throw line.  If that was just 71% instead - a pretty mediocre number that would put Georgia just inside the top 100 - Georgia would jump about 25 spots and tie for 50th in the nation in scoring average.  And if you think one more make per game wouldn't change much, you are forgetting the losses to LSU and Arkansas.

The good news is, the Bulldogs know it's a problem:

In a season that is going pretty well so far, and on track to make the NCAA tournament, free-throw shooting has emerged as one area of concern.

The first step is admitting you have a problem.  Fixing it, however, is another thing entirely:

“I spend a tremendous amount of time working on them, so I guess that’s the sore part,” said Thornton, who is having a remarkable senior season, other than only making 59 percent of his shots from the free-throw line. “It’ll come. And I feel like as the SEC season progresses you’ll see my percentage rise and rise and rise. It won’t be as much of a sore spot by then.”

That’s the hope for the Georgia men’s basketball team, which has two top players –– Charles Mann being the other –– who have struggled at the line.

There's the rub for the team.  The two guys going to the line the most are also the two who are struggling the most at the stripe.  The confidence is nice, but there doesn't seem to be a clear path to making it better:

Fox, who said he feels “really confident” with Mann as a free-throw shooter, seems more concerned with just breaking the press and worrying about the foul shots when they happens.

The reality is that there's no time in practice to work on free throws.  College coaches are limited in the time they have with their kids.  However, hearing Fox express "confidence" in Charles Mann at the line is concerning.

Up 6 against Ole Miss, Charles missed the front of a 1-and-1.  He did the same thing up 3 moments later.  That game (and others) have been needlessly close because Georgia is struggling with something as fundamental as free throw shooting.  Limited practice time or not, Fox has to figure out how to get it fixed.

Making the tournament is a great goal.  Winning some games there may require hitting some clutch free throws.  Fox might, but I don't have confidence right now that those are going to go down...

h/t Seth Emerson

Assists and turnovers

Georgia was absolutely abysmal in assist to turnover ratio last year (324th in the nation, to be exact), so this surprised me:

The sophomore guard leads the Southeastern Conference and ranks 14th in the nation in assist to turnover ratio.

If you want to know why the Bulldogs are playing so well, J.J. Frazier's play at the point is a good place to start.  If Charles Mann can continue to develop his jump shot, Georgia has a deadly 3-guard lineup with Frazier, Mann, and Kenny Gaines.  And if Mann is the one with the ball, Frazier and Gaines make a deadly combo from 3-point land.

Also, just for good measure, there's this:

He also leads the SEC and is third nationally in free throw percentage at 92.9 percent on 26 of 28 from the line.

Now that is the kind of thing that gets me all tingly inside.

h/t Marc Weiszer