Winnipeg big man goes viral for ‘granny style’ shooting ahead of March Madness

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Plenty of big men have struggled with free throw shooting over the years and a Canadian is the latest.

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Winnipeg native Kyler Filewich, a force for the Wofford Terriers, who played in the NCAA’s men’s basketball tournament Thursday for the first time since 2019, took a novel approach to solving his woes at the charity stripe, taking tips from all-time great Rick Barry.

Filewich went viral for shooting his free throws underhanded, including in the school’s shocking comeback last week against Furman, earning Wofford the Southern Conference Tournament championship and a spot in brackets everywhere at March Madness. Wofford went on a 15-2 run to end the game with Filewich helping out with a layup — and some freebies — late.

But the 6-foot-9, 250 pound centre has shot just 31% on free throws each of the last two seasons and was eager to improve. That’s where Barry came in. Barry hit just shy of 90% of his career attempts in the NBA, the fourth-best mark ever, and did it while shooting underhanded, or, “granny style.”

Barry paid a visit to Spartanburg, South Carolina earlier this season, to work with Filewich. The assist came via assistant coach Ty Anderson, who is friends with one of Barry’s sons.

“I haven’t necessarily always had the success that I wanted,” Filewich told the Associated Press this week. “But I feel like I’m pretty confident in it. When I needed to, (about) five minutes left in the SoCon title … I was able to step up and make two when it mattered,” he said.

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Filewich made the style switch in February and did have his best shooting games from the stripe right after, going 4-for-6 and 6-for-10 in a couple of games. He was just 2-for-10 in the first two games of the SoCan Tournament until making 3-of-7, including the big ones late, in the final.

He doesn’t seem to care about how his form looks or if people think it’s funny. As long as it works.

“I know I can make ’em,” Filewich said. “I make them at a high clip in practice. It was great working with Rick Barry. I’m super thankful for him taking his time out to show me how it’s done and kind of taking on the mindset of doing whatever it takes to win,” Filewich told the Associated Press.

Wofford, a No. 15 seed with a 19-15 record, took on No. 2 Tennessee on Thursday night.

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Filewich was a star athlete at Vincent Massey Collegiate in Winnipeg, winning a provincial basketball championship and being named Manitoba’s player of the year twice, while also playing defensive end, tight end and offensive tackle on the gridiron. He later played for Orangeville Prep in Ontario, leading the school to an undefeated season, before heading to Southern Illinois in the NCAA.

Filewich showed some promise there and followed up with an even better season after transferring to Wofford. Last year was his breakout though, as Filewich emerged as a starter and averaged 9.4 points and 8.8 rebounds, leading the team in rebounds and assists and to a 17-15 record.

For an encore, Filewich broke out for Wofford this season. Along the way, he has consistently excelled in the classroom too, earning regular all-academic team placements. Filewich is a finance major.

He hopes to play professionally somewhere like older sister Keylyn, who plays in Germany after starring for UBC and the University of Winnipeg. Their parents were also talented hoopers. Father Keon was a high-flyer in the late 1980s and early 1990s, while his mother, Arlyn, was a member of great high school teams, the Canadian junior national team and provincial teams. Both parents played for the Manitoba Bisons.

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