Ahmet Dedeoğlu
05-16-2008, 05:24 AM
Basketball Jump Shooting Fundamentals,
Tips, and Drills
Shooting a high percentage is clearly an important aspect of being an effective basketball player. Jump shooting is perhaps the most common and versatile type of shooting to master.
Here are a few fundamental guidelines to follow in your efforts to increase your shooting accuracy in jump shooting:
Stance: Your legs help you establish balance and provide the power for your shot. Your feet should be shoulder-width or slightly more apart. Your knees should be slightly flexed, and most experts teach that your shoulders and feet should be square to, or pointed towards, the hoop. The shooting-hand foot should be slightly in front of the off foot. There are experts who advocate an open stance, meaning that the feet point to the side at something like a 30-degree angle in relation to the hoop and the shooting-hand shoulder is thus closer to the hoop than the other shoulder. They claim that this results in straight and natural mechanics for some players.
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Shooting Hand Grip: With your fingers spread relatively wide, yet relaxed, cradle the ball on all your finger pads, leaving a little space between the ball and the middle area of your palm. Your fingertip pads should line up along the long seams of the ball, and your index and middle fingers should be straddling the center of the ball. The air hole for pumping up the ball provides an exact marker for the center of the ball. Use it to guide your grip during your perfect-form practice.
Guide or Balance Hand: Position this hand so that it is on the side of the ball or slightly under the ball. The thumbs of the shooting hand and this hand should be widely separated and form an angle that makes a "V" or a "T." The main point to watch for is that this hand should not add force or spin to the shot. Never position the guide hand on top of or in front of the ball.
[Only Registered Users Can See Links]
Wrist and Elbow: The shooting hand wrist should be slightly cocked, and the shooting arm elbow should resemble an "L" from the side view. From the front view, the elbow should be more or less straight. A slight angle out of the elbow actually allows the shooting hand to assume a straight alignment with the hoop better than a rigidly strait elbow angle. However, if your elbow is sticking way out at the side, you will have problems shooting straight consistently, and your spin is likely to be distorted.
Shot Pocket: The ball should be gripped ready to shoot and held a little to the shooting hand side of your chest.
Set Point: This is the point at which you zero in on the hoop and your shooting arm begins to extend forcefully into the shot. For stronger players, this is when the ball is just above the line of vision, and for weaker players and from long range, this is when the ball is just below the line of vision. If your set point is above your line of vision, make sure that the ball remains near your forehead and not farther back. That way, you will avoid introducing a flinging motion into your release..
Target: Your target should be the middle of the rim from whatever angle you are to it. You can use the net holders on the underside of the rim to help you establish a precise focal point. Some experts advise shooting for the front rim, some advise shooting for the back rim, and others advise trying to shoot just in front of the back rim. At least one expert advises using a soft focus that does concentrate on the middle of the rim, but does not try to aim for the front or the back. Keeping your target focus is very important!
[Only Registered Users Can See Links]
Release: The shooting arm pushes up forcefully and locks at a little-hand clock angle somewhere between 9:30 and 11:00 o'clock depending on how far away from the hoop you are. The goal is to shoot the ball into a high arch toward the basket. Shots with high arch are softer and have a much better chance of going through the hoop. As a general rule, try for an arch that gets the ball at least as high as the top of the white square on the backboard.
[Only Registered Users Can See Links]
Follow-through: The wrist should be relaxed and flop forward, even bounce, with the index and middle fingers pointed dead-center on the rim. Hold this position for a split second before following the shot.
[Only Registered Users Can See Links]
Basketing Shooting Tips
1) Your shot motion needs to be balanced, fluid, and consistent. You achieve balance primarily through a proper stance. After your shot, you should land pretty much exactly where you started if you have established balance. A fluid motion means there are no jerky movements or stopping points, just one constant flow from start to finish. A consistent motion means that it is the same correct motion every time.
2) Lining up your shot mechanics with the target enhances consistency. Many experts advocate having your shooting-hand foot, knee, and elbow locked into a straight line with your focus on the rim. At a minimum, you should make sure that your follow-through fingers are dead center on the rim.
3) Devoting quality time daily to practicing perfect-form shooting very close to the basket will pay big dividends in your accuracy and in building your confidence. Move back one step at a time after you make five perfect shots at a given distance.
4) Confidence is extremely important in shooting. You develop confidence through establishing a dependable and correct shooting motion. Always go back to basics to reinforce your confidence.
5) Paying attention to exactly how your shots are missing and attempting to correct errors on the very next shot develop the type of focus that results in real gains in accuracy.
6) Some experts advise players to develop a verbal phrase to guide their shot motion, perhaps something like "Straight, up, through," confidently emphasizing the last word They also advise using corrective words to guide efforts to correct shots. For instance, if players miss off the side of the rim, they should simply say "straight" as they shoot their next shot. This helps to reinforce connections between the brain and proper mechanical performance.
7) Once you have a solid motion, you need to put in quality practice time in drills that provide practice shooting in game situations. You will have things to learn about moving into shots in both directions off the pass and off the dribble.
