facts on Brandon's ft shooting @ crunchtime

[rstone7727]

An earlier thread called into question Brandon's ability to knock down clutch free throws so I did some research and found the following:

There were ten games this year that Brandon attempted free throws late in games. Several of them could be argued were not crucial situations.

Stanford 2-2 with .14 sec left gave us a 6 point lead (clutch).
Florida 2-2 with 1:26 left gave us 6 point lead (clutch).
Florida 2-2 with .46 sec left gave us a 9 point lead (clutch)?
Pittsburgh 2-2 with .36 sec left gave us 11 point lead (not crucial)?
Notre Dame 1-1 with 2:25 left (end of 3pt play and down by 8).
Cincy 0-1 missed front end of 1&1 with .43 sec left but we were up by 9 (not crucial)
West Virginia 2-2 with 1:28 left gave us 2 point lead 63-61 (clutch).
Rutgers 1-2 with .31 sec left but we were up by 7 (not crucial).
USF 0-2 with .43 sec left but we were up by 8 (not crucial).
Louisville 2-2 with 2:30 left up 10 (not crucial).
Louisville 2-2 with 2:00 left up by 12 (not crucial).
Louisville 1-2 with 1:00 left up by 14 (not crucial).
Cincy 0-2 with 4:10 left and down by 5pts (crucial).

17 of 24 = 71%
Whoever said Brandon doesn't make free throws down the stretch is fos...

 

[Ghost]

An earlier thread called into question Brandon's ability to knock down clutch free throws so I did some research and found the following:

There were ten games this year that Brandon attempted free throws late in games. Several of them could be argued were not crucial situations.

Stanford 2-2 with 14 sec left gave us a 6 point lead (clutch).
Florida 2-2 with 1:26 left gave us 6 point lead (clutch).
Florida 2-2 with 46 sec left gave us a 9 point lead (clutch)?
Pittsburgh 2-2 with 36 sec left gave us 11 point lead (clutch)?
Notre Dame 1-1 with 2:25 left (end of 3pt play and down by 8).
Cincy 0-1 missed front end of 1&1 with 43 sec left but we were up by 9 (not crucial)
West Virginia 2-2 with 1:28 left gave us 2 point lead 63-61 (clutch).
Rutgers 1-2 with 31 sec left but we were up by 7 (not crucial).
USF 0-2 with 43 sec left but we were up by 8 (not crucial).
Louisville 2-2 with 2:30 left up 10 (not crucial).
Louisville 2-2 with 2.00 left up by12 (not crucial).
Louisville 1-2 with 1.00 left up by 14 (not crucial).
Cincy 0-2 with 4:10 left and down by 5pts (crucial).

17 of 24 = 71%
Whoever said Brandon doesn't make free throws down the stretch is fos...

Putting us up 11 against Pitt with 36 seconds left is leaning toward clutch, but missing up 8 with 43 second left is not crucial? Odd.

 

[Jasoncuse]

Considering he's over 80% the past two years overall, it could be argued that he comes up smaller when we need him...

 

[rstone7727]

Putting us up 11 against Pitt with 36 seconds left is leaning toward clutch, but missing up 8 with 43 second left is not crucial? Odd.

Ok, I'll give you that.. Changed it but it's subjective.

 

[rstone7727]

Considering he's over 80% the past two years overall, it could be argued that he comes up smaller when we need him...

Would that be considered a reach?

 

[HoustonCuse]

Putting us up 11 against Pitt with 36 seconds left is leaning toward clutch, but missing up 8 with 43 second left is not crucial? Odd.

In fairness, if you gave him the full 36 seconds, Paul Harris could easily blow that lead against Pitt, so...

 

[STEVEHOLT]

the clutchness of someone's free throw shooting is hard to prove given the seriously small sample sizes you are inevitably left with. now maybe if he were 5/21 it would mean something..but really...anything between 50-100 percent is easily random.

 

[arbitragegls]

BT is our most consistent and highest FT percentage shooter...anyone who disagrees with this is not a BT rooter...anyone who agrees is obviously a BT supporter...oh well its the fans' right to choose. But really, he is the best we got!

 

[br801]

An earlier thread called into question Brandon's ability to knock down clutch free throws so I did some research and found the following:

There were ten games this year that Brandon attempted free throws late in games. Several of them could be argued were not crucial situations.

