I had a chance to check out the local high school play-offs this season and was horrified by the poor shooting. In four championship games, many featuring D-1 bound players, the best offense was "chuck and chase": throw the ball towards the rim (hoping that goes in) and fight for the offensive rebound and any put-back opportunities. Granted, they were playing in an NBA arena and most of the teams over-relied on the three-point shot for their scoring opportunities, but the main reason for the poor shooting was the players' poor hand positioning when shooting the ball and their failure to be ready to shoot when they catch the pass.
The main areas that most coaches concentrate on are the shoulders and elbow when correcting a player's poor basketball shooting techniques. But the problem in most of these cases tends to be that the hand positioning negatively impacts the player's shot, regardless of the shoulder or elbow. The first thing to do is make sure the player correctly positions his shooting hand on the ball; in order to do this, players should have their shooting hand centered directly under the ball when they shoot. Now when you shoot, the index and middle fingers should be the last two fingers to leave the ball; that's why it makes sense to have these two fingers centered.
There are three ways to make this happen: first, you can split your index and middle fingers with the ball's nozzle (the ball's center); or, you can align your middle finger with the ball's center; or, put your index finger in the center of the ball. All three work and make sense: if the goal is to shoot with your index and middle finger leaving the ball last, then both of them should be equally centered; but, if you are centering your middle finger toward the rim in a shooting motion, it's your index finger, not your middle finger, that points straight to the rim, while your body's physiology points your middle finger slightly to the right for a right-handed shooter.
My shooting philosophy is to make the player comfortable and confident, so of these three approaches, the player's comfort is most important. The problem, however, is when the player has his hand on the side. The shooting hand must be centered using one of these three approaches.
The next hand placement issue is pointing your hand at the target. Again, most coaches and trainers focus on getting the elbow straight or the shoulders squared to the basket first; but, many players already have their elbow in naturally, but must twist their wrist to the target as part of the shot. When the player's hand is properly under the ball, with a "wrinkle in the wrist," you'll notice a small indentation at the base of the palm when you're getting ready to shoot. As the player lifts the ball to shoot, the indentation should be directed toward the target. This ensures that the ball is shot straight towards the target. If the player twists their hand and wrist as they shoot, they add another variable, and decreases your shooting consistency.
These two elements will improve a shooter's technique and opportunity to be a consistent shooter. However, to be a great shooter, the player also must improve the base of the shot. The base is the shot's foundation, and determines everything thereafter. A poor foundation leads to an inconsistent shot.The first issue is receiving a pass ready to shoot. Many poor shots are taken because the player takes too long to catch and shoot and then fires the shot under duress; when receiving the pass, a player should have his feet wide (shoulder width) and knees bent.
Furthermore, players have to use their leg drive to power their shot. Most players shoot a jump shot, but they tend to shoot the ball on its way down, eliminating the power generated by the players leg drive. When the ball is shot on the way up, earlier in the jump, the player will harness the power generated by the leg drive when jumping, and increase the player's power. This will help to increase the arc on the ball when it's shot; most inconsistent or streaky shooters shoot a very flat shot, one that has little room for error. When a player shoots with more arc, they player has a better chance of making the shot into the rim from above.
Improving these three areas will not automatically make you a great shooter, but they will instantly help a player to create a more consistent shot. Change is difficult at times, and players who have taken hundreds of thousands of shots have built and reinforced bad habits that are difficult to change. However, for a player to reach his full shooting potential, he has to learn to shoot consistently. The game is really simple; whoever puts the ball in the hole the most wins. By tweaking a player's hand placement when he lifts the ball into his shot, concentrating on receiving the pass prepared to shoot and then using a solid leg drive, a player's shot will become more consistent, creating a better overall offensive player.
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