ON DECK: Why isn't that an assist?

At a basketball game I was covering recently, a point guard found his way into the paint, dumped it off to a teammate, who was fouled going up for the shot.

The teammate calmly made both free throws which always gets me thinking.

Why in the world isn't the point guard credited for an assist for that?

His pass led to the team scoring two points. It shouldn't matter whether the points come from a layup or two free throws — two points are two points.

A great point guard is somebody who can get into the middle then pass it to an open teammate when the defense collapses.

That means a great point guard can make pass after pass which leads to several points from free throws and never get credited for an assist.

So next time you see some basketball player make two free throws, remember to think about the player who was gypped out of an assist.

I know I do.