By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
Out of the many storylines that so far dominate the narrative of the 2018-2019 EuroLeague season, few are perhaps more surprising – unexpected, even, to some – than Jan Vesely‘s final stages of evolution towards becoming an elite (seriously) free throw shooter.
While Vesely himself doesn’t enjoy so much being at the center of the spotlight for reasons that have to do with individual numbers and personal stats, he admits that he’s well aware that his free throw shooting has been quite a “hot” topic this EuroLeague season.
“Well, you guys certainly love to talk about it. Me? I’m just doing my job,” Vesely told Eurohoops with a wide smile. “That’s my focus. And one of the jobs I have to do is making free throws.”
The Fenerbahce forward/center stopped for a moment to hit the table. “Knock on wood, so far it’s going pretty well I think.” The surface of the table was all glass. It had to suffice.
We are talking about 86.8 percent and 46 made free throws out 53 attempts in the 10 EuroLeague games Vesely has played so far this season. He is currently ranked fourth in free-throw accuracy in the competition while some weeks ago he was at the top of the list after beginning with 29/31 in the first eight Rounds.
That’s quite the climb from the 70.7 percent Vesely had in 2017-2018 and a seriously outstanding leap from his early seasons with Fenerbahce.
Four years ago when he returned to EuroLeague following what he describes as an unpleasant stint in the NBA, Vesely suffered with each trip to the line. In his first two seasons with the Turkish team, he had a horrid 49.5 percent on 108 attempts. 2015-2016 numbers from the charity stripe were even more atrocious for the Czech big man that saw his shooting being dropped to 45.3 percent on the 95 free throws he took that season.
Despite these free-throw woes, 2015-2016 culminated in a first-time All-EuroLeague First Team appearance for Vesely while his team made its maiden appearance in the league’s Final. After coming down from 21 points in the second half of the title game against CSKA Moscow, Fenerbahce found themselves up by two in the last seconds of regulation. A put-back basket by Viktor Khryapa forced the overtime, where the Russian team won 101-96 to capture the title.
Vesely‘s campaign was capped by a 1/10 from the line in the Final. A number that was the stuff of nightmares in his first-ever EuroLeague Final and following the top season of his career until then.
“I will share a story with you that happened after the 2016 Final,” Fenerbahce head coach Zeljko Obradovic told Eurohoops. “Not immediately. Some days after the Final. Before the beginning of the Turkish League playoffs.”
“I call Jan. And I say to him: Listen Jan. I don’t care about this. I don’t care that you shot 1/10. You are the person that gives a lot of things to this team. And because of you, we were able to play at a high level the whole season and play in the Final. Even if you shoot 0/20 right now… I won’t care. The most important thing is for you to understand that it’s a completely psychological thing. That you need to go to the line and shoot as always you do because your form is very good. And that’s it.”
Contrary to popular belief, Jan Vesely‘s path to free-throw enlightenment didn’t begin after 2016 EuroLeague Final, nor was it a result of that 1/10 output. While people were watching his on-court misfortunes from the line, the then-26-year-old player had already been grinding his way to better his numbers.
“My assistant coach (Berkay Oguz) who worked with Jan even before the 2016 Final was telling me that when they worked together in practices, he had always 91-93 out of 100. At worst. Before the Final,” Obradovic said to Eurohoops.
However, it was the discussion coach Obradovic described that planted the seeds of extra commitment and dedication by Jan Vesely and pushed him further towards boosting his overall numbers. Including his free throw percentage.
“It wasn’t a turning point regarding only my free throws. This talk was a turning point in realizing how much my coach trusts me. And if the coach trusts you so much you, it’s an extra motivation to play better overall. So, this gave me a motivation to improve in general. Focus more. And yes, eventually make those free throws,” Vesely said.
During the period of metamorphosis from being a player who doesn’t even make half of his free throws, to nearly a money shooter from the line, Vesely received help not only from coaches but also some of his teammates who can hit a free throw with their eyes closed.
“After practices, he always stayed longer to shoot a lot of shots, first of all with Gigi Datome, one of the best free throw shooters in Europe,” Obradovic said to Eurohoops. “And some other players. That was very important. That he began shooting free throws with his teammates. We also have a way we use in practice where I give them two free throws before they do some sprints or some jumps. Situations like the game.”
The central part in Vesely’s daily free-throw labor was something basic: Trying to send the ball to the hoop at a direction as straight as possible.
“My first focus was to shoot the ball more… straight,” Vesely said. “My shot used to go left and right. So I wanted to fix that. Step by step I improved that. When I remembered the things I did right, I repeated them. There was a routine that I was focused on and that was it.”.
“Now he probably feels more comfortable because he repeats the same thing after practice,” Obradovic said. “I believe that it has helped him a lot. I also try to explain some technical things to him. He understands them all, he’s a smart person.”
From one point onwards, the physical part of the free throw, the technique or the shooting form that Jan Vesely implemented were spot on. What the player needed was turning on another switch inside of him that would allow him to convert all the hard work he has done to actual free-throw production during games.