KEYS TO BECOMING A GREAT SHOOTER

Become an expert at shooting. There are four ways to miss: If you miss right or left, you have trouble with your line.

Develop a straight line with this shooting key: The Elbow-Over Knee-Under Ball

An archer needs a good bow to shoot an arrow. A basketball player needs good elbow position to shoot the basketball.

Key Elements in Getting the Bow Pointed at the Target

Without the basketball, stand straight with your shooting arm hanging at your side. Your elbow should touch the point of your hip. Now lift your arm forward and up, bending at the elbow. Finish with the elbow as high as the shoulder. Reverse the movement until your arm is again at your side. Now raise the arm again. Practice this movement over and over again.
Make a three-sided box with your arm, forearm, and hand. The arm is shoulder high, pointed to the basket. Forearm is pointed vertically to the ceiling. Wrist cocked, fingers are pointed back toward the shoulder with the palm facing the ceiling.

The tip of the elbow should always face the goal. Check it out often.

Elbow position should be close to your side. The elbow should only move forward and upward, not out to the side.

If the elbow is in the proper position, the hand, palm and fingers should automatically be in the correct position. Position your elbow correctly and the skill of shooting a basket ball becomes much easier.

The elbow is always located above the strong knee. Attach that imaginary string from the elbow to the knee.

Drills to get the elbow pointed to the basket consistently:

Read key element #1 and practice it for one minute whenever possible. Two or three times a day will make a difference and build muscle memory. At first you will have to think about what you are doing until your brain records it. This is called muscle memory.

Make a shooting box…do it without the ball.

Practice drills A and B with a basketball now. Stand with a basketball in your shooting hand, with the ball at your side in your palm. (Palm must be up unless your hands are large enough to palm the ball.) Swing ball up and rotate the wrist too allow palm to face the ceiling. Make a box, elbow pointed to the basket. Repeat this motion for 30 seconds to one minute. Become a machine.

Here’s a great drill…assume box position with a basketball. Now shoot the ball to yourself. At first, just shoot the ball three feet in the air, catching it in your shooting hand. Repeat the process over and over. Check the benchmarks on every shot.

NOTE: It is better to shoot five shots correctly than ten incorrectly. Progress to shooting the ball 10 to 20 feet straight up so it lands in front of you. With proper backspin, the ball will bounce to you. You won’t even have to take a step to retrieve the ball. If you have to move your feet, you didn’t shoot correctly.

A major problem with some athletes is their unwillingness to self-check – to evaluate themselves after each shot during these periods of practicing the KEY ELEMENTS of shooting the basketball.