Hat trick?

[Laurence Horn]

At 3:23 PM -0700 5/20/02, FRITZ JUENGLING wrote:
>If I remember correctly, a hat trick in basketball is when a player
>shooting free throws *misses* all three (3 for 2).  I have not heard
>this in a long time, tho.

It (the hat trick, that is--with a slightly different application)
has a definite ironic flavor in basketball.  I've heard it used but I
think the last time it came up was in a college game, maybe during
the NCAAs.  (Non-ironically, MAKING all three foul shots might count
as the hat trick, although it's a lot easier than the hockey
equivalent.)

>But it would be very useful now,  now that Shaq is on the line so much.

Could be, but he really seems to have improved.  (All we need, for
him to be able to shoot free throws on top of everything else...)

In any case, there's no such thing as 3-for-2 anymore (nor has there
been for decades).  It's 3-for-3, for either colleges or pros, for
anyone fouled while attempting (and missing) a 3-point basket ("a
shot from beyond the arc", "a triple", "a trifecta").  And since it's
quite unlikely that that's something Shaq would ever attempt, you'd
need to locate a good long-distance shooter who isn't great at foul
shots.  Baron Davis of the Charlotte Hornets would be my nominee, but
they've been eliminated (permanently, in fact--they'll be the New
Orleans Hornets next year).

larry