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Free throw expert says he can help Rajon Rondo

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January 13, 2012|By Stan Grossfeld

Cob Carlson watches video of Celtics guard Rajon Rondo - exactly the kind… (Stan Grossfeld/Globe Staff )

Every time Rajon Rondo clangs another free throw, Cob Carlson cringes.

The Celtics’ two-time All-Star was shooting just 59.3 percent from the line this season entering last night’s game, last among point guards in the NBA.

“It drives me nuts how many good players making millions of dollars can’t make a very simple and easy shot,’’ said Carlson, a free throw specialist who has helped Davidson College become the nation’s top-shooting team at the line at 80.9 percent.

Free throw shooting has not improved in the last 50 years. College players shoot about 69 percent; NBA players 75 percent.

“That’s what propelled me to do this,’’ said Carlson. “I was blown away by the fact that there’s been no improvement. Why is there all this improvement in all these other sports, like swimming and track and field, and no improvement in foul shooting?’’

Part of the problem is that coaches often treat free throws as an afterthought, something tacked on to the end of practice. Make the last shot and avoid running suicide drills.

“It’s something that’s given short shrift,’’ said Carlson. “Players by and large are left to do it on their own, whatever way they want.’’

So two years ago he started Automatic Free Throws, a program that guarantees success.

Carlson’s approach is simple. He has a checklist that covers location, focus point, rhythm, posture, and confidence in making the 15-foot shot.

“It’s a free throw,’’ he said. “It’s free. There’s no hand in your face. It should be so simple.’’

Carlson, 58, is an unlikely basketball savior. In the early 1970s, he was a 5-foot-6 3/4-inch backup point guard for Stonehill College. Today, he edits documentary films and television shows in the Boston area. Teaching free throw shooting, he said, is “a labor of love.’’

He has pored over film of every great free throw shooter, including Mark Price, Bill Sharman, Calvin Murphy, Larry Bird, Ray Allen, and Steve Nash.

He also adds a dash of “Red on Roundball’’ and some of his own psychological theories into the mix. Carlson says free throw shooting is one-third mechanics, one-third pre-shot routine, and one-third positive thinking.

“It’s the only time in basketball where play is stopped and this athlete is like an actor on stage,’’ he said. “He has to get up there and try and stand still and perform. That’s contrary to the rest of the game, which is moving.’’

High grades in college