Barry Jacobs On The ACC's Best Returning Foul Shooters

Duke's J.J. Redick worked to improve his drives to the basket after initially being typecast as a 3-point shooting specialist. He also frankly was handicapped by limitations in conditioning.

The expansion of Redick's game forced defenders to allow him a tad more room when guarding him on the perimeter, and earned him more trips to the foul line. This had significant strategic advantages. Redick is, after all, the ACC career leader in free throw accuracy at 91.2 percent. Not to mention in career 3-pointers.

The frequency and volume of Redick's foul shots increased annually at Duke - from 111, 3.4 per game, in 2003 to 256 and 7.1 per game in 2006.

N.C. State senior Scott Wood, who has enjoyed similar shooting efficiency on far fewer attempts than Redick, is intent this season on likewise increasing his drives and visits to the foul line. Better late than never.

Last year Wood tried only 97 free throws in 36 games. He made 90.7 percent, but his per-game rate was even lower than Redick's as a freshman.

This weekend N.C. State competes in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off, a three-game outing in which the Wolfpack can apply fresh lessons immediately. The old lessons might need touching up too - against Miami of Ohio in the Pack's opener at Raleigh, Wood took six shots from the floor but only two free throw attempts. He made both.