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Click on the image to see the graphic   Jason Kappono (left) and Michelle Greco

By Bruce Tran

Daily Bruin Contributor

It’s a shot that is rarely featured on SportsCenter or in Sports Illustrated, but one that players and coaches will harp on as one of the most important skills in the game of basketball. It can win a game, but just as quickly lose a game. On Nov. 27, in its victory over BYU, the women’s basketball team used it to stay in the game, then put the game away. On the following day, in the men’s team’s loss to Pepperdine, the Bruins missed it down the stretch, costing them a victory.

Behold the power of the modest free throw, a shot considered more crucial than the slam dunk, but without the glory and the attention.

“Everybody has the tools and skills to make free throws, especially at this level,” senior guard Michelle Greco said. “It just comes down to being mentally tough and not letting the pressure get to you.”

Greco should know. She led the Pac-10 in free-throw percentage last season by sinking 86.5 percent of her free throws – the fourth-highest single-season percentage in UCLA women’s basketball history. For the men’s team, junior forward Jason Kapono tallied similar numbers, making 86.9 percent of his free throws last season, finishing second in the Pac-10 in free-throw percentage.

So just who is better?

On Nov. 27, in a contest run by the Daily Bruin, Kapono made 53 of 61 free throws, an 86.9 percent clip. Two days later, Greco converted 57 of 61 free throws, a 93.4 percent free-throw percentage, making her – for now, at least – the free throw champion of the UCLA basketball world.

“I missed a lot, and I wasn’t concentrating. I know I could do better,” said Kapono, who seemed loose during his free throw attempts. Greco, on the other hand, seemed focused and intense.

Both players have their own routines at the line, and both have followed the same routine since high school. At the line, Kapono will set his right foot, take a deep breath, dribble once, bend his legs, and follow through with his shot.

Greco’s routine is similar, but instead of just one dribble, she will take exactly six dribbles. Anything less, she says, and she will miss the free throws.

“During the summer before freshman year of high school at the AAU Nationals, I just couldn’t make any free throws,” Greco said. “My friend asked, ‘Why are you dribbling four times? You always make them when you dribble six times.’ Since then, I always make it a point to dribble exactly six times.”

Their routines have worked, and their success has continued thus far this season. Greco set a career-high by making 11 free throws against BYU, while Kapono made all 10 of his attempts against Ball State.

While their teams ranked near the bottom of the Pac-10 in free-throw percentage last season, Greco and Kapono were dependable at the foul line. Both players now have aspirations of finishing over 90 percent from the free-throw line this season.

“It’s such an important part of my game,” Greco said. “I love to create and go in strong. The opposing team has to realize that if they’re going to foul me, they’re going to pay the price.”

“There’s just so many games where guys shot free throws poorly and then they lose by two,” Kapono added. “It all comes down to concentration. At the line, I don’t hear any yelling or distractions. I just block that stuff out. It’s just me, the ball and the basket.”

It won’t get them on SportsCenter, nor will it garner “oohs” and “aahs” from the crowd. Still, Greco and Kapono both know that the free throw holds just as much power as the slam dunk.

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