Brandan Wright All-Stars: Tournament Edition

It's the most wonderful time of the year. The most chaos you will see because you'll get to see some close games that will make or break a team's season. And when you see that #4 seed sweating over the final minutes (and you know who you are...Washington State!), The difference is going to be who can make their free throws. In those moments, look for these players to completely screw their teams over.

These are the Brandan Wright All-Stars of the NCAA Tournament.

EAST REGION

Center-Ronald Douglas, South Alabama

Forward-David Padgett, Louisville

Forward-Arvydas Lidzius, St. Joseph's

Guard-JP Prince, Tennessee

Guard-Matt Bauscher, Boise State

MIDWEST REGION

Center-Sasha Kaun, Kansas

Forward-Taj Gibson, USC

Forward-Marcus Morgan, Cal State Fullerton

Guard-Ray Reed, Cal State Fullerton

Guard-Cliff Hammonds, Clemson

SOUTH REGION

Center- Jarvis Varnado, Mississippi State

Forward- Joey Dorsey, Memphis

Forward- Jermaine Griffin, UT-Arlington

Guard- Damion James, Texas

Guard- Luis Guzman, Temple

WEST REGION

Center- Deandre Jordan, Texas A&M

Forward- Trent Plaisted, BYU

Forward- Lance Thomas, Duke

Guard- Ty Rogers, Western Kentucky

Guard- Matt Roland, Texas A&M

Brandan Wright All-Stars: Memphis

Last night was a great game. Despite what some consider to be a subpar performance from Memphis, they were with the Vols for the entire game, and neither Memphis' Derrick nor Tennnessee's J.P. Prince would let their teams lose. However, no one can deny that Memphis's free throw shooting was terrible.

There had been concerns about The Tigers' free throw shooting all season (4th worst in the NCAA), and experts believed it would eventually cost them a game. Last night, the Tigers were just 8-17 from the stripe, and 1-6 down the stretch. Many times, misses were the front end of one-and-ones. Robert Dozier was the only player to hit both of his free throws, and the only Memphis starter who shoots above 70% from the stripe, so he is exempt from ridicule. By contrast, Prince, a normally 46.7% free throw shooter, sunk both of his shots when the Vols absolutely needed him to do so.

The average free throw shooting percentage in the NCAA was 69.12% in 2006. If all that Memphis did was match that percentage for the 17 free throws we know they would have taken (minus the back end of one-and-ones), the Tigers would have hit four more free throws. Tennessee's margin of victory Saturday night? Four points. Certainly there are many other ways in which Memphis could have won this game (better rebounding, the three pointers not going cold, etc.), but free throws are the one aspect of basketball of which a team has complete control.

So in honor of the most talented and most free throw-challenged team in the nation, all of the Memphis Tigers (except Dozier) will be given honorary first team Brandan Wright All-Star status.

Brandan Wright All-Stars: Pac-10

This picture appeared in a "Brandan Wright" image search. Seriously.

Every team has at least one of these players at some point in their history. He's very talented, very athletic, can shoot lights out from the fields, and does almost everything that's asked of him.

The emphasis here is "almost." He has one major flaw: he can't shoot free throws to save his soul. As a fan, you watch him shoot from the stripe, and it invokes the kind of reaction akin to seeing a freshly run-over squirrel:




So this is dedicated to the players who are good at everything but the freebies. The supremely talented men who happen to be the Stripe Sultans of Suck. These...are the Brandan Wright All-Stars of the Pac-10.

A refresher on the BWAS rules... First and foremost, it must be a five-man lineup that one could envision trotting onto the court. That's why we can't just have five big guys make the team. The primary criteria for qualification is for a player's field goal percentage to EXCEED their free throw percentage. A bit of leeway is given to guards, for which finding enough to meet this criteria can be difficult. In those cases, a sub .500 shooting efficiency is enough. In most circumstances, players must also have played at least 10 minutes per game, been healthy for all or most of the year, and have shot enough free throws (10+) for statistical relevance.

