Basketball - Myths About Free Throw Shooting

There is a plethora of information on the game of basketball, skill development, practice planning, history, game statistics, personal profiles, goods and services relating to the game etc, etc. Of course the age of the internet has had a great effect on the accessibility of all this information.

A nagging problem though from my vantage point of being a basketball coach, master, guru, specialist, surgeon, therapist, world record holder etc, is that a lot of the information, although with good intent is mundane, repetitive and bordering irrelevant.

Even though the topic of this article relates to free throw shooting I mean to include three point shooting and field goal shooting whether it be jump shots or set shots or even hook shots. (A hook shot is pretty much the same as a jump shot except your body is at 90 degrees to the chest of the defender, even if it's a one or two legged jump shot).

The real reason for this article is that the information about free throw shooting or the shooting mechanics in general, that is or has been taught over the past generations obviously must not be very good because the revealing statistics prove this fact.

As of the start of the 21st century you could lump the shooting statistics into the following pool. For example, the average high school team in the USA shoots around 65% from the free throw line, Colleges average around 68% and the professional players average a whopping 72% from the line. You can give or take one or two percentage points in either direction. But the point here is that only about 5-7 percent separates the highly paid professional players from the average all-American kid.

My theory here is that the professional coaches were once college, high school and junior high coaches. It seems that what they learned in their early days as coaches kinda' stays with them throughout their career and without too much personal development. If one is not a great shooter himself it is hard to teach another individual how to be a great shooter. Granted there are those who become great shooters through hard work and possible good genes, but great shooters seem to be a rare breed. A green belt in karate can't teach black belt principles. If this is not the case then how come our national average is mediocre or could be awarded a "C" grade and even a "D" in most cases.

It is not my intent by any means to belittle or undermine the millions of dedicated coaches out there, but it is impossible for a coach to be everything to everybody. He/she can't be a doctor, psychologist, father, teacher, spiritual leader, and a master of all things basketball.
Many coaches are strong at teaching different departments like offense, or defense or creative strategies etc. But it is very tough to be great at all aspects of the game and the shooting department seems to elude most of us because it is very hard to perfect the accuracy engineering part of the shot process. If you are a coach reading this just ask yourself, "Can I out shoot all my players on my team"? Do I have any respect from my players as a shooter or are my shooting credentials rather paltry? Most kids don't know any more than the coaches and will do anything you try to teach. Most coaches hope that the kids that play for them somehow magically should be great shooters. Shooters are not born. They are made. All players have the potential to be great shooters but somewhere along the line they have not received all the information they need.

So what are the myths about great shooting?

Myth #1. The feet are very important in shooting.
Not true. They are just there. Of course we all bend our knees naturally without even being told. But novices to the game do feel awkward about which foot is forward or backward. Best stance is shoulder width apart and right handers have their right foot forward about 6 inches. But if you have the right strength you can have feet side by side. Eventually though, the further you go from the basket the more you will move your right foot forward to help in momentum transfer. But the feet have nothing to do with the 'accuracy' part which is the most important thing in free throw shooting

Myth #2. Keep your eyes on the front, back or any part of the rim during the whole shot process.
Many players do this probably because they were taught this early. Initially you obviously look at the rim to gauge the distance etc. Then the moment the ball is released from the fingertips your eyes should transfer to the flight of the ball where you can basketball see if the ball is going to enter the basket, go short, long or crooked. This provides great feedback. Funny that Michael Jordan, Reggie Miller, Dirk Nowitzki, Steve Nash, Peja Stojakovic etc, all watch the rim. Try it, you will like the control you will be empowered with.

Myth #3. Eye dominance is a factor in great shooting.
Many great shooters have little concept of eye dominance. If you are going to use one eye then keep your right eye open for a right hander so you can see down the inside of the shooting arm as it lines up with the center of the rim on the follow through. If you just keep the left eye open you create an isosceles triangle with your left eye, your right shoulder and the right wrist thus causing you to lose the shooting 'line' of sight. We all shoot with both eyes open for the perspective it gives us.

Myth #4. On your follow through after the shot imagine placing your hand in a cookie jar.
Now that sounds like a real scientific measurement that can be duplicated for great free throw shooting. How big is the cookie jar? How big is the opening? How deep is the jar? Are there cookies in the jar? Do I try to get a cookie while my hand is in the jar? This is ridiculous. The bad thing about this concept is that it forces you to close your fingers to reach into the jar, and closing the fingers is really a shooting flaw that should be avoided. Remember that the way the hand is on the ball at the start of the shot is the way it should look after the ball has been released. A wide hand is a strong hand and the fingers are accountable for what each one does to the ball. More on this in another article.

