Don’t Scoff but Ish is On a Roll
Sample size is pretty much everything with statistics. The bigger, the better. When I hear about the batter who is 1 for 7 against Canadian left-handers with mustaches on Thursday nights in July, I scoff. Don’t waste my time with the meaningless.
That’s why I’m not quite ready to say that Ish Smith has patched the biggest hole in his game, the inability to hit a free throw. But Coach Dino Gaudio of Wake Forest must think he has. And, apparently, Coach Roy Williams of North Carolina agrees.
Otherwise Smith would not have been on the court in the final seconds of Wake Forest’s 92-89 victory over the Tar Heels Sunday night. Or, on the other hand, if he were, he would standing at the free-throw line. Smith played 14 of his 24 minutes in the second half, and didn’t hit the floor until coming in for Aminu after more than three minutes had been played. That tells you he played 14 of the final 17 minutes. And the Tar Heels never fouled him, instead sending Jeff Teague to the line for 11 free throws (he made nine).
Both coaches obviously saw Smith make his two foul shots in the first half, and he looked good doing it. What looks even better is his current .857 percentage —six out of seven. He hit both tries against UTEP, missed one against Bucknell and hit both tries against East Carolina and North Carolina. I know he has taken thousands upon thousands of free throws in his 2 1/2 seasons at Wake and I know he has worked with coaches/consultants well-known for the free-throw expertise. It would be a wonderful story if he ends up being a great free-throw shooter the rest of his career, especially considering that as a point guard he has the ball so often in late pressure-packed situations.
That’s because we’d be talking about the guy who made 29 percent of them a year ago. Not 44 percent. That’s what he shot as a freshman. As a sophomore it was fewer than three out of 10.
Because seven as a sample size is truly scoff-worthy, I’m not ready to predict he’ll shoot 86 percent the rest of the season. But for him to shoot even 70 percent this season would be the kind of improvement you just rarely see. And as valuable as he has proven to be, it would make him a far more complete player.