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Kapono Improves His Foul Mood

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Jason Kapono has relocated his rhythm at the foul line, and that’s no small relief to him. After making 92.5% of his free throws in high school, he dropped off sharply to 68.4% as a UCLA freshman last season.

Even that was best among the Bruins and earned Kapono the Bob “Ace” Calkins Award as the team’s free-throw champion. Kapono was a bit sheepish in accepting that trophy.

“I had to go up there and say something about it at the team banquet,” he said. “That was hard, because you really can’t say much about shooting 68% from the line. I just said, ‘Thank you’ and ‘I’m going to work on it.’ ”

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Well, he has. He worked on his free throws during the off-season, got back into the groove, and through eight games has made 38 of 42 for a team-leading 90.5%. He didn’t change his technique--he still zeros in on the front of the rim--but he hasn’t let negative thoughts creep into his head. That was his bugaboo last season.

“It wasn’t in my free-throw shot or technique,” he said. “It was just that it stuck in my mind after a while that, ‘Hey, Jason, you’re just not going to make it.’ It was more of a mental game.”

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