Kyler Filewich free throw: Why Wofford C shoots free throws underhand in March Madness
Kyler Filewich free throw: Why Wofford C shoots free throws underhand in March Madness
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NBA draft prospects to watch in the March Madness tournament
USAT's Mackenzie Salmon gives you four players to keep your eye on in March Madness that will most likely be heading to the NBA next year.
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For anyone who has watched college basketball for any amount of time, the scene is a familiar one.
In the waning seconds of a tight game in the NCAA Tournament, a player steps to the free-throw line to either ice a win or pull their trailing team closer. For a handful of seconds, the eyeballs of millions are fixed on a college-aged student trying to get one step closer to their dreams.
If the Wofford men's basketball team finds itself in that position sometime over the next week, perhaps beginning with its first-round matchup today with No. 2 seed Tennessee, it's possible that one of its players walks into that pressurized situation in a way that few do.
REQUIRED READING: Men's March Madness games today: Breaking down Thursday's NCAA Tournament matchups
Terriers center Kyler Filewich is a rarity among not only college basketball players, but basketball players at any level — he shoots his free throws under-handed or, as it's more commonly known, 'granny style.'
Filewich's technique attracted nationwide attention last week in Wofford's victory against Furman in the Southern Conference Tournament championship game, when a video of him missing an underhand free throw with about 15 minutes remaining in regulation made the rounds on social media.
We've got Granny Style free throws on national TV, courtesy of Wofford's Kyler Filewich.
The BEAUTY of Conference Tournament Week. pic.twitter.com/FaTzJs42VB — Ben Stevens (@BenScottStevens) March 11, 2025
If Wofford makes some kind of run in the NCAA Tournament, and if Filewich plays any role in that success, he could be the next person in a long and proud line of March Madness cult heroes.
Here's a closer look at Filewich and his approach to free throws:
REQUIRED READING: Men's March Madness upset picks: Predicting NCAA Tournament first-round surprises
Wofford basketball underhand free throws
Filewich has been an integral player on a Wofford team that's making its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2019.
The 6-foot-9 Winnipeg, Manitoba native has started in all 34 of his team's games this season and is averaging 11.9 points and 9.4 rebounds per game. The latter figure ranks him among the top 20 players nationally and his 318 rebounds this season are a program single-season record.
Like some big men, though, Filewich struggles when it comes to consistently knocking down free throws.
Across his five seasons of college basketball, the first two of which were spent at Southern Illinois, Filewich has made just 37% of his free throws. He has never shot better than 50% in a season, which came as a sophomore at Southern Illinois on a career-low 34 attempts. In each of the past two seasons, he is shooting below 32% from the charity stripe.
As he and his coaches saw it, something had to change. A potential fix was soon identified: his form.
In early February, shortly after he missed all eight of his free throw attempts in a Jan. 29 loss against VMI, the Terriers' coaching staff approached Filewich to see if he'd be open to changing his mechanics on free throws and if he'd consider going granny style.
There were understandable reasons for Filewich to be hesitant. Underhand free throws are incredibly uncommon, particularly at the NBA and college levels. The explanation for it isn't particularly complex — granny style free throws are awkward-looking and an easy subject for ridicule and jokes, something that high-level athletes with a good deal of personal pride aren't enthusiastic to sign up for.
Because of that, there have been precious few examples of Division I or professional basketball players employing the technique. Most famously, Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Rick Barry shot free throws that way and did so quite well, making 89.3% of his free throws over the course of his decorated NBA career. Barry's son, Canyon, who played at College of Charleston and Florida, followed in his father's footsteps and shot free throws underhand, as well. Beyond the Barry family, though, there have been precious few examples, with former Houston Rockets and Louisville big man Chinanu Onuaku perhaps the most notable acolyte.
If Filewich needed any further convincing, Wofford had a wrinkle to its pitch — it would bring in Barry to the school's Spartanburg, South Carolina campus to help him through the nuances of the underhand free throw.
'It actually doesn't happen very much, which is crazy when you think about it,' Barry said to The Athletic. 'This is scientifically proven to be the best method! It's such a soft shot. When they called, my first question was, is (Kyler) serious? Because I'm not going to waste my time.'
Filewich was serious and quickly took to the new form.
Though his improvement hasn't been drastic, the big man has been converting on his free-throw attempts at a higher clip.
When he made the switch ahead of a Feb. 5 game against Chattanooga, Filewich had made just 24 of his 79 free-throw attempts (30.4%). Since then, he has knocked down 18 of his 51 attempts (35.3%), raising his season average almost two percentage points. In two games since going underhand, he has made at least 60% of his free throws in two games. In the Southern Conference championship game that sent Wofford to the NCAA Tournament, he made two critical free throws that extended the Terriers' lead from three to five with about six minutes remaining.
REQUIRED READING: March Madness bold predictions: 10 unexpected forecasts for 2025 NCAA Tournament
Kyler Filewich free throw percentage
Filewich is making 31.8% of his free throws this season, the second-lowest mark of his career.
Here's a look at Filewich's year-by-year free-throw percentage:
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