On to the Pac-10 squad:

Center: Eric Boateng, Arizona State. Finally! We finally get a Dukie on this roster, albeit a transfer. His field goal efficiency (61.2%) is nearly double his percentage from the line (32.4%).

Forward: Jon Brockman, Washington. A potential All-Conference player, no one can doubt Brockman's abilities. Still, his foul shooting leaves a bit to be desired (53.7%).

Forward: Taj Gibson, USC. Despite his seeming lack of size, Taj is a beast in the paint for the Trojans, grabbing key rebounds, shooting 59.3% from the floor, and getting to the line on a consistent basis. Too bad he doesn't do very well once he gets there; he's a partly 56% from the line.

Guard: LeKendric Longmire, Oregon. Of all the Brandan Wright All-Stars so far this year, LeKendric Longmire has by far the most awesome name. His free throw shooting...not so much (33.3% from the line compared to 46.6% from the field).

Guard: Angelo Johnson, USC. The Trojans have four members of their regular roster with a FT percentage under 60. Among them is Angelo Johnson (50%). Tim Floyd may have to improve his entire team's free throw shooting if he wants the Trojans to make noise during OJ Mayo's likely short time on campus.

Dishonorable mention: Artem Wallace (Washington), Josh Owens (Stanford).

Brandan Wright All-Stars: Big 12

Yes...Smell the delightful stench of glory!

Every basketball team, no matter what level has had this kind of player at some at some point. He's very skilled; in fact, he may be your strongest overall weapon. He has very few weaknesses. However, the principal flaw in his game is also one of its most basic fundamentals. For some big men, it's ball control. For others, it's finding passing lanes. For some offensive juggernauts, it's playing defense. And for some players who shoot lights out from the field, it's shooting the gimme shot of all gimme shots.

For Carolina, that player was Brandan Wright. When he graced our court for one season, he was one of the most versatile players in the ACC. However, trying to hit free throws must have felt a bit like this:



In his spirit, we celebrate these [insert bad pun here] of the free throw line. These...are the Brandan Wright All-Stars of the Big 12.

Center: DeAndre Jordan, Texas A&M. Despite the fact that he leads all Big 12 starters in FG shooting, he's only 44.2% from the stripe this season. And that's after hitting 10 of 17 in his last four games.

Forward: Shang Ping, Nebraska. The only Husker basketball player to make any All-Star team since the Danny Nee era, Ping shoots only 40.7% from the line this season despite the highest field goal percentage on his team.

Forward: Blake Griffin, Oklahoma. 58.8 (58.9). Perhaps the most exemplary BWAS yet, Blake Griffin is perhaps the best player on Jeff Capel's roster right now. Yet on at least one occasion, the local high school phenom's free throw shooting may have cost his team a victory. Griffin did it all in the Sooners' January 14th game against Kansas State: 27 points, 14 rebounds (including 8 offensive), an assist, two steals, and getting both Bill Walker and Michael Beasley into serious foul trouble. He came up big in the final seconds, hitting two free throws, stealing the inbound pass, and hitting a huge shot to tie it at 82 before Beasley hit the game-winning layup on the other end. Prior to the final minute, however, Griffin was 5 of 11 from the line. If the Big 12 continues to provide nail-biters, Griffin's free throw shooting could decide the Sooners' tournament fate.

So...no pressure, dude. No pressure at all.

Guard: Damion James, Texas. While his FT percentage (53.8) is slightly higher than his percentage from the field (46.8), James also makes the team from sheer sample size. If you have a bad field goal percentage after 10 free throws over 15 games, it may just be because you're cold from the bench. However, having attempted over 90 foul shots this season proves James' inability to accept "charitable donations".