Tips, and Drills
Shooting a high percentage is clearly an important aspect of being an effective basketball player. Jump shooting is perhaps the most common and versatile type of shooting to master.
Here are a few fundamental guidelines to follow in your efforts to increase your shooting accuracy in jump shooting:
Stance: Your legs help you establish balance and provide the power for your shot. Your feet should be shoulder-width or slightly more apart. Your knees should be slightly flexed, and most experts teach that your shoulders and feet should be square to, or pointed towards, the hoop. The shooting-hand foot should be slightly in front of the off foot. There are experts who advocate an open stance, meaning that the feet point to the side at something like a 30-degree angle in relation to the hoop and the shooting-hand shoulder is thus closer to the hoop than the other shoulder. They claim that this results in straight and natural mechanics for some players.
[Only Registered Users Can See Links]
Shooting Hand Grip: With your fingers spread relatively wide, yet relaxed, cradle the ball on all your finger pads, leaving a little space between the ball and the middle area of your palm. Your fingertip pads should line up along the long seams of the ball, and your index and middle fingers should be straddling the center of the ball. The air hole for pumping up the ball provides an exact marker for the center of the ball. Use it to guide your grip during your perfect-form practice.
Guide or Balance Hand: Position this hand so that it is on the side of the ball or slightly under the ball. The thumbs of the shooting hand and this hand should be widely separated and form an angle that makes a "V" or a "T." The main point to watch for is that this hand should not add force or spin to the shot. Never position the guide hand on top of or in front of the ball.
[Only Registered Users Can See Links]
Wrist and Elbow: The shooting hand wrist should be slightly cocked, and the shooting arm elbow should resemble an "L" from the side view. From the front view, the elbow should be more or less straight. A slight angle out of the elbow actually allows the shooting hand to assume a straight alignment with the hoop better than a rigidly strait elbow angle. However, if your elbow is sticking way out at the side, you will have problems shooting straight consistently, and your spin is likely to be distorted.
Shot Pocket: The ball should be gripped ready to shoot and held a little to the shooting hand side of your chest.
Set Point: This is the point at which you zero in on the hoop and your shooting arm begins to extend forcefully into the shot. For stronger players, this is when the ball is just above the line of vision, and for weaker players and from long range, this is when the ball is just below the line of vision. If your set point is above your line of vision, make sure that the ball remains near your forehead and not farther back. That way, you will avoid introducing a flinging motion into your release..
Target: Your target should be the middle of the rim from whatever angle you are to it. You can use the net holders on the underside of the rim to help you establish a precise focal point. Some experts advise shooting for the front rim, some advise shooting for the back rim, and others advise trying to shoot just in front of the back rim. At least one expert advises using a soft focus that does concentrate on the middle of the rim, but does not try to aim for the front or the back. Keeping your target focus is very important!
[Only Registered Users Can See Links]
Release: The shooting arm pushes up forcefully and locks at a little-hand clock angle somewhere between 9:30 and 11:00 o'clock depending on how far away from the hoop you are. The goal is to shoot the ball into a high arch toward the basket. Shots with high arch are softer and have a much better chance of going through the hoop. As a general rule, try for an arch that gets the ball at least as high as the top of the white square on the backboard.
[Only Registered Users Can See Links]
Follow-through: The wrist should be relaxed and flop forward, even bounce, with the index and middle fingers pointed dead-center on the rim. Hold this position for a split second before following the shot.
[Only Registered Users Can See Links]
Basketing Shooting Tips
1) Your shot motion needs to be balanced, fluid, and consistent. You achieve balance primarily through a proper stance. After your shot, you should land pretty much exactly where you started if you have established balance. A fluid motion means there are no jerky movements or stopping points, just one constant flow from start to finish. A consistent motion means that it is the same correct motion every time.
2) Lining up your shot mechanics with the target enhances consistency. Many experts advocate having your shooting-hand foot, knee, and elbow locked into a straight line with your focus on the rim. At a minimum, you should make sure that your follow-through fingers are dead center on the rim.
3) Devoting quality time daily to practicing perfect-form shooting very close to the basket will pay big dividends in your accuracy and in building your confidence. Move back one step at a time after you make five perfect shots at a given distance.
4) Confidence is extremely important in shooting. You develop confidence through establishing a dependable and correct shooting motion. Always go back to basics to reinforce your confidence.
5) Paying attention to exactly how your shots are missing and attempting to correct errors on the very next shot develop the type of focus that results in real gains in accuracy.
6) Some experts advise players to develop a verbal phrase to guide their shot motion, perhaps something like "Straight, up, through," confidently emphasizing the last word They also advise using corrective words to guide efforts to correct shots. For instance, if players miss off the side of the rim, they should simply say "straight" as they shoot their next shot. This helps to reinforce connections between the brain and proper mechanical performance.
7) Once you have a solid motion, you need to put in quality practice time in drills that provide practice shooting in game situations. You will have things to learn about moving into shots in both directions off the pass and off the dribble.