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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 majority of coaches concentrate on the elbow and shoulders when correcting a player’s shot. But that’s usually the wrong place to start. In the majority of the cases, the player’s shooting struggles originate from their shooting hand position negatively impacting their shot. This has nothing to do with the shoulders or elbow. So the first thing you should do is to make sure that the player correctly positions his hand on the ball. The easiest way to do this is to have the player center the ball directly under their shooting hand. Now when the player shoots, the middle and index 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 popular ways to achieve this: first, split the index and middle fingers with the nozzle (the ball’s center); align the middle finger with the ball’s center; or, put the index finger in the middle. All three make sense: if the goal is to shoot with the last two fingers, then both should be equally centered; however, centering the middle finger spreads the hand equally over the ball; but, if you extend your fingers toward the rim in a shooting motion, it is the index finger, not the middle finger, that points straight to the rim, while the body’s physiology points the 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 issue is getting the hand properly pointed to the target. Again, the concentration is normally getting the elbow straight or the shoulders squared; however, many players have their elbow in, but they must twist their wrist to the target as part of the shot. When the player has his hand properly under the ball, with a “wrinkle in the wrist,” there is a small indentation at the base of one’s palm. This indentation should be directed toward the target as the player lifts the ball into his shot. This will ensure the player shoots the ball straight to the target; when players twist their hand and wrist as they shoot, they add another variable, and thus decrease consistency.

These two elements will instantly improve a players shooting technique and consistency. But to go from being a good shooter to a great shooter, it’s vital to improve the base of a player’s shot. The base is the shot’s foundation, and determines everything thereafter; your hip, elbow, and wrist positioning are all affected by the base of your shot. A poor foundation really leads to an inconsistent shot. The first issue to look at is how the player receives the pass when they are ready to shoot. Most poor shots are taken because the player takes too long to catch and shoot. They simply aren’t ready to shoot when they receive the ball, which allows the defense to close out and successfully contest the shot. To correct this, make sure that the player is ready to shoot as soon as the ball is in his hands; his feet are wide (about should width apart), knees bent, and hands up to catch the pass.

Also, players must use their legs to power their shot. A lot of players tend to shoot the ball on the way down of their jump shot, which eliminates the power generated by the leg drive when jumping. By shooting the ball on the way up, earlier in the jump, they player is able use the power generated by the leg drive and increase his power. Effectively using the increase in force created by using the leg drive will also help increase the arc on the ball when it’s shot. Many streaky and inconsistent shooters shoot a very flat shot due to not using their leg drive properly. This allows little room for error, since your shooting a line drive directly at the rim instead of arcing into the hoop.

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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