College basketball games are often won or lost at the free-throw line, and while the pressure-packed moments down the stretch typically stick in the memory banks, every point matters from tip to final buzzer. A sometimes forgotten area, the charity stripe is taken very seriously at Arkansas and has been instrumental in its recent success.
Fourth-year head coach Eric Musselman has frequently mentioned the importance of FTAs (free-throws attempted) and a time-consuming practice drill the players love to hate that simulates game-like free throws. Tedious? Maybe, but the results speak for themselves.
It shouldn’t come as controversial to declare Arkansas was not a good three-point shooting team last season, ranking 316th nationally in percentage (30.4) and 279th in makes per game (6.3). Trading threes for twos usually isn’t a favorable calculation, but the Razorbacks closed the gap significantly at the free throw line. To put some numbers behind the declaration, here’s some food for thought…
Arkansas made 233 three-pointers last season, while allowing opponents to connect on 269, yielding a deficit of 108 points. However, the Hogs outscored opponents 633-498 at the charity stripe, giving them a net +27 when accounting for the two categories together.
The Razorbacks led the nation in free throw attempts (833) and makes (633) while also leading the SEC by converting from the stripe at a 76.0% clip. Pretty impressive, right? Now, with an almost entirely flipped roster for 2022-23, will Arkansas be able to produce similar results?
Arkansas is off to a solid start in the backcourt with Davonte Davis, who is a career 72.4% shooter from the line. Transfer wing Ricky Council IV saw his efficiency jump from 63.6% his freshman season to 84.9% last season. To add, he drew 4.5 fouls per game (No. 313 nationally) and had a free throw rate (FTA/FGA) of 41.9, which ranked 213th in the country. For reference, there are more than 4,300 Division 1 college basketball players, so that places him squarely in the top 10 percentile in both categories.
According to MaxPreps, freshman point guard Anthony Black will need to show improvement on a senior campaign at Duncanville where he went 49-of-69 (62%) from the stripe. Reliable high school statistics are hard to come by for the other freshmen expected to be in the rotation, but it feels like a fairly safe bet that Nick Smith will be a high-percentage guy and Jordan Walsh profiles to be serviceable at worst.
The frontcourt is where things get interesting, or perhaps alarming, for the Razorbacks, who have added four transfer portal pieces to supplement returning forward Kamani Johnson. There’s a common theme in the group of being able to draw fouls and get to the free throw line at a high rate, which is half the battle, but not being particularly efficient when they get there.
Johnson is gifted when it comes to drawing whistles and getting to the line. However, after shooting 72.7% on nearly 200 attempts as a sophomore at Little Rock, he saw his percentage dip down to 53.5% last season with the Hogs.
Sophomore Missouri transfer Trevon Brazile was the lowest of the bunch when it comes to fouls drawn per 40 minutes (3.3) and free throw rate (43.1), but his smooth perimeter jumper suggests he has the highest-ceiling for improvement on a freshman campaign from the charity stripe that saw him convert just 31-of-50 (62.0%) attempts.
All-Pac 12 forward Jalen Graham drew 4.3 fouls per 40 minutes last season, which ranked in the top 10 percentile, but only shot 52.8% (38/72) on the season, which is also his career average. Graham’s best season from the free throw line was as a sophomore when he shot 57.7 percent on just 45 attempts. It’s worth noting Graham shot 61.1% (33/54) in Pac 12 play only last season.
Makhi Mitchell ranked 203rd in fouls drawn and 143rd in free throw rate last season, but shot 59-113 (52.2%) and is a 54.0% free throw shooter for his career. His brother, Makhel was 224th in fouls drawn and 179th in free throw rate, but only converted on 52.5% (62/118) attempts at the stripe and is an even 50.0% for his career.
Tally it all up, and Arkansas’ forwards shot a combined 213-of-396 for a whopping 53.8% at their respective homes last season. That is a bit unsettling, but fans might be able to find a sense of comfort that improvement could be on the horizon by taking a look back at some of the recent free throw success stories Musselman has produced out of the portal. He has a knack for extrapolating as much as possible out of his guys.
Trey Wade’s best season at the free throw line was 58.3% in his previous stops. He converted on 80.0% of his attempts at Arkansas last season. Au’Diese Toney was a career 66% free throw shooter at Pitt. Last season at Arkansas, he wound up taking over 50 attempts more than he had in any other season and shot 78.1%. Jalen Tate, a career 63.7% free throw shooter, connected at a 71.3% clip at the stripe for the Hogs. Jimmy Whitt was a sub-60% free throw shooter for two seasons but 70.7% his final year in Fayetteville.
As with many things he does, there is a method to Musselman’s madness. Arkansas likely won’t have to be as reliant on free throws for the upcoming season, but if even a couple of the forward can follow a similar trajectory of improvement to those listed above, the Hogs could be on their way to turning the charity stripe into a strength yet again.
