Central Catholic foul shooting continues to be foul

Central Catholic won Tuesday night in the District 11 3A semifinals and that's why people could laugh about the Vikings' dreadful 13-for-31 effort at the foul line.

But it won't be a laughing matter if the Vikings continue to shoot less than 50 percent from the line on Friday night against Pottsville in the district final or in the state tournament. Because that kind of foul shooting will spell defeat.

What would the late Hank (The Shot Doctor) Slider be saying about this kind of foul shooting?

The Allentown shooting instructor, who used to help some of the biggest names in the game, would probably be shaking his head in disgust.

And while even Kevin McKellick admitted it has been a problem all season, it certainly hasn't been Central alone that has been woeful from what they used to call the charity stripe.

I haven't seen any statistics on it, but my guess is that most teams are shooting 60 percent or less from the line and a few are under 50 percent.



Central coach Jim Rodgers said his team has tried to get this problem solved in a variety of ways, and to a degree, he's tired of hearing about it.

"If I had a nickel for every time someone told me we had a bad night at the free-throw line, I'd be a wealthy guy," Rodgers said moments after his team's 55-40 win over Saucon Valley. "We're trying everything at practice. We're trying to take it super serious; we're trying to tone it down. Most of the kids don't have a lot of issues with form. I think it's more of a concentration level. You've got to make those when they're for free."

Rodgers said they'll get back to work on the free throws in practice on Wednesday and Thursday.

(Central's David McFadden, above right, had a couple of slams, but was just 2 o 6 at the line.)

CCHS will need everything it can get to beat a Pottsville team that shut out Jim Thorpe in the first quarter of its 55-46 semifinal win.

The tide, which lost to Southern Lehigh in last year's district final, led 14-0 after eight minutes at Blue Mountain.

Jim Thorpe was 0-for-10 from the field and had five turnovers in the first quarter, but somehow came all the way back to tie the game at 34 before running out of steam.

Just like CCHS, Jim Thorpe struggled at the line, going 4-for-11, and that certainly didn't help the Olympians' cause.

Nick Schlitzer led the Tide (22-4) with 20 points and Josh Whalen added 12.

Make no mistake, Pottsville will be imposing on Friday night. They scrap, they hustle, they play good defense. And they are Schuylkill League champs, so they know how to perform on a big stage.

Anyone who thinks this is a cakewalk for CCHS is badly mistaken. Even in some of their glory years, the Vikings have had their problems against Pottsville, losing in both 1984 and '85.

This Central team is still a work in progress, capable of looking great in some stretches, and struggling mightily in others. And the fact that this game is being played at Blue Mountain -- 10 minutes, max, from Pottsville -- is also going to be a factor. It's going to be a hostile crowd for the Vikings, and we'll see if CCHS has the poise to handle that -- as well as the foul line -- before it can become a district champ.

By the way, I overhead a District 11 official say that tonight's paid crowd was about 680. That's combined for a 4A girls DH involving Liberty and Northampton and the 3A boys game. Now you see why I continually talk about dwindling attendance. The district does get a good chunk of change from TV, so it isn't overly concerned.



But believe me, the in-the-gym atmosphere is nowhere near what it used to be. And that's a shame

From Keith Groller