Fragen & Antworten » . They squeezed past the Philadelphia 76ers

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Desperate to improve Floridas free throw shooting last season, coach Mike White tried a little bit of everything.He tweaked some of his players mechanics. He increased repetitions in practice. He had guys shoot while tired and winded and with some team accountability at stake. He even considered bringing in a sports psychologist.I didnt want it to become more mental than it already was, White said Tuesday.So he waited until the offseason.Over the summer, White brought in renowned sports psychologist Spencer Wood to work with the Gators.If you can train your mind, use different methods to understand how to stay in that place -- whatever that place is for you or whatever that trigger word is for you -- or get you back into that place of calm, or confident, those type things, I think it can help you with the rest of your game as well, said White, whos in his second season in Gainesville.So far, its made a noticeable difference for Florida (2-0), which plays St. Bonaventure (1-0) in Lakeland on Thursday night.After ranking 323rd (out of 346 NCAA teams) from the foul line last season, shooting a meager 64.7 percent, Florida is up to 78.6 percent so far this season. Two games are hardly enough of a sample size to make White a believer, but he wants to think there is improvement.You hope that moving forward we can be in the same mindset, White said. Im not sure its fixed. I dont want to sit here and think were a great free throw shooting team. But what weve seen the first two games is what weve been in practice. You want that to continue, of course. Our guys are in a pretty good place.White said feedback was positive, especially from center John Egbunu, point guard Kasey Hill and forward Justin Leon. Egbunu (53.2 percent), Hill (53.8) and Leon (46.2) were among Floridas worst foul shooters last season. All three are above 70 percent through two games.Leon said Wood worked with players to find their hype meter on a scale of 1 to 10, telling them they needed to play defense at a more frantic pace than offense, especially at the line.He gave me a lot of different breathing patterns, Leon added. So thats really been working for me. ... Its good to see it impact the game. That means the stuff weve been doing is working, and it shows weve taken the time to put the effort in the gym.Woods resume includes a number of college and professional teams. He worked with the Gators previously, getting invited by former Florida coach Billy Donovan before the 2010 season and helping that team deal with the psychological aspects of trying to get back to the NCAA tournament after a two-year absence. The Gators, led by Chandler Parsons, Kenny Boynton and Erving Walker, returned to the tournament.White blamed free throw shooting for his team missing the NCAA tournament last season. The Gators blew several leads, failing to put teams away late from the line, and had double-digit misses in 10 games.The Gators look considerably more confident this season. If not for newcomer Canyon Barry missing three of his first four underhanded free throws in the opener because of nerves, the Gators would have shot at least 80 percent from the charity stripe in both games.Very nice, very nice, White said. Knock on wood we continue shooting it this way. We have in practice. We just hope we continue to see that carry over. You can see it [in] their body languages, a little more confident at the foul line. ... Its a big factor for us. It kept up out of the NCAA tournament last year, single-handedly, and hopefully this year we continue shooting like this. Nike Air Max Tavas Nz . No. 13-seeded John Isner and No. 21 Philipp Kohlschreiber were among six players who dropped out of the tournament on Tuesday, joining No. 12 seed Tommy Haas and two other players who withdrew on Monday. Air Max 720 Mens Nz . Didier Drogba gave away the penalty that put Senegal one goal away from a major upset, but the veteran striker will get another chance -- probably his last -- at the World Cup after Salomon Kalous injury-time strike sealed the Ivorians place in Brazil next year. http://www.airmaxnzwholeale.com/cheap-air-max-95-nz/max-95-mens.html . Perez, 35, posted a 1-2 record with a 3.69 earned-run average in 19 relief appearances last season. His season ended Aug. 9 due to a torn ligament in his left elbow. Perez joins infielder Andy LaRoche and catcher Mike Nickeas with minor-league agreements for 2014 that include invitations to attend spring training. Air Max 720 Womens Nz .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. Nike Air Max NZ Online . The next step is a better finish. Bae played bogey-free Friday on another gorgeous day at Riviera for a 5-under 66, giving him a one-shot lead over Aaron Baddeley and Robert Garrigus going into the weekend. HOUSTON -- With one-quarter of their first season under Mike DAntoni complete, the Rockets are resembling the offensive juggernaut many predicted following the consummation between DAntoni and the Rockets bevy of perimeter shooters.The Rockets (13-7) completed their second five-game road trip of the season with a sparkling 4-1 record late Friday, capped by victories over the Golden State Warriors and Nuggets on consecutive nights. Houston played a league-high 14 road games thus far but are still generating serious momentum on the offensive end of the court.The Rockets, second in the league in points per game (111.3) and third in offensive rating (113.8 points per 100 possessions), averaged 121.6 points during their five-game roadie against Western Conference foes. The Rockets extended their NBA-record streak of consecutive games with at least 10 3-pointers to 19, a blitz that helped mask their defensive warts and the imbalance of playing so many road tilts.Therell be nights where well take a step back, and we can still get in our pick-and-rolls a little quicker, DAntoni said of the offense. We can get a lot better, but its a pretty good spot (to be in).Youve got James (Harden) and Ryan (Anderson) and Trevor (Ariza), all those guys. Youre going to score. I cant mess it up that bad. We just try to help them as much as we can and get out of the way.Entering Sunday, the Rockets had five players ranked among the top eight in the NBA in 3-pointers: reserve guard Eric Gordon (second with 63), Harden (fourth, 58), Ariza (seventh, 56), and Anderson (eighth, 54). With the Boston Celtics paying a visitt to Toyota Center on Monday, everything is going according to plan for the Rockets.ddddddddddddTwenty games in were pretty solid, Harden said. Weve still got a long way to go in the aspect of executing better ... but I like where were at.The Celtics (12-8) won six of eight and are two games into a stretch of eight of 10 on the road. They squeezed past the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday night behind another stellar performance from point guard Isaiah Thomas, whose 37-point effort marked his fifth 30-point game this season.Because of Bostons backcourt depth, Thomas is averaging a relatively modest 33.3 minutes per game. He ranks ninth in the league in scoring (26.3 points) but outside the top 20 in average minutes. Given that efficiency, its easy to question whether Thomas can handle a greater workload as the schedule reaches the winter.Theres sometimes where you feel like those last few minutes of the third quarter are going to be really important moving forward, especially based on how your teams playing, Celtics coach Brad Stevens said. You just have to make that decision are you going to take him out earlier in the third ... and put him back in a little bit earlier or play him through until the 2- or 1-minute mark of the third and then get him his rest until the 7- or 6- (minute mark of the fourth quarter).Ultimately there will be days that are very consistent and there will be times Im going to go with my gut. (The players) know that and weve talked about it. ' ' '