The closing moments of basketballs 2012 NCAA Final Four game between Ohio State and Kansas was a nail biter and came down to the very last possession. With just under three second left in the game Ohio State found themselves down three points while shooting the front end of a double bonus. The shooter stepped up to the free throw line and rattled in the first foul shot. After that first free throw rattled in, Thad Matta (who was out of time outs) signaled to his shooter to intentionally miss the second foul shot in hopes that his team would secure the offensive rebound and perhaps get a put back as time ran out.

1. 1
How to Get More Offensive Rebounds After Free Throws-hoopskills.com
How to Get More Offensive Rebounds
After Free Throws
-by Coach Dave Stricklin
http://www.hoopskills.com
The closing moments of the 2012 NCAA Final Four game between Ohio State and
Kansas was a nail biter and came down to the very last possession.
With just under three second left in the game Ohio State found themselves down
three points while shooting the front end of a double bonus. The shooter stepped
up to the free throw line and rattled in the first foul shot. After that first free
throw rattled in, Thad Matta (who was out of time outs) signaled to his shooter to
intentionally miss the second foul shot in hopes that his team would secure the
offensive rebound and perhaps get a put back as time ran out.
The shooter proceeded to shoot his second foul shot and, like his coach
instructed, he missed. However, the defense screened out the players on the lane
line and the shooter committed a lane violation going after the miss too soon. As
a result Ohio State did not secure the rebound and lost by two points. Sitting
there in the stands I couldn't help but think that if the offensive team practiced a

2. 2
How to Get More Offensive Rebounds After Free Throws-hoopskills.com
couple simple free throw line rebounding strategies maybe the outcome would
have been different.
Below are two offensive rebounding techniques to use while at the free throw
line.
Snake the Key
The first technique is called snaking the key. This technique involves the two
offensive players on the lane line during the actual free throw. From a defensive
perspective, one side will usually pinch the offensive player using both defenders
while the other side's defenders will split box out responsibilities between the
shooter and the other lane line offensive player (diagrammed to the right.
To counteract this have both your 5 and 4 sprint to the opposite sides of the key
as soon as the shooter shoots the foul shot. The thought process behind this is
that if your players can get to the opposite side of the key they will now have
inside position on the defense. This works especially well for teams where the
rules allow athletes to cross the lane line on the release of the shot instead of

3. 3
How to Get More Offensive Rebounds After Free Throws-hoopskills.com
when the ball hits the rim as this gives your offensive rebounders an extra second
or two to carry out this action.
Attack from the Top
To fully picture this next technique I want you to refer to the diagram above. In
the diagram, and in most free throw situations, there are four defenders on the
lane, two offensive rebounders and a shooter. Logically speaking the defense has
the advantage on missed shots 4:3. However, after taking a second look at the
diagram above you will notice that outside of the three point line there is only
one defender and two offensive players. Logically speaking the offense has a 2:1
advantage. Having your players crash the board from the top of the key after a
free throw provides a great opportunity to gather a few extra rebounds a game.
There are two distinct teaching points I want to share with you to make this tactic
more effective. First, teach your offensive players outside the three point line to
listen to the defenders on the lane line. Before the shot, the top two defenders
will quickly discuss who is responsible for boxing out the shooter.
If your two offensive players outside the three can determine who is boxing out
the shooter it should give them inside information on where the open gaps can be
found. Second, by being positioned behind the shooter, these players will have a
better indication of where the shot is going to hit the rim. Knowing which side the
rebound is going to bounce will allow your players to react a half step quicker
than the other 6 players on the lane line.