By: LARRY VAUGHT
To try and help Dakari Johnson with his foul shooting, Kentucky coach John Calipari went to the film room.
“We worked on his free-throw shooting yesterday,” said Calipari Friday. “I think he’ll be fine. Showed him clips of (former Wildcat) Enes (Kanter), some other guys in the league before I worked with them. Had worked with Enes; Enes right now is the leading big-man free-throw shooter (in the NBA).
“Just shortened his stroke, so it’s from here (chest level), and he did it and it looked pretty good.”
Johnson, a 7-0 freshman center, is just 8-for-17 at the foul line in five games. Take out his 4-for-5 against Robert Morris — he banked in one foul shot — and he’s 4-for-12 in the other four games.
Johnson said the changes Calipari made were not dramatic.
“Just not bringing it above my head. Just keeping it in front of me and just getting a softer touch on in it,” Johnson said.
But free throws are not the only thing Calipari wants Johnson, who is averaging 6.0 points, 4.2 rebounds and 13.2 minutes per game, to improve.
“He’s gotta grab balls with two hands. He’s gotta be more athletic, which means be more alert before you guard and before you catch the ball. Don’t bring the ball down; get it up to the goal and keep your hands up,” Calipari said. “You’re 7-foot tall and you’ve got long arms. Why would you bring it down and make yourself small? Because it’s easier. ‘I want to gather myself.’
“So most of our guys, if there’s two ways of doing it — this is the easier way and this is the harder way, right now, this group has been used to, ‘Let me do the easier way.’ We’ve gotta get them out of that mode.”
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