Stanford 2-2 with .14 sec left gave us a 6 point lead (clutch).
Florida 2-2 with 1:26 left gave us 6 point lead (clutch).
Florida 2-2 with .46 sec left gave us a 9 point lead (clutch)?
Pittsburgh 2-2 with .36 sec left gave us 11 point lead (not crucial)?
Notre Dame 1-1 with 2:25 left (end of 3pt play and down by 8).
Cincy 0-1 missed front end of 1&1 with .43 sec left but we were up by 9 (not crucial)
West Virginia 2-2 with 1:28 left gave us 2 point lead 63-61 (clutch).
Rutgers 1-2 with .31 sec left but we were up by 7 (not crucial).
USF 0-2 with .43 sec left but we were up by 8 (not crucial).
Louisville 2-2 with 2:30 left up 10 (not crucial).
Louisville 2-2 with 2:00 left up by 12 (not crucial).
Louisville 1-2 with 1:00 left up by 14 (not crucial).
Cincy 0-2 with 4:10 left and down by 5pts (crucial).

17 of 24 = 71%
Whoever said Brandon doesn't make free throws down the stretch is fos...

This is really disappointing. Who do you think you are? You sicken me with these things you call "facts."

 

[orange03]

I'm more concerned with how many wide open jumpers he's missed lately. The FT shooting is good, but hardly somebody I have full confidence will go and knock a couple down when we need them.

 

[SoBristol]

Not worried about his FT shooting.
BT as a starter needs to do more in the first five minutes of each half and needs to be finishing more plays. A veteran starting SG ought to be getting double figures most of these next games.

 

[swish7]

An earlier thread called into question Brandon's ability to knock down clutch free throws so I did some research and found the following:

There were ten games this year that Brandon attempted free throws late in games. Several of them could be argued were not crucial situations.

Stanford 2-2 with .14 sec left gave us a 6 point lead (clutch).
Florida 2-2 with 1:26 left gave us 6 point lead (clutch).
Florida 2-2 with .46 sec left gave us a 9 point lead (clutch)?
Pittsburgh 2-2 with .36 sec left gave us 11 point lead (not crucial)?
Notre Dame 1-1 with 2:25 left (end of 3pt play and down by 8).
Cincy 0-1 missed front end of 1&1 with .43 sec left but we were up by 9 (not crucial)
West Virginia 2-2 with 1:28 left gave us 2 point lead 63-61 (clutch).
Rutgers 1-2 with .31 sec left but we were up by 7 (not crucial).
USF 0-2 with .43 sec left but we were up by 8 (not crucial).
Louisville 2-2 with 2:30 left up 10 (not crucial).
Louisville 2-2 with 2:00 left up by 12 (not crucial).
Louisville 1-2 with 1:00 left up by 14 (not crucial).
Cincy 0-2 with 4:10 left and down by 5pts (crucial).

17 of 24 = 71%
Whoever said Brandon doesn't make free throws down the stretch is fos...

The momentum we had in the 1st half of the season is not crucial now. He's 6-12 in the more crucial part of the season. What's important right now is momentum, and we do not have the momentum you'd expect from a #1 seed.

But yes, people should not sound so assured when they have not done the research.

Neat post.

 

[Jake]

An earlier thread called into question Brandon's ability to knock down clutch free throws so I did some research and found the following:

There were ten games this year that Brandon attempted free throws late in games. Several of them could be argued were not crucial situations.

Stanford 2-2 with .14 sec left gave us a 6 point lead (clutch).
Florida 2-2 with 1:26 left gave us 6 point lead (clutch).
Florida 2-2 with .46 sec left gave us a 9 point lead (clutch)?
Pittsburgh 2-2 with .36 sec left gave us 11 point lead (not crucial)?
Notre Dame 1-1 with 2:25 left (end of 3pt play and down by 8).
Cincy 0-1 missed front end of 1&1 with .43 sec left but we were up by 9 (not crucial)
West Virginia 2-2 with 1:28 left gave us 2 point lead 63-61 (clutch).
Rutgers 1-2 with .31 sec left but we were up by 7 (not crucial).
USF 0-2 with .43 sec left but we were up by 8 (not crucial).
Louisville 2-2 with 2:30 left up 10 (not crucial).
Louisville 2-2 with 2:00 left up by 12 (not crucial).
Louisville 1-2 with 1:00 left up by 14 (not crucial).
Cincy 0-2 with 4:10 left and down by 5pts (crucial).

