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 "I get used to it," said Barry, a son of basketball Hall of Famer
Rick Barry, who was the godfather of under-handed free throws. "When
I'm on the road, people see the first shot and do double-takes. You
can almost hear them saying, 'What was that?'"
At a recent game at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, the
crowd roared in unison, "granny shot, granny shot" as Barry lofted
his first few free throws. The chorus, however, quickly lost steam
when Barry drained shot after shot.
Barry said he is puzzled why more players do not make the switch
from the traditional free-throwing shooting style to under-handed, a
throwback to the early days of basketball and rarely seen today.
"That's something that has surprised me and my dad for a long time
now," Barry said. "Especially when you have people shooting 40 or 50
percent. Why not give it a shot? There's no harm in trying when
you're shooting that poorly. I'm not sure if it's a pride thing or
people just don't think they can do it."
Barry converted from the traditional free throw as a junior in high
school and each season has felt more comfortable with the
under-handed shot. This year, as a junior at the South Carolina
college, Barry is hitting an impressive 87 percent of his free
throws through the team's first nine games.
Sounding every bit the physics major he is, Barry said the
under-handed motion is more fluid than the traditional shot. He said
there is less movement and less use of body joints, which makes it
an easier motion to repeat.
"There are less hinges that you have to account for," he said. "It
just comes in with a lot softer trajectory. It goes right over the
front of the rim. That aids in being a really soft shot. You get a
lot of good rolls, a lot of good bounces."
'THEY CAN'T MAKE FUN OF YOU'
Rick Barry, who played a total of 14 seasons in the National
Basketball Association and American Basketball Association before
retiring in 1978, knows the stigma attached to the under-handed
shot. He said he was not easily converted.
"I told my dad, 'I can't shoot that way. They'll make fun of me.
That's the way girls shoot,'" Rick Barry recalled. "He said, 'Son,
they can't make fun of you if you're making them.'"
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Rick Barry, who led the Golden State Warriors to the 1975 NBA title,
became one of pro basketball's best-ever free-throw shooters,
nailing nearly 90 percent. Now 71, Barry said the under-handed shot
is more instinctive.
"Who walks around with their arms over their shoulders?," he said.
"With the under-handed shot, you stand there with your arms hanging
down in a totally relaxed position. It makes so much sense to me."
College of Charleston coach Earl Grant said there is "a level of
shock" from the crowd when Barry shoots free throws on the road.
"Sure, I've heard the 'granny shot' chants," Grant said. "But not
for long. It's hard to say much when he goes to the line and makes
the shot."
Four of Rick Barry's sons have played professional basketball. Grant
said Canyon, at 6-foot-6 (1.98 meters), has the potential to be
something special.
"What I say about Canyon is what Michelangelo would say about his
art," he said. "The angel is already in the stone. I've just got to
continue to help it get out. I've always said if Canyon can improve
on certain things, he'll be unbelievable."
Barry is averaging a team-best 21.4 points per game this season. He
is the only Barry sibling who stayed with under-handed free throws.
"If I could make it to the NBA, that would be a dream come true,"
Barry said.
"But I know that the chances of anyone going professional are
incredibly remote. I'm just going to play my hardest and see where
basketball takes me."
(Reporting by Steve Ginsburg in Washington; Editing by Will Dunham)
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