So far, no free-throw woes for center Harris
After being fouled midway through the second half against Central Florida, Chris Harris Jr. made the slow walk to what once was a lonely place.
Historically, big men and free throws do not mix, and Harris, a 6-10 senior center for the University of Houston, provides no exception.
When most teams need to foul, Harris is the most likely to get the Hack-a-Shaq treatment as the Cougars’ lowest percentage freethrow shooter.
Which makes recent developments even more astonishing. One game into American Athletic
Conference play, Harris is a perfect 4 for 4 from the free-throw line. A small sample size, for sure, but enough to make Harris the Cougars’ most proficient shooter this decade.
It provided a moment of levity from coach Kelvin Sampson after the Cougars’ 78-63 win over UCF on Friday. As a team, UH was 30of-38 from the charity stripe, marking the first time since 2014 that they’d made 30 free throws in a game.
“Tell the fans I finally listened to them,” Sampson said with a wide grin. “Don’t you guys ever work on free throws with Chris? Never thought about that. We decided to finally listen.”
Why the sudden improvement?
Harris attributes the turnaround to spending the offseason working on free throws. He said he headed to the gym at every opportunity to “take at least 200” free throws.
“Really, the whole summer, I dedicated myself to free-throw shooting,” Harris said this week as the Cougars (11-3, 1-0 AAC) prepared for Tuesday’s game against Temple (9-4, 1-1) in Philadelphia. “I knew that was a big part of what I needed to do, that it was going to be important to this team.”
In his previous two seasons, Harris converted only 22 percent (10 of 45) of his free-throw attempts. He never had made more than one free throw in any of his previous 60 collegiate games.
This season, Harris has gone 9of-14 (64.3 percent).
“Mostly just mental,” Harris said of his early free-throw struggles. “I didn’t believe in myself. I didn’t think I could make them. As soon as I got to the line, I would just miss. Now that I’ve put in the work, I’m confident.”
Harris realizes the importance of converting from the free-throw line. At the time he made his last two attempts, the Cougars had yet to pull away and led UCF 60-50.
Harris said free throws, once a cause of trepidation, offer a chance to not only show the hard work has paid off but help the team in a close game.
The steps are simple, really. “Just relax; focus on the rim and nothing else,” he said. “I’m not worried about the fans. I just go up there and try and make them.”
Being comfortable at the freethrow line is one of the final pieces for Harris, who is well on his way to a career high in rebounds (61) and has become a force underneath the rim with 31 blocked shots, second most in the AAC.
“Instincts,” Harris said of his blocks total, which already has surpassed the 27 from last season. “Going after them more. Playing with more energy. I actually get more excited blocking a shot than scoring.”