Winthrop digging consistent trips to the foul line
Keon Johnson’s game-winning performance Tuesday night against USC Upstate should serve as a template for how much havoc the little Winthrop speedster can wreak on opposing men’s college basketball teams this winter.
Johnson scored a career-high 32 points, but 14 of those came from the foul line where the 5-foot-5 - maybe he’s really 5-foot-4? - junior is a 85 percent shooter for his career. When NCAA officials mandated in the offseason that they would be cracking down on hand-check defense, Johnson’s eyes must have widened. Without putting hands on him, defenders can’t keep the Ohio native in front of them.
“He’s an attacking kid, which is amazing at 5-foot-4, how good he is attacking the basket,” said Winthrop coach Pat Kelsey. “And then you have to guard him so far out on the floor because of his range, it helps open up the floor for driving lanes as well.”
Johnson is already benefiting from the referees’ extra protection. According to KenPom.com, Johnson would draw seven fouls on opponents if he played an entire 40 minutes. That ranks in the top-150 in the country and is a number the junior can augment as the season progresses. He drew four and 4.2 fouls per 40 minutes the last two seasons.
Increased aggression isn’t limited to Johnson. Winthrop has made 94 free throws, while its opponents have only attempted 97. That stat is finally tilted in the Eagles’ favor in a way Kelsey has sought since he arrived at the school in 2012.
“We definitely talk about that stat specifically,” said Winthrop guard Jimmy Gavin.
A quick glance at KenPom’s advanced stats show the increased importance of free throws in Winthrop’s scoring. The Eagles get a quarter of their points from the charity stripe, 63rd nationally and a sizable jump from years past (just 18 percent in 2011-12, and only 20 percent last season).
Johnson wasn’t the only Eagle that visited the foul line frequently in Spartanburg on Tuesday. Gavin, who scored 22 points in the win, shot 9-of-11 from the charity stripe. The pair helped carry Winthrop (4-0) through its first really poor shooting game of the season to a victory.
“It’s tough on the road if you’re getting only perimeter looks to get engaged in the game,” Gavin said. “So in the second half we really made it a point to attack the lane and just get to the rim. As we started to do that we put more pressure on them and with the way they’re calling the game with the hand-check, it’s hard to keep people out of the lane. We really made it a focus.”
The Eagles died by the 3 more than a few times in the last couple seasons, but lived through a drought against Upstate.
“It showed a lot of character and wherewithal on our guys’ part to overcome a shooting slump early on,” said Kelsey, whose team hit just one of its first 17 3-pointers against Upstate. “I would could count three, maybe three and half that were bad ones. Open 3s in rhythm, if you’re getting those, whether it’s in the first three seconds of the shot clock or the last three seconds of the shot clock, we live with those.”
Free throws could again be a crucial source of offense when undefeated Winthrop gets its biggest examination yet, in Raleigh against N.C. State (3-2) Friday night. The Wolfpack only go about seven players deep, so trying to pile up fouls and challenge that depth will likely be a point of emphasis for Winthrop.
Mark Gottfried’s State team definitely has quality, if not quantity. Junior point guard Cat Barber is one of the best point guards in the ACC. He is 0-for-7 this year from beyond the 3-point line, but he’s shot 53 free throws in five games, making 88 percent. At 6-foot-2, Barber, so-named for his quickness, is a player that will test Winthrop’s equally quick play-maker, Johnson.
“No matter who we play, I’m looking to be aggressive,” he said. “When the time comes I’ll be ready.”
This story was originally published November 26, 2015 at 1:43 PM with the headline "Winthrop digging consistent trips to the foul line."