Myth #5. Make sure your body is square to the basket when you shoot.
This is not necessarily true in all cases. The most important part of the body that needs to be square to the basket is the shooting shoulder, elbow and wrist. You can actually shoot free throws just as good while square to the basket or sideways. By this I mean stand on the free throw line with feet shoulder width apart. Now you are perfectly square to the basket with both feet one inch from the line. Now move your left foot back behind the right foot while still shoulder width apart and face the left wall. Turn your head to the right and now shoot at the original basket. Now see how big a deal it is to be square. As long as the upper part of your body faces the basket you improve your chances of scoring due to body balance. When in close to the basket though there are no rules for being square. Just turn your hand to make up for the body being out of square.

Myth #6. Its really important to shoot with the seams.
Does this mean that your fingers run parallel to the seams or across the grain. Its kind of an ambiguous statement. It should not be a factor and is no bearing on good or bad shooting percentages. You should be able to shoot just a swell with the grain, against the grain or no grain at all. But on free throws since you have time, you may as well place your index finger in the center of the ball and perpendicular to the seams. Its just a personal preference and not a mechanical must. Have you ever noticed that in the heat of a game that you never seem to line up the seams during a shot. You don't have time.

Myth #7. You must develop a rhythm on your shooting.
Rhythm, shmythm. It has little or no relevance to the shot. During a free throw we see all kinds of so called rhythms, like blowing kisses, praying, doing the sign of the cross, taking a strange array of dribbles etc. Once the ball gets set or locked into the 'shot pocket' all this pre-shot routine is dead and has no bearing on the shot itself. Unless you are a small child using a wind up routine for momentum to get the shot to reach the basket then it is of no value. Again its just a personal preference to what looks cool perhaps. Who knows why players do the strange things they do. Try shooting free throws straight from the shot pocket with no fanfare. No difference. Just wasting more time. Less is more. The shot itself could care less about your pre-shot routine.

Myth #8. Johnny seems to be in a shooting slump lately.
You hear this every so often. What does a slump mean? Shooting 20%, 30% 50% from the free throw line, 3-point line, from the field. The way I see it is that the whole world is in a permanent shooting slump and the only reason for this is poor shooting mechanics due to lack of scientific information. Shooting under 75% from the free throw line is really just a hair above average and nothing to brag about. You see my point. It seems that when Johnny has a high scoring game that he is now out of the slump. Great shooters rarely have slumps because they have rather developed shooting mechanics.

Myth #9. You must have the elbow under the ball.
When must the elbow be under the ball? There are thousands of players who are very thin and wiry, which allows them much more flexibility than those more muscle bound or heavier set individuals. Most people just can't get their elbow under the center of the ball (the ideal location) prior to the shot. Its OK to have the ball in the shot pocket with your elbow not directly under the center of the ball. BUT, as the ball is being shot and your forearm is in the 'upmode', make sure your elbow moves under the center of the ball prior to the hand releasing it. This may be a few inches. The ideal 'shot pocket' is right between your eyes and a couple inches above the forehead. You can see how it is physically impossible to have the elbow directly under the center of the ball. BUT, as the shot is going up get the elbow under the center of the ball as much as possible, so all the center of gravity, leverage, alignment and release are all working in balanced synchronicity, thus placing even and correct pressure on important fingers.

Myth #10. You have to believe in yourself and have confidence when you shoot.
This comment is at least positive but it does not do much for the shooting mechanics. Belief in self does not make the shot go straight. What comes first, the chicken or the egg? Does a player have great confidence because they are consistently great shooters, or do they lack confidence because they are inconsistent shooters? Confidence is earned through consistent success. Consistent failures create low confidence levels. Prove my point by doing this drill. Stand right under the basket and shoot 50 shots point blank range. Chances are you will make 49-50 (even with poor mechanics). Confidence is high, huh? Then move out to the 3 point line and shoot 50. Did your confidence level drop? This all relates to your ability to correct personal shooting flaws. The more pure your mechanics the higher the confidence. They go hand in hand.

Was there a difference in the confidence level after the drill?

