Inside William Kyle’s game-winning free throw: ‘I knew he was gonna make that sucker’

Syracuse, N.Y. – As he stepped to the free throw line, William Kyle III wasn’t nervous.

There were 13.8 seconds left in Tuesday night’s game between Syracuse and 13th-ranked Tennessee at the JMA Wireless Dome. The score was tied at 60.

Kyle, Syracuse’s senior center, had just missed the first of two foul shots. Free throws have been a problem for Kyle throughout his college career. He had a .568 percentage entering this season.

In his first seven games with the Orange, Kyle, whose shooting motion looks like he’s carrying the ball up a fire escape, had gone 11-for-26 (42.3%) at the line.

And there he was, at the line with 13.8 seconds on the clock, score tied, one more chance to put the Orange ahead.

“I wasn’t thinking,’’ Kyle would say later. “I wasn’t necessarily nervous going to the line.’’

William Kyle III might not have been nervous, but his father, William Kyle Jr., sure was.

Seated in the first row of the bleachers opposite the SU bench, Kyle’s father watched as his son stepped away from the line after missing the first shot.

Any parent who has watched their child swing a bat at a ball, throw a baton in the air or recite a line in a play can imagine the emotions William Kyle Jr. was experiencing at that moment as he wore a replica of his son’s No. 42 Syracuse jersey.

“Initially, it was nerve-wracking,’’ he said. “Just absolutely nerve-wracking.’’

Kyle’s father said free throws have always been a sore spot for his son.

William Kyle III is blessed with extraordinary athleticism. He has a 44-inch vertical jump. His sense of timing enables him to block the shots of players much taller than his listed 6-foot-9 height. He runs like a deer, which makes sense for someone who ran the 800 meters at a national level up until his freshman year of high school.

But the fine art of free throw shooting has been tough for him to master.

“It’s something that he’s always struggled with,’’ Kyle Jr. said. “He’s made investments. Lord knows, he’s put the practice in, but it’s all mental because if you look at him outside of a game environment, he strokes it.’’

Since arriving at Syracuse following his transfer from UCLA, Kyle III has worked with SU assistant coach Dan Engelstad, who tutors the Orange big men. Engelstad has tried to iron out Kyle’s multi-hitched shooting form.

Kyle thought of those practice sessions as he prepped for the crucial second free throw.

“We put a lot of work in every day,’’ Kyle said of himself and Engelstad. “I was just thinking about my routine. I was going up there, make or miss, and just living with it.’’

Kyle had put on a stellar performance up to that point in the game. He battled with Tennessee’s 6-foot-11 Felix Okpara and the 267-pound Jaylen Carey throughout the game.

Kyle finished with 10 points, seven rebounds and six huge blocked shots. His rejection of Okpara’s dunk attempt at the rim was the stuff of highlight reels.

His play drew the praise of Tennessee coach Rick Barnes.

“I like anybody who is quote-unquote an unsung hero guy,’’ Barnes, the NCAA’s active leader for career coaching victories, said. “He makes basketball plays. He knows who he is, and he plays to his strengths.

“Again, I wish I had some guys that understood that,’’ Barnes added. “He knows exactly what he’s supposed to do, and he does it in a very unselfish (way).’’

Kyle had drawn nine fouls on Tennessee’s players. Good news/bad news there. On the one hand, his non-stop activity helped to put SU in the bonus situation quickly. On the other, Kyle would end up at the line 10 times on Tuesday.

He made just three of his first nine free throw attempts.

Syracuse desperately needed a win over a quality opponent after going 0-3 against three top-25 teams last week at the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas.

Syracuse head coach Adrian Autry joked that when Kyle goes to the foul line, he doesn’t hold his breath; instead he paces.

“The one thing about Will Kyle, and I say this all the time, he’s so confident in his abilities,’’ Autry said.

In the stands opposite where Autry paced, William Kyle Jr.’s nerves washed away.

“I’m sitting up there, I’m a man of faith, so I said a prayer,’’ Kyle Jr. said. “He missed the first one, but I knew he was gonna make that sucker.’’

Kyle made the shot, putting Syracuse ahead 61-60.

The Orange still had to survive a Tennessee possession, which ended with Carey missing a short shot at the basket. Sadiq White added one more free throw, and Tennessee’s last-second shot went awry.

Syracuse got the big win it needed.

As the Syracuse students rushed the court, William Kyle III jumped up and down in the middle of the mosh pit.

A little over an hour later, the fans had emptied out of the JMA Dome.

William Kyle Jr. waited for his son outside the tunnel that leads to the team’s locker room. When William Kyle III emerged from the tunnel, his father wrapped him in a huge bear hug.

“I’m so proud of you,” he said.