Scots on Fire from Free-throw Line

Release Date: February 4, 2000

If you want to get a basketball crowd on its feet, drain a three-point shot or throw down a thunderous dunk.

But if you want to win a basketball game down the stretch, make your free throws.

According to statistics released by the NCAA, the latter statement is easier said than done, as free throw shooting accuracy among Division I schools is at 67.3 percent at the midway point of this season, down slightly from the final 1998-99 percentage of 67.8.

In other words, the players at the big schools are missing one out of every three free throws, giving credence to the oft-heard expression "the lost art of shooting."

One place where the art has been rediscovered is Monmouth College, where the Fighting Scots are on their way to shattering the school record for free throw accuracy.

Coach Terry Glasgow said in the preseason, "This may be the best perimeter shooting team I’ve had." Although the Scots are not proving him right from beyond the three-point arc (32.4 percent) or from the floor in general (41.6 percent), they are living up to their reputations at the foul line, sinking 78.5 percent of their attempts through 17 games.

With five regular season games to play, this year’s squad has an excellent chance to break the team record of 75.8 percent set during the 1988-89 campaign.

The team’s 79.6 mark through 16 games earned them the No. 2 billing in the nation among not just all Division III schools, but all NCAA schools regardless of division. Monmouth was sandwiched between first-place Ithaca (80.0 percent) and third-place Penn State-Behrend (78.0 percent) in Division III.

"It’s really gratifying, because if you look in the past, we have not been exceptionally strong at shooting free throws," said Glasgow, whose teams have shot 66.2 percent over the past five seasons. "We have put a lot more time into it in practice this season, much more so than in the past. Free throw shooting is all about rhythm and concentration, and the kids are recognizing that and doing a much better job this season."

The main individual responsible for Monmouth’s high showing is senior Kent Froebe, who has knocked down a phenomenal 91-of-101 foul shots (90.1 percent). He entered the week ranked sixth in Division III and then was 2-for-2 at the line Tuesday on his way to a game-high 23 points against Knox.

Froebe’s accuracy coming into his senior year was a solid but unspectacular 74.4 percent. Now, however, he’s on a pace to break the single-season school record of 87.9 percent set by

Fighting Scots basketball legend Dick Kovacs in 1954-55.

"Kent has always been a good free throw shooter," praised Glasgow. "Whether we’re up 25 or it’s a tie game and there’s no time left on the clock, Kent has the ability to block out all the other stuff and concentrate and makes his free throws."

Some of Froebe’s teammates with high marks at the line are Mike Roehm (90.9 percent on 11 attempts), Dan Mahoney (82.4) and Greg Kloepping (81.7). Kloepping, in fact, has a shot at the all-time career mark of 83.9 percent set by Mark Mendez. With a little over two years left in his MC career, Kloepping’s career accuracy is 85.6 percent (101-of-118).

While the Scots have an outside chance at leading the nation as a team, Froebe faces an intra-state individual rival who may be too tough to overcome. Illinois Wesleyan’s Corey Koon started the season with 41 straight makes – giving him a Division III-record 70 straight when combined with last season – and entered the week with 96.7 percent accuracy on 117-of-121 shooting.