North Carolina is winning, defending, and stacking résumé-building victories like a team built for March — yet there’s one uncomfortable moment that keeps showing up again and again. It happens in silence, with the clock stopped, the crowd holding its breath, and the ball resting alone at the free-throw line. For all the things UNC is doing right during its best start in nearly two decades, this one flaw refuses to disappear. And what’s most intriguing isn’t just the missed shots — it’s the unusually calm, almost hands-off way Hubert Davis is choosing to deal with them.
UNC basketball is off to its best start in 17 years under fifth-year coach Hubert Davis, defending at a high level while leaning on the dominant frontcourt duo of Caleb Wilson and Henri Veesaar.
But the 12th-ranked Tar Heels (12-1) haven’t been good at the free-throw line, tracking toward their worst free-throw percentage (68.4%) since Roy Williams’ final year as the coach in 2021. Entering the ACC opener against Florida State (7-6) on Tuesday, Dec. 30 (7 p.m., ESPN2), UNC is 279th nationally in free-throw percentage, making over 70% in just five of its first 13 games.
So, how has Davis addressed that issue with the Tar Heels?
“That’s hard. Other than, ‘Make ‘em,’ it’s hard,” Davis said during a press conference inside the Smith Center media room on Monday, Dec. 29.
“One of the things that we’ve done is put that in practice, specific time, working on free throws. What I mean in working on free throws, just continuing to stay consistent in terms of your free-throw shooting routine, being confident, in rhythm. That’s pretty much it.”
Two of UNC’s six NCAA title-winning teams shot under 70% at the free-throw line, with the 1957 champions making 69.4% of their freebies and the 1982 champs knocking down 69.2% from the line. The 1993 (70.6%), 2005 (72.5%), 2009 (75.2%) and 2017 national champions (70.1%) shot 70% or better from the stripe.
But of the last 13 Tar Heel teams to shoot under 70% from the free-throw line, only three advanced to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament. Three of those squads missed March Madness and two finished with a losing record, including the COVID-shortened 2020 season.
This season, after draining more than 70% of their free throws in four straight games to close November, the Tar Heels have made an average of 62.1% over the last six games as December comes to a close. That included a season-worst 53.8% in a one-point win against Ohio State in Atlanta.
Freshman forward Caleb Wilson, who’s averaging 19.6 points and 10.8 rebounds per game, is capable of providing positive change in that area. Wilson is 13th nationally in drawing fouls (8 per game) and 43rd in free-throw rate (70.7%), but he’s making just 69.4% of his shots at the stripe.
In six of his first nine games, Wilson made at least 70% of his free throws. But in the last four games, Wilson is knocking down just 54.4% of his free throws.
“I don’t know what is going on. I just gotta work on it, honestly. … I feel like I just gotta relax and shoot it,” Wilson said after making 7 of 13 free throws against East Carolina on Dec. 22.
“This might seem weird, but when I miss a shot, I’m shocked, like, I don’t know why I missed that. I work on free throws a lot, but I’ve just missed ‘em lately. At the beginning of the season, I was hitting them more, but it’s just something I’ll work on.”
An 81.9% shooter at the free-throw line during his playing career at Carolina from 1989-92, Davis said “it’s tricky” to discuss free throws during the course of a season. Situational, game-like scenarios in practice can help, but overemphasizing the topic could do more harm than good.
“During the season, it’s tricky to talk about not just free-throw shooting, but your shot. The reason why I say that is: for myself, when I played, I didn’t want anyone talking to me about my shot. Whether it was going in or wasn’t going in, let me figure it out. I don’t need 50,000 voices telling me, ‘Elbow in, take a deep breath, bend your knees,’ because that’s the last thing that you need to do during the game,” Davis said.
“You gotta play fast and free, and be able to react. And so, it’s something that we’ve talked about, but it’s not something that we’ve focused on. (It’s) just to get our guys confident that when we get to the free-throw line, we can be a team that consistently makes ‘em.”