Fact #11. You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. Just about every basketball player has the capacity to be a very good shooter. Most are just mediocre because they have mediocre information. Our (coaches') instructions for the most part are nebulous, hazy or indistinct. It is imperative that the ball get the right information every time, for ever. I know this is getting deep, but the deeper you get the more beautiful it is. It really is empowering.

Copyright, 2009. All rights reserved.

Author
Ed Palubinskas

*Shooting Surgeon General
*http://www.freethrowmaster.com
*President-http://www.nbsahoops.com - National Basketball Shooters Association.
*Guinness world record in 2005- 1206/1265 free throws in one hour
*99% free throw shooter for 25 years
*Invented Smartball Shooting System to dramatically improve shooting skills
*NBA draft 1975
*Olympic scoring champ 1976. 3 Olympic scoring records. Most points ever scored in one game- 50
*2nd leading scorer in '72 Olympics
*Played at LSU. All SEC
*Junior College All- American
*Led all Colleges, Pros and High Schools In free throw % in 1972- 92.4%
*Selected All- World in '78. *LA Lakers Shooting coach 2000-1. NBA champs
*Our revolutionary scientific shooting principles have perfected the shooting process

3 NCAA Teams That Have Excelled in Both Men's Basketball and Football

Do you like watching football as much as you like watching basketball? In the world of the NCAA, it is common for teams to have a solid football squad or a solid basketball squad. For instance, the Duke Blue Devils have won three Division I NCAA basketball championships, though their football team is typically less-than-stellar. Meanwhile, while Alabama's football team has won 12 national championships, their basketball team is consistently under the radar.

However, basketball NCAA schools have excelled in both football and basketball. Here are some prime examples:

1. Cincinnati Bearcats
The Bearcats' football team has not only played in 10 bowl games; it has a winning record of 6-4 in those bowls, and has won the last three of them. Cincinnati has appeared in the Sun Bowl twice, the Motor City Bowl twice, and most recently, in the PapaJohns.com Bowl.

Meanwhile, the Bearcats' basketball team has also achieved success. The team has appeared in the NCAA mens basketball tournament 24 times. Those trips to the tournament included two national championships for the Cincinnati Bearcats (1961, 1962), and one loss in the championship game (1963).

2. Florida Gators
The Gators football team, for which the sports drink Gatorade was named, has won two national championships. During the 1996-1997 season, past Florida QB Steve Spurrier returned to coach his alma mater to a 12-1 season, and a national championship. Florida defeated Florida State in the Sugar Bowl. Then during the 2006-2007 season, the Gators won their second national championship, walloping the Ohio State Buckeyes, 41-14. In addition to their national championships, the Florida has produced three Heisman Trophy winners:

Steve Spurrier (1966)
Danny Wuerffel (1996)
Tim Tebow (2007)

The Florida Gators' mens basketball team has recently risen to prominence. In 2000, the team made its first NCAA championship appearance, though it lost to Michigan State, 89-76. However, the Gators would become "chompions" in 2006, winning their first NCAA title. The Gators demolished UCLA, 73-57. Then in 2007, Florida defended its title, by defeating Ohio State 84-75.

3. UCLA Bruins
Although better known for its basketball team, the Bruins football team has also achieved substantial success, throughout the years. The Bruins' greatest success occurred in 1954, when the team became co-national champions. UCLA has also won 17 conference titles. In 1967, the UCLA football squad also produced a Heisman Trophy winner: Gary Beban.

Meanwhile, the UCLA Bruins basketball team has been spectacular. It has won 11 NCAA championships, which is more than any other team. Under renowned coach John Wooden, the Bruins won 10 titles in the span of 12 years! The team has also been undefeated during four years (1964, 1967, 1972, 1973). UCLA won its most recent NCAA championship in 1995. basketball 2006, the team has also appeared in three back-to-back-to-back Final Fours in the NCAA tournament.

While it is commendable to excel in either NCAA men's basketball or football, it is outstanding to excel in both sports. Cheer on your favorite NCAA team to victory in either sport-or both!

Rick Grantham is an avid sports fan. Most of Rick's articles focus on Cincinnati Bearcats merchandise. Many articles are related to NCAA college store and other sports related topics. Rick is a contributing author to BooYah Village

Not Quite So Mad - Managing NCAA Distraction

The last basketball years, there's been a rash of coverage around this time in March about how the NCAA men's basketball tournament is a productivity killer. I haven't seen basketball a glut of coverage this year- perhaps because I imagine the the actual impact of employees watching and talking about games has been wildly overstated by productivity experts and such looking to piggyback on the days' (or weeks') big news item.

