When Derrick Rose first came into the league anytime his name and jumpshot were in the same sentence you had to see the word “no” as well. I even remember talking with Ganon Baker about him before he was drafted telling him, “ I don’t know how good he’s going to be because he doesn’t have a jumper”. Shows how much I can evaluate talentJ
My point is from this year to last year Rose has made a significant improvement in his perimeter game, which has made him one of the deadliest scoring threats the NBA has probably ever seen from the point guard position. Did he have to work on his jumper? No – he would have stayed in the league for years and made millions. He made a choice to not settle for less than his potential, which so many people do. For those of you out there, aka Mark Jackson, who think shooters are born you are absolutely crazy dead wrong.
Is Stephen Curry a born shooter? Absolutely not. Did he have an advantage at a young age that most kids don’t? Probably. He was probably taught at a young age how to correctly shoot the ball, fell in love with the game because he was around it all the time and got a ton of shots up.
So what is your excuse? Most likely everyone out there can raise their hand when asked if being a better shooter would give them more opportunity on the basketball court. More playing time, a chance to play in college, perhaps even a college scholarship.
You don’t know how to shoot correctly or what to change on your shot?
Film your shot.
Everyone has or knows someone that has a video camera. Most people reading this probably even have a video camera on their mobile phone. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve used my iPhone and even 5 years ago with an old flip phone to film players’ shots. It is the best tool because it cannot lie to you.
Film your shot from these four angles
1) Front
2) Back
3) Left
4) Right
Use a mirror and shoot the basketball at a wall with a mirror. Obviously, this is backwards, but you get the point.
Take the video or a mental image of you shooting at the mirror and compare it to a shooter with great form. Steve Nash is perfect. Notice I’m leaving Ray Allen out for a couple reasons
1) He has some fundamental flaws in his shot, like a 6 fingered shot – it’s actually more like 8. Watching him workout a couple weeks ago this actually did affect some of his shots, getting some bad rotations on some shots.
2) He is more athletic a lot of basketball players. Most are not going to be able to elevate like him and release at the top of your shot.
The more I study shooting the more I realize how much athleticism affects how you can shoot the basketball. Trust me – I’m a HUGE Ray Allen fan. I just don’t know how someone can have success trying to copy his form.
Once you get your form down you need to get reps. Form 1st – Speed 2nd. No matter who I’m working with we always start in close working on form before going to game speed.
Find a rebounder or better yet, a workout partner. I wish I would have worked out with my younger brother more in high school, but workouts turned into 1 on 1 and 1 on 1 turned into fights.
Many times at the YMCA I’d grab a younger kid and have him workout with me so I didn’t have to chase rebounds. Challenge yourself to get up 150 form shots and 150 game speed shots, 5 days a week for the next month and see where you’re at after that. Most people give up on it after a week. Do things the right way and you’ll see results.
There are so many resources out there that can give you the information you need to improve. Use your coach, use the Internet, Google and YouTube.
You have no excuses when you start accepting responsibility followed by action for your game. Get out of your comfort zone and have patience
“ Love Never Fails. Character Never Quits. With Patience and Persistence Dreams do Come True.” – Pete “Pistol” Maravich
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Starting with one basketball camp in Marshfield, WI in 2003, Mike Lee Basketball Services now trains over 2,000 players per year throughout the country, including NCAA DI players, NBA players and NBA prospects.
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