NBL1 West 2023: Slammers men’s coach Shane Goff hopes practice improves performance

The South West Slammers men’s team left 20 points on the table during Saturday night’s 97-82 home loss against the Warwick Senators. Working hard penetrating to the basket, the Slammers notched up 42 free-throw attempts, however, missed 20 of these shots. Ahead of Friday night’s clash against the ninth-placed Cockburn Cougars — who need to win at the Eaton Recreation Centre to keep their finals hopes alive — Slammers coach Shane Goff is hopeful additional practice throughout the week can translate into more points for his side. “It’s purely 100 per cent practice,” he said. “You can put all of your thoughts and everything into it, but as athletic players, they have to be putting hundreds of free throws a week. “That is what I told them after the game. “Free throws are the easiest shot to get from the free-throw line as there is no pressure. But hitting those shots maximises muscle memory and shooting range, which is how you get into form. “If you start hitting them during training on your own — all of a sudden your outside shots will start to go because you know where the rim is, which is what basketball’s all about. “If you look at any of the super athletes who play this game, they’ll put up lots of shots all around the court, but a quarter to half of their own practice sessions will be free throws, because this is form shooting and how you become good at it.” A pleasing element from the Senators’ loss was the improved defensive effort, with the Slammers players helping force their Warwick counterparts into missing 11 of their first 12 three-point attempts, before finishing 13/34 overall. “These teams we play against love their three-point shooting,” Goff said. “They shoot one third to half of all of their shots outside of the arc, so if we are pressuring those shots and they hit them contested, we can live with that, but not uncontested shots is not what we’re after. “By keeping the pressure on, they only have to miss a couple and their thought processes change.” Scouting report (Men’s) Cougars League position: 9th. Last round: lost to Willetton Tigers 108-101, defeated Goldfields Giants 102-98; top performer (v Giants) - Taj Benning (22 points - 8/16 field goal attempts, 1/2 three-point attempts, 3/4 free throw attempts, 13 rebounds, three assists, zero steals, three blocks).