I believe there are many ways to teach shooting technique, but there is something i'm still not really sure about.

Where should the hand be placed on the ball - I mean, what finger should be on the middle of the ball in your opinion, and why?

http://www.breakthroughbasketball.com/fundamentals/shooting-technique.html

GRIP


Place the air hole between the middle and index fingers.


Line up your fingertip pads parallel to the long seams of the ball, so you can monitor the back spin.


Leave space between the ball and the middle of your palm. You should be able to insert a pencil between the ball and your palm area.



Spread your fingers far enough apart to comfortably balance the ball in one hand.


The ball should sit on your finger pads.

You can make sure that you do this at the free throw line but during the game you don't have the time to do this... it has to come naturally... this comes from a lot of repititions of doing it CORRECTLY.

To me the proper placement of the ball on the hand has a lot to do with the balance and the success of your shot.
JMO

The index finger in the middle of the ball, fingers wide apart ,pushing through the shot finish with only the index and middle fingers keeping finger wide all the way through the finish of the shot and holding the finish until it goes in. I say this because the less movement or change with the ball through the finish the better, if the shooter would push with either the thumb or pinky finger during the finish will result in a missed shot to the left or right, pushing with the fingers that are close to the middle of the ball will allow for good rotation and with finger staying wide it will fly straight to the target. Remember basketball is a muscle memory sport , I have seen some UGLY looking shots and the players shooting like that shoot high percentage, so keep in mind teaching proper technique is importatnt, however teaching to locate your target and focus on that target with your feet and hips square to the basket will develope shooting success.