I thought to myself that instead of watching Wisconsin get hammered by Baylor, or diving through statistics to try to handicap Monday’s games, I would take a break to do something other than sit around my house.

So, I thought, why not go out and shoot some free throws. I could come up with some fun blog about how many I could make.

That was sadly the most exercise I probably have had in months. It has been so easy to just settle into your house. I love video games. There are so many fun TV shows to binge watch. I shot my first shot up and felt a pain in my shoulder. It was asking me why I was torturing it.

But I was determined, so I shot a few layup to hopefully make my shoulder remember how to work, and got started. And I started well. I made 7 of my first 10. I was pleased.

I stayed relatively consistent for a while – I made 17 of my first 25. 68% was pretty good for someone who hadn’t shot a basketball in several months. It was all down hill from there. I was tired – if my form was off, my shoulder would twinge. It was bad, Still, I finished making 28 of 50 free throws….. So, 56%. Maybe in an attempt to make myself healthier, I should plan to go out and do that each day to see if I get better or worse.

Still – that still baffles me that some of the players are only making 50-60% of their free throws. Sure, there is the pressure of a game. And they are not just standing there and getting in a rhythm. But to be fair – they are also not 47 years old, 5’7″, significantly overweight, and haven’t picked up a basketball in months. And I can make 50-60% of my free throws.

Hopefully, the next time in the tournament you hear the announcer mention that the player is a 50% free throw shooter, you get the image of this old, out of shape Lunatic shooting free throws in his court. And hopefully, the free throw the goes in for the player. If he doesn’t, then you can see this tired old man slowly jogging after the ball rolling away from him.