This time of year, college basketball gives us everything, including a little Rick Barry flair in a conference tournament final on ESPN. In Monday night’s Southern Conference Championship game, most of the country got its first introduction to Wofford center Kyler Filewich and his unique style at the free throw line.
Now, after the Terriers' 92-85 win over Furman in Asheville to punch their ticket to the NCAA Tournament, Filewich and his free-throws are coming to March Madness.
Barry, who perfected the granny-style free throw in the NBA has long attempted to spread the form throughout basketball, but many players, like Shaquille O’Neal, were never willing to swallow their pride. Barry reportedly worked with Filewich at Wofford to help him adopt the underhand style, and the 6-foot-9 senior center deserves credit for taking a chance to get better. Still, the only thing more embarrassing than shooting underhand free throws is missing about 70% of them.
The 6-foot-9 senior center, who leads Wofford in rebounds and is second on the team in scoring at 11.9 points a game, is shooting a woeful 31.8% from the free throw line this season. His second straight year at 31% and the worst percentage of his five-year college basketball career. The change helped him go viral on Monday night, but it hasn’t helped him stay on the floor in crucial moments for the Terriers, who went from a No. 5 seed in the conference tournament to an automatic bid into the big dance.
College basketball might be the only sport in the world that routinely delivers stories like this to national prominence, and that’s why March is the best. Win or lose, make or miss, Filewich has a fan in me. Heading to the line a few times a game knowing you’re going to throw up an underhand brick takes a lot of courage. You just know he’s going to get fouled in a crucial moment in the first round next week, and if those two shots fall, he’ll be a March Madness legend.