I did find a release today from a company named Streamcore that is promising to help manage your bandwidth and ensure that key applications (of course) stay up as your employees watch games on Internet video streams.

I am in no position to comment on the virtues of Streamcore's technology, but it does seem to me that the one real concern- or at least the concern that a business is in any position to do anything about- is the risk to your network of too many video streams.

My solution?

Be flexible and let your folks go catch the big game on that arcane 20th Century tech, a TV. There's probably a pretty good-sized one in an establishment near your office. If you have a break room, roll in a set and let folks watch the action there, in a somewhat controlled environment.

In exchange, let everybody know that streaming video at their stations is off limits, or strongly discouraged, or however your IT department communicates such issues to users. And then follow up with a stern e-mail if usage monitoring makes it clear that folks are watching games at their desks.

Understand, my fellow VP Jeff Yocom and I scheduled a pretty important meeting last week around a conference tourney game for our beloved alma- and #1 seed- the Louisville Cardinals This morning, our CFO stopped by my office to chat hoops (she's a Kentucky fan, but at work you have to let these things ride).

There are just some situations in which you are not going to win if you try to be a hardliner and demand unwavering focus on work. Employees are going to shop online during work hours; they are going to make personal phone calls during work hours; and at this time of year, they are going to watch basketball games during work hours. Our Ann All noted last year that the average employee was projected to spend 13.5 minutes a day keeping up with the March Madness, by one analysis. Seriously- do you think they don't spend that much time on Facebook or YouTube in August?

Just rolling with it will help you contain that distraction, so that it does not consume an entire work day, or bring down your network.

And really, how much faith would you put into spreadsheet analysis done by somebody who has a basketball game playing in the background on their PC?

Read Ken's article, "Twitter for Business: Smaller Is Not Always Better" - http://bit.ly/CVxPo

Quick Hitters Make Great Stocking Stuffers

If Santa only knew how much coaches love quick hitters, he would probably fire his elves and hire a whole new staff. He would probably hire quick hitting connoisseurs such as; Hubie Brown, Tom Izzo, Tom Crean, and Mark Few. The elves would be in a dilemma, but under our tree would be an array of some of the best quick hitting plays in the game. The new staff would be sure not to hold anything back. If you don't believe me, just attend one of their clinics. They aren't afraid of someone stealing their stuff. They deliver what every coach in the stands at a clinic wants - quick hitters!

So why would they do this? Why not just keep them for themselves? It is because they are teachers of the game first, then coaches! I was at a clinic at St. Benedict's High School in New Jersey two years ago, and Hubie Brown gave one of the best presentations that I have ever seen. He was motivating, funny, informative, and most importantly worthwhile because of all of the quick hitters that he provided us with. Afterwards, when we approached him to talk to him, he was asking us if he "gave us enough stuff!" That's the type of person that the "Hall of Famer" is.

Some coaches from some of the best programs in the country will talk "philosophy" for forty-five minutes to an hour, or more! This is a great time for a bathroom break. It is nice to hear them speak, but we are there to steal plays from them, just like they stole from someone else along the line. My friend and I also sat with Tom Izzo in his office one time after one of his practices. He is one of the most humble guys that you would ever want to meet. Tom and his staff, who always end up landing prestigious head coaching gigs, were extremely accommodating. That is why his program is and always will be one of the elite ones in the country.

So what's the big deal with quick hitters? Well, they are used to start offenses, eliminate total freelancing (unless you have the athletes that the University of Memphis has), and hit the winning shot. Also, college coaches love them to combat the shot clock.

A lot of coaches will start there offenses with a quick hitter that flows into their continuity or freelance offense. This is a way of saying, "give me the first eight to twelve seconds, and then you can make basketball happen." This is a strategy that is very effective and satisfies both the coaches and the players. The latter may also be an option. Run your continuity first, then transform it into your favorite quick hitting plays. This will allow you to slow the game down against a more athletic team who is up the floor in a hurry.

Most importantly, making quick hitters a part of your offense will allow your players to hit the big shot at the end of a game. What quick hitters do you have in your arsenal in the winding seconds? What "special situation" will arise? Preparation is key in a close game where two teams have equal talent.