Guard: Marshall Moses, Oklahoma St. Guards are partuclarly difficult to select for BWAS. Usually, it comes down to a player whose free throw shooting is bad but whose shooting percentage is even lower (like in Damion James' case) or a guard who has only has a ridiculously low percentage because they've only put up ten freebies all season. The latter is the case with Marshall Moses (50.0 FT%, 52.2% FG) who is 4-8 on the year.


Dishonorable Mention: Ron Anderson (Kansas State), Sasha Kaun (Kansas), Josh Lomers (Baylor), those two Serbian dudes at Texas Tech (Suljagic and Rizvic).

Brandan Wright All-Stars: Big Ten

In last year's college basketball season, Greg Oden and Kevin Durant stole the spotlight as spectacular freshmen, en route to becoming the top two picks in the draft. Neither of them however, could hit finesse shots in the paint like Brandan Wright could. He may be riding the pine for Golden State now, but from 15 feet in, Wright's shot was unstoppable in his only year at North Carolina.

However, unlike his compatriot Tyler Hansbrough, he rarely drew fouls to get to the free throw line. Some believed that he wasn't bulky enough. Others believed he hadn't developed a mean streak. But by know, we must all know the real reason: Brandan Wright shot free throws worse than Garth Marenghi made sci-fi television.

(Warning: this clip is long, but worth it.)


Storming the Floor: Come for the college basketball, stay for the obscure British TV references.

So this is dedicated to the players who the composers of clang, the players who make student sections across the country believe they can make players miss a free throw. These...are the Brandan Wright All-Stars of the Big Ten.

Center/Forwards: The Entire Iowa Frontcourt. The three forwards on the Hawkeyes roster roster (Kurt Looby, Jarryd Cole, and Cyrus Tate) combine for the highest field goal percentage of any frontcourt in the Big Ten; however, none are better than 52.5% from the stripe. Who knows, a free throw shooting coach could be just what Todd Lickliter needs for Iowa to contend in the Big Ten and make the tourney. Or least get someone other than his starting guards to score 7 points per game.

Guard: Jeff Ryan, Northwestern. Is it physically possible for a guard to be both your team's best field goal shooter and its worst free throw shooter? Ryan manages to accomplish that; despite shooting 58.2% from the field and 40% from beyond the arc, his percentage from the stripe is only 34.6.

Guard: Mike Walker, Penn State. Field goal shooting at around 40% is understandable for a guard. A free throw percentage to match is not.

Dishonorable mention: Spencer Tollackson (Minnesota), Eric Wallace and Dallas Lauderdale (Ohio State), Sterling Williams (Northwestern), David Merritt (Michigan).

Brandan Wright All-Stars: Big East

Brandan Wright was one of the most talented players to wear a Tar Heel uniform in the post-Dean Smith era. A phenom out of Nashville, he hit 67% of his shots in Chapel Hill, and he even developed a mid-range jumper and hook shot prior to declaring himself eligible for the NBA draft following his freshman year.

But do you know who shoots better free throws than Wright? This guy:



Yes, despite all the tools in his arsenal, his one true weakness was when he got to the line. This is dedicated to the great players of college basketball who seem to be lacking when 15 feet of air is the sole object separating them from the basket. These...are the Brandan Wright All-Stars of the Big East.

Center: Casiem Drummond, Villanova. Roy Hibbert would have been a near-obvious choice, but there are a few centers in the Big East with higher field goal percentages, and many with worse free throw percentages. Drummond is an integral bench player for the Wildcats, tallying nearly 8 points and 9 rebounds per game and shooting 58% from the field before an injury sidelined him in December. (He qualifies for this team because he has since returned.) However, at 27.8% from the line, he is the team's worst free throw shooter.

Forward: Vernon Macklin, Georgetown. If Hibbert is bad from the free throw line, then Macklin is simply God-awful. Currently, his field goal percentage (60.0) is more than twice his free throw percentage, an astoundingly bad 27.1%.

