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A 37-Year-Old Record Is on the Line

When my recruiting class entered Harvard in 1980, its ambition was to bring the university its first Ivy League men’s basketball title. That didn’t happen. But the 1983-84 team left campus with a consolation prize: It set the N.C.A.A. Division I single-season record for free-throw percentage, 82.2 percent. The record has stood for 37 years. It may not survive the weekend.

I should say upfront that I shot 75.3 percent. My teammates, though: Joe Carrabino, 90.5; Bob Ferry, 90.3; Arne Duncan, 86.7; Keith Webster, 86.7; Pat Smith, 78.1. The national leaders that year were Steve Alford of Indiana at 91.