SHOOTING PROGRESSION
Building the “Perfect Shot”
Make it stand out
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Points to remember:
Shooting the basketball, like any other physical or athletic activity, is a learned skill. No one is born knowing the proper way to shoot a basketball. Some individuals will have a higher level of natural instinct, learning ability, or physical ability, which may quicken and enhance the process, but even the greatest athletes must be taught and practice the proper way to have consistent success.
The most to expect to improve any high school or college individual in a shooting capacity is 25%. Meaning, if an individual is a 45% FG shooter prior to any specialized work, and 25% of that 45% FG percentage is just over 11%, the absolute best to hope for in the long run is a 56% shooter. If this number is applied to lower percentages, you will realize that is almost impossible to turn a below average or poor shooter into a great one. More often, many hours of work will only yield a small gain in an overall percentage. An easy analogy: Any of us can spend twice as much time on the golf course working on our game as Tiger Woods, and we will never come close to performing at his level. Much of being a quality jump shooter is the same – you either have it or you don’t. No one should expect miracles.
At the youth levels (or with a player of any age with little to no experience) it is extremely important to convince them to focus on the process vs. the result. A player in fifth grade who misses a 12 footer with perfect form should be congratulated and encouraged twice as much as the kid who banks a 3 pointer with terrible form because of the lack of strength to properly get the ball to the rim. Coaches at these levels should be encouraged to not be result-oriented, but buy into the long term picture of where youth players ultimately need to perform and succeed. No player should be allowed to shoot outside of a range that does not allow for proper form, regardless if they complain they can hit the shot once in a while or not. Think coaching shooting the way many coaches teach and stress coaching defense – from the inside-out. Master the 8 footer before moving to 12 ft, before moving to 15 ft, before moving to 20 feet. If it results in another few losses in middle school, so be it. It will pay great dividends down the line.
Ultimately the commitment to improvement in shooting the basketball rests primarily with the player. Players must be willing to be open-minded to new ideas and take responsibility for their shooting – “The basket doesn’t move, and the ball doesn’t have a mind of its own”. The ball goes where the player shoots it. Consistent problems can only be overcome with commitment, diligence, patience, and old-fashioned hard work.
No two players will shoot the ball the exact same way. However, all great shooters have very similar styles and treat the above fundamentals with a high regard and a great deal of consistency. Individuality is OK, but not at the expense of a consistent, process-based, fundamental approach.
STEP I – Proper body positioning
Verbal cue = “Set” position.
Hips and knees flexed, butt down, back straight enough where it is comfortable to look straight ahead. “Athletic Position”
Ball at waist level, shooting hand behind the ball, guide hand on side. “Triple Threat”. Eyes up and on target.
Feet approximately shoulder width apart, toes pointed forward, shooting foot slightly ahead of back foot (3-6 inches, depending on shoe size).
Common problems –
FAILURE TO BEND at the knees/hips. Body too straight up and down. Limits movement, power, and upforce, thus limiting range.
Ball too high (lifting before legs – results in a “sling” instead of a shot)
Feet too close together – poor athletic base, limits movement, quickness, power.
Head/eyes down. Failure to locate the target/defenders/teammates quickly enough.
STEP II – Proper ball positioning
Shooting hand behind the ball, wrist cocked backward, ball off of the palm and on the finger pads.
Guide hand off to the side, comfortable position, letting the shooting hand dominate.
Ball at waist level, either in middle or off center toward the shooting side.
Common problems—
Ball on the palm – will limit backspin, control, “touch”.
Shooting hand not behind the ball. Puts body out of alignment, forcing another aspect of the body to compensate in some fashion
Guide hand behind the ball (helping in the push to the basket, often resulting in side-spin – “thumbing” the ball)
Guide hand on top of the ball (in effect blocking one’s own shot).
**NOTE** -- During any and every exercise, strict attention must be paid to the above positioning guidelines. A player who varies how they perform the fundamentals from one repetition to the next (i.e. lacking consistency) will almost assuredly have inconsistent results over a period of time. Treat the shooting mechanism like a VCR – rewind and do the same thing over and over and over.
STEP III – Proper Motion
The shooting motion should be fluid, never disjointed. Lower and upper body work together.
As the legs push upward, the arms raise the ball through the shooting pocket straight up on the shooting side. You should almost be able to connect a straight line from toe-knee-hip-elbow-eye-ball.
The motion should be comfortable, never forced. Shooting should be a very easy and relatively simple athletic movement.
Eyes should always remain on the target.
Common problems –
The ball raising up to the chin/head level before the legs push upward “Lift before Legs”. Will result in a slinging motion, and the power from the legs will be virtually negated, resulting in compensation from the upper body, throwing the body out of alignment.
The ball lagging behind as the legs push upward, resulting in a “late” release (shooting “on the way down”). Players with this issue tend to feel shooting is a very hard process physically. Common result is a flat shot with very little arc coming in “hot”.
The ball not coming through the shooting pocket in a straight, efficient manner. “Circling” through the opposite side, or the “Flying elbow” sticking out of the shooting side. Often results in shots being all over the map to the left and right. Leads to inconsistent point of release. (One old time player who displayed and overcame this was former Laker Jamaal Wilkes).
STEP IV – Proper release and extension
Proper release point can vary depending on the age, size, and strength of a given player. Younger players may, and often should, release the ball between their chest and chin (shooting “from the hip”). This is not a bad thing as long as proper alignment is retained. Raising a release point is one of the easiest corrections for a shooter to make. Older, stronger players should be releasing the basketball above their heads, literally right above their shooting (dominant) eye.
Shooting arm and hand should extend high above the head, not out in front of the eyes. Elbow should lock.
Guide hand and arm should extend up with the ball, and gently fall off to the side.
Wrist should curl over, gently, not extremely tight (“hand in the cookie jar”), with fingers pointing at the target.
Eyes should remain on the target throughout the entire shot.
Common problems –
Low release point for players of adequate strength. Usually resulting from lack of power from lower body being compensated for by upper body. Will inhibit getting shots off versus taller defenders.
Lack of elbow lock – “pulling the string”. Indicates tentativeness, often results in shot falling short.
Arms finishing “out” instead of “up”. Shooter is directing the ball at the target instead of up and over it – very flat, hard shot.
Lack of wrist curl – “high fiving the hoop”. Little spin/touch on ball, lack of softness on shot.
Follow through (fingers and hand) pointing away from the target – “wiping the window”. Shooter literally pushing the ball to one side.
EYES FOLLOWING THE FLIGHT OF THE BALL – Very common problem, sometimes very hard to correct in players. Eyes should always stay on the target – once the ball is out of the hand, there is nothing a shooter can do about it. Analogy: Does a pitcher look at the pitch, or the catcher’s mitt? Does a quarterback watch his pass, or focus on the receiver? The same principle applies to shooting a basketball. Increased focus on the target leads to increased concentration, when inevitable distractions (noise, contact, etc.) occur.