Forward: Arinze Onauku, Syracuse. Thanks to Jameson of CuseAdelphia for suggesting this one to me. Onuaku is probably the best Brandan Wright archetype we have seen so far. A talented 6-9 Junior coming back from knee surgery, Onauku is averaging nearly 14 points per game and shooting more than 68% from the field for the Orange. However, he is the team's worst free throw shooter, making only 44.9% of his attempts from the stripe.

Guard: Jabari Currie, DePaul. It's difficult to find good guards for the Brandan Wright All-Star team. Most guards have a free throw shooting percentages far above their field goal percentages (either because they're sharpshooters or because they chuck up more bad threes than most people can bear to watch). Jabari Currie, however, more than fits the necessary requirements.He ranks 12th in the Big East in 3 point percentage (44.5% beyond the arc, equivalent in points to shooting 67% from two point range) among players who average at least 2 attempts per game. However, he has shot 37.5% from the stripe thus far this season.

Guard: Jamaul Warren, Cincinatti. Jeremiah Rivers was almost put in this spot; the Hoyas get a reprieve from having multiple players on this roster thanks to some slightly deeper research. Despite not shooting the ball very well, at the stripe Warren is almost comically bad for a guard, making only 30.5% of his undefended shots.

(Dis)honorable mention: Hibbert and Rivers (Georgetown), Dwight Burke (Marquette), Rick Jackson (Syracuse).

Brandan Wright All-Stars: ACC

Brandan Wright was a great player in his short time at Carolina. As half of one of the best 1-2 frontcourt punches in the nation, he led the ACC in field goal percentage, and was a big lift to a 12-deep UNC team which, when mentally in the game, could not be stopped.

However, Brandan had a weakness. Oh, did he have a weakness. His free throw shooting was terrible. The shooting motion was almost painful to watch, and Heels fans could hear the clang of the ball bouncing off the rim from the moment Wright drew a foul. It was especially painful when compared to Tyler Hansbrough, about an 80% free throw shooter. As great and talented a player as Brandan was, the one aspect of his Carolina career which I will always remember is OH MY GOD HE'S SHOOTING FREE THROWS RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!!

So this is dedicated to the players who only shoot the ball smooth as silk when there's a hand in their face. The great shooters of each conference who can't hit a free throw to save their souls. These...are the Brandan Wright All-Stars of the ACC.

Center: Ryan Pettinella, Virginia. The 6-9 senior transfer from Penn has rapidly regressed in his free throw abilities during his college career. As a freshman, he shot 63.1 percent from the free throw line. Since then, the percentage has come down to 42%, to 24%, to an unbelievable 10% this season.

Read that again. Ten percent from the free throw line. Dave Leitao would get a better free throw percentage from a parapalegic with Tourettes in the student section. All of this despite shooting nearly 54% from the field.

Forward: Gani Lawal, Georgia Tech. The local freshman phenom from College Park is second in the ACC in field goal percentage (66.1), but is only 20 of 38 from the charity stripe, less than 53 percent.

Forward: Dwayne Collins, Miami(FL). The Hurricanes' sixth man has been a valuable part of their 13-1 start, shooting 59.1% off the bench. However, with a 46.3 shooting percentage from the stripe. expect to see him on the bench in the final minutes.

Guard: Rakim Sanders, Boston College. The Eagles' shooting guard, designated sharpshooter, and second leading scorer (behind the indispensable Tyrese Rice) is a paltry 36.4 percent from the line this season.

Guard: Cliff Hammonds, Clemson. You know I had to put a Clemson player on this list. While he was not involved in the Tiger's charity stripe breakdown against North Carolina, his free throw percentage is perhaps the worst among ACC starters (35%), despite being one of the conference's best 3-point shooters, 46.3% from beyond the arc.

So the next time your team is playing from behind late in a game, these are the players you need to foul.

(Dis)honorable mention: Brian Zoubek (Duke), Deon Thompson (UNC), Ismael Smith (Wake), The entire Clemson squad, except Terrence Oglesby, in their game against North Carolina.