Rick Pitino surprised a lot of folks during the 2014-15 season when he mentioned that the staff was working with Chinanu Onuaku on shooting free throws underhanded.

Onuaku never actually shot an underhanded free throw during a game, but for weeks Pitino mentioned that he was slowly getting more comfortable with it.

After seeing Onuaku struggle from the stripe early on in his freshman season, Pitino showed Onauku a video of NBA hall of famer Rick Barry, who made over 90% of his free throws while shooting underhanded.

The Cardinal sophomore-to-be is currently in Colorado Springs, CO., participating in USA Basketball’s U19 training camp. It just so happens that Rick Barry lives in Colorado Springs.

After making just 46% of his free throws last season, Onuaku is sacrificing the look of his shot in hopes of finding better results. So far, it appears to be working.

Onuaku tells the Colorado Springs Gazette that he’s not sure of the percentage that he’s shooting with underhand free throws, but he says it’s in improvement from his previous form.

When Pitino first mentioned Onuaku using the “granny shot” free throw form, I didn’t know if he was 100% serious. At this point, this appears to be a real thing.

I’m sure opposing fans will crack some jokes, but as long as Onuaku improves his free throw shooting, I I doubt Louisville fans will mind at all.

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