This is why I commend the above mentioned coaches. They are teaching the coaches, who are teaching the game to the young student/athletes around the globe! Come this and every basketball season, there will be no coal in their stockings! Hopefully, Santa will listen and fill ours with what we want. The holiday tournaments are right around the corner!

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Learning Basketball Shooting : The Awareness "Monster"

After a recent set of clinics, my top Coach-in-Training, Ernest Johnson, from D.C. and I were talking about the value of basketball Ive been taught by my mentors that physical learning occurs from in-the-moment awareness of experience much more than from being told what to do or reading about it or even seeing it. When basketball can FEEL something, like the difference between a tight wrist and hand and a relaxed wrist and hand, that feeling (experience) will teach you about wrist-hand tension and how effective or ineffective it is. The idea or concept of something is superseded by the experience of it, and a much deeper learning can occur.

As we were talking about feedback, Ernest got into one of his frequent crazy and spontaneous moments and started yelling into the phone, Feed me, Feed me, Feed me, Im hungry, Feed me, I need feedback! That gave me the idea of an Awareness Monster needing to be fed with feedback. Its like the Cookie Monster demanding cookies, this vision of a wild and crazy pretend monster that is after us to be fed. Me want Feedback!!! I think this analogy will be fun for kids: Feed the Awareness Monster!

FEEDBACK IS CRITICAL TO LEARNING

As Ive written many times, much of my coaching background came from golf coaches and a golf school called The School for Extraordinary Golf (plus a book by that name). One of the truths that evolved is that Awareness is how we learn, Awareness is curative! As put another way, Experience is the Teacher. Words can lead you there, but its the experience that does the teaching. Feeling (and seeing) the difference between one shot and another teaches you how to shoot more effectively the next time. It could even be missed shots (of course). Awareness of a mistake is more valuable than a perfect shot with no awareness as to how you did it. Awareness gives the body/brain/nervous system the feedback it needs to make changes, subtle or gross.

A phrase that describes the effect of this goes something like this: The experience with high awareness of one shot can teach you more than taking 1,000 shots with no awareness. Some people believe you have to make thousands of perfect shots before you learn how to do it at will. Thats pretty discouraging, because how can you make perfect shots when your stroke is imperfect. As I like to shape that line (and what may be the intention of many people who use it) is to say that perfect AWARENESS of thousands of shots is what you need to learn to shoot, not perfect SHOTS. And when awareness is high, it wont even require thousands. Perhaps hundreds. Perhaps 10s. Of course, you need lots of experience, but when your awareness antenna is raised high and tuned into your stroke, learning can be very quick.

The more the feedback, both by yourself to yourself and to you from others, the greater your learning. If youre not giving feedback, then no one knows where you are relative to your experience. You might be totally asleep; you might be totally aware. (Without great practice, its probably more the former.)

When coaching someone, set up a system of feedback and learning will be enhanced. If working in pairs, teach them to give feedback to each other. Its effective for the shooter to speak first and then for the observer to give feedback. If the observer speaks first, the experience of the shooter is diminished.

From my experience, most players are reluctant to give feedback to a peer, probably not wanting to appear critical or contrary. Speak to this and maybe mention how the Awareness Monster needs feedback for learning. For kids who resist speaking feedback to a shooter friend, a less threatening way is to have the observer simply give a hand signal, thumbs up for Yes, I agree, thumbs down for No, I didnt see it that way, or the thumb at the halfway point for Im not sure or I missed that one. The point is that the observation of an outside party can help the shooter see and feel the shot motion.

Watch and Learn: However you do it, observe the interplay of shooter and experience (awareness) -- plus an unbiased third party, where possible -- and learning. The more awake everyone is the higher the level of learning. Learning takes time, but with high awareness, remarkable breakthroughs are possible ... and quicker than you think.

Tom Nordland is a shooting expert and coach from California via Minnesota. His videos, coaching and writings are inspiring a Renaissance (a rebirth, a revival) in shooting around the world as players and coaches are taught the things that really matter in shooting. A great shooter as a youth, Tom was given a gift of seeing shooting like few have ever seen it. He sees the essence of great shooting and how to get there. The good news is that its very simple. The few great shooters of today and yesterday mastered simple things, not complicated motions. Improved shooting is now possible for everybody in the game, and mastery is available to those who sincerely dedicate themselves to it. Visit Toms website (http://www.swish22.com/) to read of his background and his articles and newsletters, and to view the remarkable endorsements and amazing testimonials for this approach to shooting.