Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, April 16, 1990 TAG: 9004160064
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B3 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. LENGTH: Medium
He might have learned something.
A halftime, a fan was blindfolded, spun around three times, and stationed at the foul line. He made one of seven free throws.
Dudley, the NBA's worst foul shooter, was one for 18 in the Nets' 124-113 loss to the Pacers. He also missed his final 13 free throws.
"It's the worst I've ever done," Dudley said after what might be the worst free-throw performance in the 54-year history of the NBA. "I was just thinking about too many things. I've been working on a lot of things and I'm not confident yet."
According to the NBA record book, the worst performance is 0-for-10 by Wilt Chamberlain in 1960.
Dudley, drafted in 1987 from Yale by Cleveland, is the only Ivy Leaguer in the NBA.
"I'd shoot one and it would come up short," said Dudley, whose free-throw percentage dropped from .378 to .342 (55-of-161). "The next time I'd think about it and it would hit off the back of the rim."
In missing his last 13 attempts, Dudley had one airball - it brushed the bottom of the net - and four bricks that left the backboard shaking.
Dudley's problems got so bad that referee Dick Bavetta once handed the ball to the 6-foot-11 center and offered words of encouragement.
Chris Morris, a 71 percent free-throw shooter for the Nets, was seen clasping his hands as if to pray for his teammate. At another point, teammate Purvis Short tried to sneak to the foul line after Dudley was fouled, but Bavetta caught him.
Coach Bill Fitch, using Dudley to replace the injured Sam Bowie, tempered his feelings. He talked about Dudley's defense against the 7-4 Rik Smits, who had 14 points.
"I stuck with Chris because he was the only guy playing defense," Fitch said. "He kept Smits in check all game. No one else would have gotten to shoot that many free throws. That's the way I look at it."
It seemed as if Dudley was fouled every time he got the ball. Indiana was called for 36 fouls, 15 more than the Nets.
"You don't have to be a rocket scientist to know they were going to foul me every time I got my hands on the ball down the stretch," said Dudley, who had nine points, 12 rebounds and three blocks.
Fitch, somehow finding a positive side to Dudley's inept shooting, said the center's misses provided the impetus for a fourth-quarter run that saw the Nets cut a 23-point deficit to 113-105 with 4:49 left.
"I'm disappointed he's got this one problem, but he'll solve it. It's not terminal. The tough part is going through what he did tonight."
Keywords:
BASKETBALL
by CNB