17 of 24 = 71%
Whoever said Brandon doesn't make free throws down the stretch is fos...

I'm not sure those facts support your theory however. So what you're saying is that an 80% FT shooter shoots 70% when it matters most. I would argue that is the walking, talking definition of not being clutch.

Having said that, he's probably our best FT shooter, and best FT shooter in late games, though I'd like to see KJO's numbers in the final 2 minutes.

 

[Dick_in_MI]

An earlier thread called into question Brandon's ability to knock down clutch free throws so I did some research and found the following:

There were ten games this year that Brandon attempted free throws late in games. Several of them could be argued were not crucial situations.

Stanford 2-2 with .14 sec left gave us a 6 point lead (clutch).
Florida 2-2 with 1:26 left gave us 6 point lead (clutch).
Florida 2-2 with .46 sec left gave us a 9 point lead (clutch)?
Pittsburgh 2-2 with .36 sec left gave us 11 point lead (not crucial)?
Notre Dame 1-1 with 2:25 left (end of 3pt play and down by 8).
Cincy 0-1 missed front end of 1&1 with .43 sec left but we were up by 9 (not crucial)
West Virginia 2-2 with 1:28 left gave us 2 point lead 63-61 (clutch).
Rutgers 1-2 with .31 sec left but we were up by 7 (not crucial).
USF 0-2 with .43 sec left but we were up by 8 (not crucial).
Louisville 2-2 with 2:30 left up 10 (not crucial).
Louisville 2-2 with 2:00 left up by 12 (not crucial).
Louisville 1-2 with 1:00 left up by 14 (not crucial).
Cincy 0-2 with 4:10 left and down by 5pts (crucial).

17 of 24 = 71%
Whoever said Brandon doesn't make free throws down the stretch is fos...

There are several problems with your numbers. First, as pointed out by Jake, 70% is not clutch.

But the biggest problem is that your numbers are skewed heavily by what happened early in the season. That's like saying that James is shooting lights out now because he did in November.

The fact is that over the past 6 games, in the last 5 minutes of those games, Brandon is 1 for 6. To me, that matters far more than his 6 for 6 stat against Stanford and Florida back in November and Early December.

Hopefully in the NCAA's James can start knocking down his 3's and Brandon can get back to his early season form in late game FT's. We're going to need both of those things to happen.

 

[Eric15]

Let's lay off Brandon. He's a very good free throw shooter, and he missed two free throws, it happens. He's not a robot.

The reason we lost is that we weren't interested in closing out on three point shooters the entire first half.

I'm MUCH more pissed at Dion's infuriating horrible decision to hold the ball for 15 seconds when we were down 3, and then they fouled us with 5 secs left. THAT was inexcusably stupid.

 

[swish7]

Let's lay off Brandon. He's a very good free throw shooter, and he missed two free throws, it happens. He's not a robot.

The reason we lost is that we weren't interested in closing out on three point shooters the entire first half.

I'm MUCH more pissed at Dion's infuriating horrible decision to hold the ball for 15 seconds when we were down 3, and then they fouled us with 5 secs left. THAT was inexcusably stupid.

Do you honestly think it was Dion's call to stall there? Really?

 

[Eric15]

Do you honestly think it was Dion's call to stall there? Really?

If it wasn't, then that was one of Boeheim's most miserable coaching decisions in recent memory. The clock was our enemy, and that killed us.

 

[mountaincuse]

In terms of FT shooting by BT I recall a quote from an earlier game where he said: the first one of the night is 50/50 and then the rest go in when I make the first one. Probably all comes down to his confidence, which we know he doesn't always have in himself, though he should.

This all being said, he is probably still my first choice to be at the line when we need them.

 

[dasher]

yeah, it was dion's idea. He was looking to shoot a 3. It didn't occur to him that they would foul.

