SDSU’s Spencer has left behind FT form

Skylar Spencer is a senior now. He wants to make it right.

For his first three seasons at San Diego State, he shot – or, more accurately, shot put – free throws left-handed with dismal results: 37.9 percent as a freshman, 48.1 percent as a sophomore, 47.8 percent as a junior, 46 percent for his career, 40.7 percent in Mountain West games.

Spencer writes with his right hand, swings a bat with his right, kicks with his right, and associate head coach Brian Dutcher wondered if maybe he should be shooting free throws with his right as well. That was after Spencer’s freshman season.

“It’s kind of been a topic ever since I got here, just kind of brought up and pushed to the side,” Spencer said. “I really didn’t want to do it because that’s a really big (change) and I had a lot of pride and blah, blah, blah.

“Then I decided I can’t argue with my stats. And it’s my last year, my last chance to try it.”

So right he is.

“He said, ‘I’m going to shoot them right-handed, I’m going to get in the closet where no one can see me and practice and practice and practice,’” head coach Steve Fisher said. “I’m proud of what he’s done. I love Skylar. He’s a consummate team player who wants to contribute in every facet. We’ll see how it goes in the game, but I think he’s going to make ’em.”

And he is, so far. With a one-handed motion that releases the ball closer to his shoulder than hip, he attempted 29 free throws during practice Monday. He made 22, or 75.8 percent. On Tuesday, he had a free throw in a drill that bounced off the back rim, bounced softly twice more and rolled in.

Shooter’s touch.

His goal this season: 70 percent.

“I feel I can do it,” the 6-foot-10 Spencer said. “The only thing that can mess me up now is my head, because I pretty much have all the mechanics down.”

His motivation: Tristan Thompson.

The 6-foot-9 Cleveland Cavaliers forward shot 58.5 percent left-handed in his first two pro seasons. He switched to his right for 2013-14 – believed to be the first such switch in NBA history – and has shot 67.1 percent since.

“At first I didn’t want to do it,” Thompson, the No. 4 pick in the 2011 draft, said in 2013, echoing Spencer’s sentiments. “But then I thought about it, and at the end of the day I want to be the best player I can be for the Cavaliers and the best player I can be for myself. And if that takes me making an adjustment in my jump shot or anything else, why not make that switch?”

According to most researchers, nearly 90 percent of people are right-handed and 10 to 12 percent are naturally southpaws. A tiny percentage, the fabled 1 percent, are genuinely ambidextrous, able to use either hand with equal proficiency.

Where Spencer falls in that matrix remains somewhat of a mystery. His father, knowing the value of ambidexterity in sports, tells stories of duck-taping young Skylar’s right hand to his torso and then bribing kids on the playground with free ice cream to play him one-on-one. The idea was to develop his left hand, and it developed so much that Spencer arrived at SDSU shooting with it.

There have been advantages to the grand experiment. Spencer is able to block shots with either hand, meaning he doesn’t have to swing across his body to meet the ball and risk foul trouble. Combine that with 6-10, long arms and uncanny timing, and you get one of the best shot swatters in college basketball.

He broke the Mountain West freshman record for blocks held by Utah’s Andrew Bogut, now the starting center for the NBA champion Golden State Warriors. (Bogut had 44 blocks playing 30.4 minutes per game in 2003-04; Spencer had 51 blocks while playing 14.2 minutes.) Last season, he broke SDSU’s career blocks record and was named conference defensive player of the year.

But the free-throw stroke was a mess, thrusting it from his hip with a flat trajectory. He was fouled, and fans in Viejas Arena made a collective wince. It also limited his use by Fisher in late in close games, for fear opposing teams might purposely put him on the line.

Asked how many free throws he shot daily over the summer, Spencer cracked a wry smile.

“Countless,” he said. “I couldn’t give you an exact number. A lot of hours, I can say that. A lot, a lot of hours. It’s really hard. You’re basically learning how to shoot all over again. I worked on it every day, still am working on it every day.”

The season opener against Illinois State is 37 days away. Spencer can’t wait, can’t wait to get fouled and walk to the free-throw line, can’t wait for an entire arena to inhale.

“I think about it all the time, because I know everybody is waiting, anticipating,” Spencer said. “I expect two makes … and everybody cheering.”