The public laments the lack of fundamentals of the young basketball players. People see a skill deficiency, especially in ball and player movement and shooting ability, but few understand its roots. The experts pass blame and make excuses, but few criticize the daily practice habits of the players. To develop players with better fundamentals, we must teach players how to practice.
Shooting: the problem
Player 1 walks into an empty gym, turns on the lights, and puts down her ball. He stretches, jogs, and does light plyometric / foot exercises. Player 2 enters the gym, jogs to loosen up, and does the same warm-up, while P1 does the Mikan exercise. When P2 completes a light warm-up, P1 and P2 begin basic shooting exercises; pass, close to the shooter and bounce the shot itself. They start with medium-range jump shots, not beyond the free throw line. Player 3 arrives, gets loose, and joins a three-person shooting drill. When player 4 arrives, P1 and P2 work together and P3 and P4 work together. P1 and P2 finally extend the range in their jumpers.
In another gym, P1 dribbles into the gym and shoots a triple to the hoop. Walk after the rebound, dribble to the 3-point line, and take another shot to the basket. P2 enters and P1 shows an “And1 move”. P2 takes a triple, and then they play one on one, dribbling and dribbling and dribbling before shooting. As more players come in, they attempt half-court shots, shoot balls off the wall, and practice 360 double-pump lay-ups.
Gym 1 was the high school where my Swedish professional team practiced. The second example took place at a local high school and involved freshman high school, junior college, and college players. Before one blames the kids, I attended a WNBA game with the Sacramento Monarchs playing the Indiana Fever and witnessed the exact same approach as in example 2, when a player literally fired from the tunnel on her way to the court and then began bombarding three wanderers. while other poor shooters never bothered to get into the key to work on their shooting mechanics.
Shooting: the right approach
Rather than throwing wild shots, great shooters start near the basket and get used to taking shots. Anyone can be a shooter; coaches want creators. Young players must shoot 90% of their shots at their range; a player’s range is extended to the point where they can no longer shoot without a mechanical glitch. The other 10% of shots should be attempted from just beyond one’s range, as the goal is to extend one’s range. If a player’s range is 15 feet, shoot a few 16 to 17 foot shots to work on the extra leg drive needed to extend his range. When he’s comfortable from that distance, he stretches again. Even with college high school players, we do full workouts without hitting a triple as players train at 17 feet where they take 75% of their shots, gain confidence and reinforce good habits, rather than develop bad habits.
Shooting: the training
Once a player learns the correct shooting mechanics, they need repetitions in game-like exercises. The following is a workout based on the drills and movement of successful NBA shooters.
Drill Dirk Nowitski
As warm-up begins in the middle of the key; Slowly lean into a deep squat with the ball in shooting position and explode on a jump shot. Nowitski does this exercise to increase flexibility (full squat), and it also serves as a good form shooting and warm-up exercise. Take five shots and step back; shoot up to the free throw line. Take 25 shots in total.
Rip Hamilton Series
Start at the wing and bend towards the elbow. Each exercise in the series begins the same. (1) Curl for a jump shot; (2) Curl and run through the catch, dribble and fire the jump shot; (3) Catch, fake shoot, cross step 1-2 and shoot; (4) stop, flare and shoot; (5) stop, fire a flare, dribble to the baseline, and shoot; (6) goes through the catch, dribbles and turns to make a layup or short throw. Hit five on each drill and hit a free throw in the middle.
Sue Bird pull-ups
Speed dribbles along the floor and pulls up at the elbow. Do five.
Shot at seven points
Shoot catch-and-shoot triples (or within the player’s range) from seven points: baseline, wing, guard point, top of the key, guard point, wing, and baseline. Make five of each place.
This training trains a player’s shooting ability, footwork, and conditioning; Players take 100 game shots (a pull-up dribble, curls, flares, stand-up, and full-speed pull-ups) plus free throws and form shots. If the player has a trainer to rebound and pass, the training lasts about 20 minutes. This 20-minute workout is more effective than the hours many players waste shooting errant shots at the basket to show they can make 3s or show off some other shot. Becoming a great shooter requires a commitment to excellence and a dedication to developing good, solid mechanics and training religiously game-like shots.