 

[Knicks411]

I'm not sure those facts support your theory however. So what you're saying is that an 80% FT shooter shoots 70% when it matters most. I would argue that is the walking, talking definition of not being clutch.

Having said that, he's probably our best FT shooter, and best FT shooter in late games, though I'd like to see KJO's numbers in the final 2 minutes.

With 24 FT, and all in different definitions of clutch, I don't think you can draw a lot of conclusions. As was said upthread, if he was 10-21 or something, maybe you can talk. But 17-24 when he is expected to be what, 19-24?

On Brandon; I've said this before, so I'm not just saying it in a game after he missed some key shots, but I really don't see the guy ever being a star. He's nearly done as a junior and he's barely even shown sustained flashes. Nothing against the kid.

 

[upperdeck]

so he was 17-22 before the misses.. 77%.. so before the misses he was clutch.. the two misses don't change what he had done previous to that.. he is also shooting zero in his last one game.. is that a real stat to use too?

 

[Dick_in_MI]

BT is our most consistent and highest FT percentage shooter...anyone who disagrees with this is not a BT rooter...anyone who agrees is obviously a BT supporter...oh well its the fans' right to choose. But really, he is the best we got!

See, here's the difference between you and almost everyone else on the board. You pigeonhole fans according to comments. Clearly from your incessant BT posts you are in love with the kid...I doubt even Howard would post some of the stuff you do, but whatever.

On the other hand, who are you to proclaim that somebody doesn't root for Brandon? I personally root for every kid who wears Orange and I believe that 99% of SU fans do too.

Nobody is saying he's not our highest % FT shooter. The question surrounds his recent late game prowess from the line as we head into the NCAA's.

That's a legitimate message board kind of discussion, no different than James' draught from behind the arc, Baye's hands, or why is MCW playing fewer minutes than some fans would like.

It has nothing to do with rooting for Brandon. In fact, he's one of my favorite players...he always seems like a nice kid and a good teammate. People can have legitimate fan discussions without falling into your supporter/not supporter pigeonholes.

 

[br801]

I'm MUCH more pissed at Dion's infuriating horrible decision to hold the ball for 15 seconds when we were down 3, and then they fouled us with 5 secs left. THAT was inexcusably stupid.

I would have liked to see Dion push the action more urgently on that play and maybe even move the ball to try to free up one of the other shooters for an open look. But given how he was shooting, I've got no problem with him wanting to take the shot himself. I don't think it ever crossed his mind that Cincy might foul in that situation. Next time he'll be aware of that.

 

[orangepassion]

I would have liked to see Dion push the action more urgently on that play and maybe even move the ball to try to free up one of the other shooters for an open look. But given how he was shooting, I've got no problem with him wanting to take the shot himself. I don't think it ever crossed his mind that Cincy might foul in that situation. Next time he'll be aware of that.

Wish D'antoni was coaching Cincy-He would have let Waiters shoot a 3.

 

[Sgt Cuse]

With 24 FT, and all in different definitions of clutch, I don't think you can draw a lot of conclusions. As was said upthread, if he was 10-21 or something, maybe you can talk. But 17-24 when he is expected to be what, 19-24?

On Brandon; I've said this before, so I'm not just saying it in a game after he missed some key shots, but I really don't see the guy ever being a star. He's nearly done as a junior and he's barely even shown sustained flashes. Nothing against the kid.

First off, to the OP, thanks for the data. I think it shows people went off after some upsetting misses out of BT. I don't know if it's a BT thing or just viciousness after a loss.

As for Brandon, I think he can be very good, maybe not a star. I think he can and will improve. I think I will enjoy seeing the team with him as a leader. It looks like he has a quiet, confident, high Bball IQ. When he is teamed up with MCW I think it will be a pleasure to watch.

Contrast that with the game of Dion. His two best games at SU are losses (Cincy and Marq last year). Dions thought pattern at the end of the Cincy game was to stall with 35 left and have him heave a 3 to tie (he didn't get the chance but you know that's what he was going to do). With BT and MCW on the floor I think they would have taken a different tack. I have always feared this thought process out of Dion. And I still do. I think in a similar situation in the NCAAT Dion will do something similar. Hope that situation doesn't arise.

People go nuts over BT missing but give Dions boneheaded selfish end of game situation a pass, because he made shots earlier.